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I recently cleared about a 3/4 mile of fence line in the gibbons creek area of everything you can think of by hand. This was the first time in about 20 years it has been done. I'd rather not do it again and like to know what to spray on it. There was everything from grass, mesquite, yaupon, post oak, green sticky vines, etc. I cleared it all to the dirt.
What should I spray?
TEXIT,
First, congratulations on hand clearing 4,000 feet of fence line. That's not a single weekend project.
I maintain several thousand feet of fence line and also the perimeter area around several large industrial buildings.
I realize that you've got dirt now, but soon the grass and weeds will begin growing, as well as any mesquites that weren't dead when you cut them.
Treat the mesquites first -- Allen76 likes Sendero, but I'd get the jump on it by using a mixture of Remedy (61% Triclopyr) and diesel oil and spraying all the tree stumps now. This method doesn't require any foliage to be present, and is extremely effective. I've used it for years with excellent results. A&M recommends mixing 1 quart per gallon of diesel, but I use only 1 pint per gallon and get an almost complete kill. You can buy generic 61% Triclopyr for $65/gallon delivered on the internet, or you can buy it locally for slightly more.
Now for the grass and weeds that will begin to grow -- I'm with rwv2055 here. Imazapyr (Polaris/Arsenal) is an excellent residual herbicide that can give you bare ground on the fence line for up to about 6 months, although I've only been getting about 4-5 months with my treatments.
It's usually mixed along with Roundup (glyphosate) in water along with a surfactant and applied after the vegetation starts growing. The glyphosate will kill all the green vegetation, with no residual effect, and the imazapyr will go down into the soil and prevent/kill new growth for an extended time.
You'll find imazapyr as the secondary ingredient in the big box store product 'RM43', which is 43% glyphosate and less than 1% imazapyr. I usually see RM43 selling for about $89.99 for 2.5 gallons at places like Tractor Supply, Atwoods, Home Depot and most feed/farm stores. You may want to start with this product, after you've taken care of the mesquites.
If you're hardcore and have large areas to maintain, you can buy the ingredients separately and mix your own. I like a final mix of about 1.25% imazapyr (of the 27.7% concentrate) combined with 3% glyphosate (net) plus surfactant.
But imazapyr by itself is pretty expensive. I paid around $225 for a generic-brand 2.5 gallon jug of the 27.7% strength, so I wouldn't recommend mixing your own at this point.
Remember, fence lines are always a struggle. Birds are always sitting on them and dropping seeds for new stuff to grow, and even if you shred, it's tough to get under the fence.
It's the way of things, I guess. Steel rusts, wood rots, and nice clear open spaces don't stay that way!
