Brush Control

[cams2705]

Hi all ... looking from some advice on brush control.  i moved into my new home back in december and my lot is fairly wooded.  I cleared an additional 10-12 feet of brush under the trees around the perimeter of my lawn just as a standoff between the grassline and the brush.  Most of the brush is honeysuckle with some thorny brush and vine mixed in here and there.  Now, after the weather warmedm it looks like it is sprouting right back up again.

Does anyone know what herbisides are out there that can control/kill the honeysuckle without harming the trees in the surrounding area?  I'm thinking of a roundup type product, but there are so many different variations.  I looked at both Lowes and Tractor Supply and the range is from roundup for light week control that wont harm lawns to the equivalent of Agent Orange that sounds like it will leave scortched earth behind from reading the instructions.

Thanks in Advance!

Chuck

[Cooler]

Rent a goat.

Actually there are services that bring goats to property to control overgrowth.  It is effective and ecologically sound.

There are listings in PA for that service:

https://www.google.com/search?q=rent+a+g...e&ie=UTF-8

[cams2705]

Rent a goat.

Actually there are services that bring goats to property to control overgrowth.  It is effective and ecologically sound.

There are listings in PA for that service:

https://www.google.com/search?q=rent+a+g...e&ie=UTF-8

That was actually my first choice.  Even though I have 3+ acres and all the surrounding lots are large and wooded, my wife checked with the township and goats are not allowed...either are chickens, bees, and other livestock.

I was all for buying 2 smaller breed goats and letting them have at it.

[Cooler]

That was actually my first choice.  Even though I have 3+ acres and all the surrounding lots are large and wooded, my wife checked with the township and goats are not allowed...either are chickens, bees, and other livestock.

I was all for buying 2 smaller breed goats and letting them have at it.

It may be legal to rent them.  The deliver the goats (several) and tie them out, and pick them up in the evening.  Since they are not permanent it might be OK.  The goat service provider would have better information on this.

This company serves PA:  http://browsinggreengoats.com/about/

And here is an article about the service:

https://www.alleghenyfront.org/landscapi...s-a-thing/

[tomsteve]

the active ingredient in roundup brush and weed  is glyphosate and works pretty good on a lot of invasive plants. i think its about 40% glyphosate. the patent roundup had on glyphosate expired in 2000(?) so there are other products with equal or higher concentrations of glyphosate.
i dont have honeysuckle, but have an area of nasty overgrown brush and viney crap. i bought this
https://www.amazon.com/Compare-N-Save-Co...e+1+gallon

and have been very happy with it. Tractor Supply has a few brands im sure would would just as good at a less cost than roundup.

check out some videos on controlling honeysuckle. a quick search showed a few pros using glyphosate on honeysuckle.

[CLETUS]

  I looked at both Lowes and Tractor Supply and the range is from roundup for light week control that wont harm lawns to the equivalent of Agent Orange that sounds like it will leave scortched earth behind from reading the instructions.

Buy the 41% glyphosate from wherever it is the cheapest. Here is a tip on how we control Autumn Olive in switchgrass plantings...

Take a foam brush and paint the concentrate on the individual bushes.

That keeps you from nuking the whole area.

I've heard that some guys use a car wash mitt... but I think that is overkill.

[cams2705]

Buy the 41% glyphosate from wherever it is the cheapest. Here is a tip on how we control Autumn Olive in switchgrass plantings...

Take a foam brush and paint the concentrate on the individual bushes.

That keeps you from nuking the whole area.

I've heard that some guys use a car wash mitt... but I think that is overkill.

I think that is what I'm going to do.  When we cleared the area, we cut the woody stems down to the ground and pulled as much of the shallow-rooted seedlings as possible.  Now that the weather has warmed and a couple of rains, it resprouted.  I'll buy one of the stronger dilution products (I even saw one for 43%), but probably wont buy the roundup brand ... it's a 50%+ solution, but it comes at a premium price because of the name.  I'll just use a piece of cardboard to ensure I don't overspray onto the mature trees.

Thank you all for the advice!  I would have loved to get a got or two, long term, though.

[JosephP]

I've helped quite a few people with pretty bad honeysuckle problems as a forester...  Here are the tips I share most often.  There are a lot of options.  Goats may be one, but until they can pee Tordon on the stumps they just ate off, they can't stop it from sprouting.

*Mechanical control (including goats):  you will have to be at full scare war with it cutting/mowing/eating it until it has sprouted so many times that it has depleted all of its reserves in the roots.  You have to cut it so often that it hasn't had time to put sugars back into the roots.  Doable, but takes a LOT of time.

*Pull by the roots: This works for small plants. Some people do it for bigger shrubs. In my opinion, the soil disturbance caused by this has a far more significant detrimental impact to the larger environment than herbicides do.

*Foliar control:  A reasonable method for smaller plants (generally less than 18-24" tall).  If you are going this route, I'd strongly suggest late fall control for 3 reasons:  (1) It is easy to spot because nothing else is green as late as honeysuckle (2) That also means you can't overspray and kill other plants (3) the plants are pulling a lot of sugars into the roots so they will pull the herbicide with it.  I'd recommend a 2-3% solution of glyphosate for this.  Triclopyr (or Crossbow which is Triclopyr and 2, 4-D) is also a good choice.

*Cut stump treatment:  Cut the stumps close to the ground and treat the stumps.  Treat immediately after cutting.  Cut/treat/cut/treat, etc.... don't cut/cut/cut-treat/treat/treat.  Within 20-30 minutes after the cut is made, the herbicide will be ineffective.  You can use:  glyphosate at 30-40% (full power with the stuff you buy at the farm stores...stuff at Lowes, etc. is usually more like 18%, so even at full concentration is not strong enough).  Tordon RTU does a great job...but if you have a few hundred stems per acre it can start to show up in other trees.  Triclopyr (Garlon 4A) does a great job but is a little more expensive.  Which ever you use, put some dye in it (Tordon TRU comes that way).  I don't like Garlon 3 - it is more volatile (will evaporate and burn other plants above 80+ degrees) and can harm your eyes more readily, but it will work well.

Whatever you do, plan to make it an annual maintenance issue.  For that, I recommend getting a 3 gallon backpack sprayer and go out early to mid November each year and foliar spray the seedlings/saplings with glyphosate on a nice sunny 60-65 degree day.

[Robert Adams]

I would just keep knocking it down with the brush hog and over time it will be harder for it to come back. Barring a brush hog drive over it with the mower after its knocked down some with hand tools etc.

[JosephP]

But what else are you taking out with the brush hog? How much compaction is that causing for the forest soil? I don't like that idea in the woods....