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What's the best way to get rid of weed trees?

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
I've got a lot of weed trees all over my property (I'm in Northern IL). Diameters range from wrist-sized to thigh-sized, and some even bigger.

Just got to thinking--what's the best way to get rid of these? Cut them flush with the ground? Leave them up and have a skid-steer push them down? Cut them down, and leave them a couple feet tall for a skid-steer to push over?
 
I don't know of a skid steer that would push over a bigger-than-wrist size hardwood tree like we have here where I am. Perhaps these are a different type of tree that is shallow rooted, you didn't say the type?

What is the goal when you are done? Simple pasture, or trying to make a farm field to plow, or a construction area, or?

For pasture, cut them flush, paint the stump with glysophate (roundup) or a serious brush & tree killer at full strength, and they will rot away in a few years.

Just cutting them off, and many of the trees 'here' will sprout back from the stump & you have a bigger mess than before. And the root never dies off that way.

Leaving a bit taller stump and bulldozing them out, and going through the ground with a scarifier (sp? - very sturdy chisel plow/ripper on the back of a big dozer) will get rid of most of the mess & roots in a short time so you can start working the ground with ag equipment pretty soon - or pack down & use a building site.

What trees, and what is the end result you want?

--->Paul
 
I would not cut them down, because a CAT can use the leverage of a taller tree to push them out by the roots. Anything smaller than a CAT will take way more time than it is worth.
 
You didn"t say what kind of trees they were, but some trees might make decent firewood. They sound like they are small enough that you wouldn"t have to split much of it. You might be able to find someone who will do the cutting for you in exchange for the free wood if it"s suitable. If there"s a campground in the area, maybe they could use if for bonfires regardless of the species.
As for the stumps, I"d cut a few inches above ground and then use a small track hoe to get the root out. It doesn"t take a huge track hoe to get them out, you should be able to get one at any equipment rental place. One that will fit on a 7 or 10K GVW trailer should work. Just pile them up, let them dry out for a couple of months and burn them.
 
To answer a couple questions, the trees aren't really good for firewood--they seem to have a pretty high water content (very pulp-y when you cut them). My end desire is to just have the pasture land back. It was a nice open field before it was allowed to become overgrown with this stuff. They definitely aren't any sort of hardwood.

And, I have cut a few down in the past, but its amazing how quickly they come back.
 
How does that painting the stump with round-up work for you? I have heard about it, never done it before, and just finished painting about 50 cottonwood stumps. I'll see if it works.
Brian(MN)
 
If you don't have heavy equipment and don't want to pay for it, just cut them off flush with the ground and coat the FRESHLY CUT stump with Brushmaster. You're done.... Actually, you'll still have to get rid of the top, but the herbicide will eliminate the below ground stuff.

Christopher
 
Either hire a cat to come in and push them all out or cut them off close to the ground. I wouldn't bother with trying to pull them out with a skidsteer or tractor, go big or don't bother.

If you cut them off, you'll need to do something to keep them from growing back from the stump. Either spray Tordon on the fresh stumps or if it's pasture keep it grazed regularly and the cattle will eat the shoots.
 
> How does that painting the stump with round-up work for you?

I've heard a lot of people recommend this, but I have doubts that it works as well as herbicides that are specifically for killing woody plants like Picloram (sold as Tordon/Grazon).
 
Cut them in them in the summer. Winter cutting will allow sprouts and will not kill tree. I agree with some cut them low and let them rot. It isn't worth disturbing the soil if you don't intend to plow the land. And in 5or 6 years you can plow it anyway ED
 
County just cleared 5 acres of Russian Olive trees, which are terribly invasive. Brought in an large track excavator, and the operator pulled them out roots and all. They originally tried a vertical grinder to grind them flush with the ground, but the roots kept pushing up new growth.
 
the reason peopel like roundup is it works and is cheeper than most others that may or may not work i us it on stumps al the time 1/2 the cost of tordon
 
Using a big dozer on small stuff is overkill and time-consuming, unless it has a root rake or scarifier. I have a manure fork and grapple on the skidloader, and it works well for digging out clumps of small trees. Backhoe with a toothed bucket works very well for the larger ones, even over 8 inches. Both machines are more nimble than a dozer.
 
I have used Tordon/Grazon quite a bit, You can buy it RTU "ready to use". Just spray or brush it on the stump and it will not grow back. Two things to remember apply rite after you cut it (don't let the stump dry ) and only use above freezing.
 
The easiest way, if you're not in a hurry for cleared land is to use the "hack and squirt" method. Kills the trees but leaves them standing until they rot.
 
I spent a couple grand getting 38 acres cleared of cedars and some big elms around the yard. Hire someone with a bobcat and a saw on the front. I paid 90 an hour. He had another bobcat with a clamshell to stack them. Did 16 acres with about 300 fairly large (12" or more) cedars in 4 hours for 2 working together. You have to stack them to get them to burn right.

I also had the option of renting a bobcat with a clamshell cutter on the front about $300 a day as I recall.

Anything but cedars have to be sprayed with tordon. About a 1 to 4 mix or stronger if using RTU. The guys with the saw on the bobcats had a spray nozzle next to the blade. Move in and cut, backup just enough to spray the stump being cut at ground level and move on.

It depends upon what you are doing with the ground, but pushing over trees and stumps leaves a hole in the ground and jagged roots all over.
 
Frill the tree trunk and squirt some 24-D Amine into the cuts. Tree will die and not resprout. Best time to do is when the tree has leaves and actively growing.
 
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