They're prolific - I've got several thick stands and they are making their way into pasture.

Don't want to use any herbicides b/c naturally this devil weed is all around water.

Reading seems inconclusive regarding the use of fire

I'm guessing multiple years of shredding is my best option?

If I shred/cut when's the best time? Summer/fall? Would really like to beat some back now to make fishing a more pleasant experience for the kids!

TIA

nothing to add to help you, but how big? it's a pretty wood and hard and durable.

If you want to exacerbate the issue, mow them continually year after year. You'll see an increase in root sprouts all over your pastures, and never kill the original root system. If you dont want to spray near water, then I would recommend individual plant treatments to get rid of them. Depending on brush size, there are several options to employ that are effective and environmentally sound.

Not knowing how adamant you are about (possibly) polluting nearby water....the traditional "cut at ground level, spray stump with Remedy/diesel mix" sure seems like a low probability of any herbicide runoff.

GSS said:

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Not knowing how adamant you are about (possibly) polluting nearby water....the traditional "cut at ground level, spray stump with Remedy/diesel mix" sure seems like a low probability of any herbicide runoff.

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This. If you are adamant about not spraying, you can paint the mix on the cut stumps.

agrams - I'm a tree lover and a wood worker myself so I plan to harvest any larger trees and put them to good use.

I'll use some for firewood but how much I can tolerate to cut I don't know - I'm sure it won't be much.

But you're always welcome to come up and take a look at the Locust and hardwoods.

Micro - that was my assumption - any preferences?

GSS that would be my off the shelf solution and should be no problem in the pasture

Fire.

How bout a forestry mulcher?

texrover91 said:

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Micro - that was my assumption - any preferences?

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As the others mentioned, spraying the stump with a Remedy/diesel mix would be effective. But you can also apply this direct to the bark w/out having to shred the trees and it works great. After a year or so, theyre rotten and you can push them over with a front end loader and pile and burn.
For little sprouts, I'd recommend a mixture of GrazonNext plus Remedy to spot treat. That or Pasturegard by itself. Easy enough with a small utv sprayer. Neither will harm grasses.

Due to its proximity to water the "Hack and Squirt" method should be an effective means of applying a herbicide and preventing conveyance to the local water bodies. Basically cut a wedge out of the tree and spray the wedge with the herbicide, you could also ring the tree and apply.

Don't mow unless you want the problem to get worse.

If you want to avoid run off or over spray, cut-stump treatment by hand is very effective. It's also labor intensive.

Mix 1 part Remedy, 3 parts diesel in a squirt bottle like this.



Make sure to label it! Cut each stump about 1' off the ground. Squirt the herbicide around the phloem. You should see it get absorbed almost immediately, and with the concentration as high as it is, it doesn't take much. You'll want to apply the herbicide to the freshly cut stump. The fresher the cut, the more rapidly and completely it will absorb the herbicide.

Doing it this way, you can get almost 100% of the herbicide inside the plant and none on the ground.

Then wait. If the stump comes back with new growth, cut the top 4-6" off and reapply. If it doesn't come back, stack cut wood/brush on the stumps and burn.

A basal treatment of Remedy and diesel is very effective and done properly has almost zero chance of running off into nearby water.

A word of caution, make certain the tree is DEAD before cutting it down. It will likely look dead within a month, but the roots may be just waiting for a chance to sprout an evil forest of offspring above ground. You must give the herbicide time to kill the entire tree, root system and all.

I cut one down early once and fought saplings for years around the base of the old tree. I now wait for them to fall over, or a full year before burning.

This doesn't apply to the cut stump treatment, which is how I killed may of the saplings.

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But you can also apply this direct to the bark w/out having to shred the trees and it works great. After a year or so, they're rotten and you can push them over with a front end loader and pile and burn.

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That is my experience as well. They'll even fall down from their own weight.

We didn't use a front end loader and burn them, though. A hired-in mulcher/hydro ax took care of it nicely for us.

OP -- as I'm sure you know, be damn careful around those thorns. A honey locust thorn makes a mesquite thorn look like a choir boy! Before we got rid of all of them, I cut off about a foot-long branch with heavy thorns and keep it in my office as an example of just how wicked nature can be.

Does the no mow rule apply to the little 1/4" diameter seedlings? I have some pasture that appears to have been controlled well in the past with shredding. Was planning to hit it once a year just to keep it beat down. It would take forever to try to spray each one.

We had a cat killed by a Locust thorn when I was a kid. Fell out of a tree and somehow impaled himself!

CS78 said:

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Does the no mow rule apply to the little 1/4" diameter seedlings? I have some pasture that appears to have been controlled well in the past with shredding. Was planning to hit it once a year just to keep it beat down. It would take forever to try to spray each one.

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Damn stuff is extremely resilient to mowing...even the small ones. We buy some of the 1 or 2 gallon pump sprayers (Wallyworld), they last 1 or 2 seasons using Remedy and diesel in them.

Cruise the pasture in our Ranger, spraying every honey locust, mesquite, or huisache we spot. And still miss some...

Hack and squirt or cut-stump spray them using 50% Rodeo and water mix. Will kill them and is safe for aquatic environments.

Only reason i dont recommend hack-n-squirt on thorn trees is because you'd have to be a masochist to do this. Aint no way you can hack all the way around a limby thorny locust tree without coming out looking like swiss cheese.

GSS said:

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Not knowing how adamant you are about (possibly) polluting nearby water....the traditional "cut at ground level, spray stump with Remedy/diesel mix" sure seems like a low probability of any herbicide runoff.

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Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Nearly 100% effective with nearly 0% chance of runoff.

Never bush hog honey locust. You will have a lifetime of thorns and cause it to spread. We have had the best luck by pulling them up with a brush/ tree grabber on a tractor or skid steer. Stack and burn. Lop very small ones and basil spray with remedy/ diesel.

You guys are awesome thank you.

K-State study comparing Remedy, Milestone & Clarity

https://www.hays.k-state.edu/programs/beefcattle/Roundup2015-Harmoney-HoneyLocust.pdf