Spot Sprayed 75 acres. Very happy after 3 weeks.

Looking good so far. You may have to go back and hit the pads in the middle that you can't get to, but it's a start. This is why it's called brush management, not brush eradication.

Give it time. I did 650 acres with it. At first it looks like it did not work well. In 90 days you will be amazed.
We completely eradicated pear on that pasture.
In year or so you may see some young sprouts. Hit them when you see them.

A nice, slow melt is always fun to watch on pear. Now follow up with a burn and you'll be amazed.

B-1 83 said:

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A nice, slow melt is always fun to watch on pear. Now follow up with a burn and you'll be amazed.

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You mean like kill it with Fire the OB way?

Shoulda made jelly from the tunas first.

B-1 83 said:

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A nice, slow melt is always fun to watch on pear. Now follow up with a burn and you'll be amazed.

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Do not follow up with a burn for 1.5-2 years.

birddog7000 said:

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B-1 83 said:

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A nice, slow melt is always fun to watch on pear. Now follow up with a burn and you'll be amazed.

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Do not follow up with a burn for 1.5-2 years.

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That long? Why?

B-1 83 said:

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birddog7000 said:

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B-1 83 said:

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A nice, slow melt is always fun to watch on pear. Now follow up with a burn and you'll be amazed.

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Do not follow up with a burn for 1.5-2 years.

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That long? Why?

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Because it won't all be dead until 2 years later.

I had Mezavue sprayed on 600 plus acres, 2 years ago. Mezavue is supposed to start killing within just a couple months, rather than the 2 plus year wait for Tordon. I got one good rain a week or two later, then nothing for 4-5 months.

At 1 year, I was INCREDIBLY disappointed. Still cactus, everywhere. Some were a little yellowish, but I was expecting DEATH. Took almost 18 months to see REAL results. Probably around 75-80% mortality, now. STILL have some that is obviously dying (no pear, very dessicated, looks way worse than the stuff on my unsprayed areas).

Don't know if it was the lack of rain that caused it not to work so well, and just had to wait for the picloram component to "kick in", or what.

Most studies are showing Mezavue having the best mortality rate, but a few are showing only "slight" or "some" improvement. If I had paid the several thousand $$ difference out of my OWN pocket, I would have been pretty upset (NRCS pretty much covered the entire cost). I certainly didn't get the Mezavue "quick kill".

Any reason why you used Surmount?? I've heard the cost differential is minimal compared to Mezavue (they are BOTH quite a bit more expensive than regular old Tordon(picloram)).

The only thing I've had a successful "quick kill" with, has been Remedy/diesel. BrushBusters doesn't mention it, but it DOES work. Great for small acreage areas (probably too expensive in that concentration, and way too much diesel, for LARGE areas).

I use Surmount because it was recommended to me by a friend that has a 3000 acre high fence exotic hunting operation. Like everybody else, his time is valuable and he doesn't like doing the same thing twice. He's one of them MIT smart guys that spends lots of time researching before making mistakes then try something else. I trust his judgement.

Fishing Fools said:

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I use Surmount because it was recommended to me by a friend that has a 3000 acre high fence exotic hunting operation. Like everybody else, his time is valuable and he doesn't like doing the same thing twice. He's one of them MIT smart guys that spends lots of time researching before making mistakes then try something else. I trust his judgement.

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Ok. I was just curious if there was something about Surmount that made it safer or more cost-effective than the Mezavue. The Mezavue is basically Surmount with the addition of aminopyralid (for quicker results).

Spoke with my friend and he thinks Mezavue isn't as effective as Surmount. It is cheaper and doesn't require a License like Surmount does. I guess it depends on the users situation.

in my experience, surmount kills just about everything.

there was a thread on here a few years ago where someone had it aerial sprayed on their west texas place for *****ly pear and cedar i think. the pilot told him his oaks wouldnt be affected. where he got that idea i havent a clue. i can only imagine the anger/frustration the poster was feeling at the sight of all those dead hardwoods

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2632814

Fishing Fools said:

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Spoke with my friend and he thinks Mezavue isn't as effective as Surmount. It is cheaper and doesn't require a License like Surmount does. I guess it depends on the users situation.

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Not trying to "hassle" you in any way. Was just wondering. Hope it kills it all! Thanks.

(And Mezavue does require a license, for anyone wondering about that.)

I stand corrected on the license. Let's hope we all have successful Cactus death.

Is there a certain time of year Surmount is supposed to be applied? Our *****ly pear has gone nuts again.. I sprayed them 4-5 years ago with a mix or stuff and it looked like they all melted and died… but they are back

I have been told you can spray Cactus year around because they never drop their leaves.

fullback44 said:

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Is there a certain time of year Surmount is supposed to be applied? Our *****ly pear has gone nuts again.. I sprayed them 4-5 years ago with a mix or stuff and it looked like they all melted and died… but they are back

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Pretty much year round. Many aerial sprayers don't like late spring/summer, due to the fact that it exposes trees (more foliage) to the spray, AND the fact that the foliage cover can block some of the herbicide from getting down to the cactus below. My guy wanted to spray before May, to avoid the heavy cover of leafed-out mesquite and tall grass over the cactus. Not much of a concern, if your place is pretty "open".

fburgtx said:

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fullback44 said:

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Is there a certain time of year Surmount is supposed to be applied? Our *****ly pear has gone nuts again.. I sprayed them 4-5 years ago with a mix or stuff and it looked like they all melted and died… but they are back

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Pretty much year round. Many aerial sprayers don't like late spring/summer, due to the fact that it exposes trees (more foliage) to the spray, AND the fact that the foliage cover can block some of the herbicide from getting down to the cactus below. My guy wanted to spray before May, to avoid the heavy cover of leafed-out mesquite and tall grass over the cactus. Not much of a concern, if your place is pretty "open".

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This sounds good .. I'll wait till it cools off and the grass stops growing .. didn't really want to do it in this heat ..it will make for a good 2 day weekend project. Also maybe the rattle snakes will not be so active