Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Weed / Vegetation Control Outside of Pond...

Now that it is growing season again (here in SC at least), I am working towards a more manageable way to maintain my fence lines and road beds without having to mow / trim all the time.

I am considering using a herbicide spray from either a tractor-mounted or ATV-mounted type of sprayer to keep vines / brambles off the fences and keep grass down at the bottom of fences do I don't have to trim with a string trimmer.

Also considering a small boom system integral to the sprayer for keeping my roads clear in the heavily wooded areas. I cannot believe how rapidly it can get away from me if I don't keep it cut and maintained regularly.

If we have a heavy rain, then the back portion of my woods which is swampy gets too wet for the tractor to run through and before I know it, I have a mess on my hands.

Do any of you use something like this, and can you recommend a chemical:
http://www.agproinc.com/agproatv.htm

I have used one for years. I mount it on my 4wheeler and use a spray wand. It is 12v. No problems.

YJ, same here. I have a 30 yo Yamaha big bear that has had a spray rig on it for the last 4 years. I've gone with Northern Tool tanks, and whatever 12 volt pump has the highest pressure. My fence rows glow in the dark, but they are clean.

Thank you kindly...glowing fence lines is what I'm after.

I use a Glyhposate product mixed with Sahara to maintain maybe 1/2 mile of gravel roads. If it doesn't rain a lot, one spraying in the beginning of the year lasts until late Sept.

High pressure means nothing without volume; 12v pumps or otherwise.
Which sprays further? A 3 gpm/3000 psi power-washer? Or a 60gpm/80 psi fire-hose?... not to mention that higher pump-pressures (say >60 psi, depending on the nozzle-type) increase the likelihood of drift-prone aerosols.
Shurflo makes a great 3.6 gpm/40psi on-demand pump, designed for high duty-cycles (allows constant spraying, without cool-down intervals for the 12v motor).
Either way you go, you can use a hand-gun for fence-spraying; or use a mounted flat-fan or cone-pattern nozzle that sprays (pivots) out to the side and leaves both hands free to steer (requires a switch-controlled pump).
Something like this...

We have a John Deere Gator with a 60 gallon tank and a 12 foot boom. Used for spraying fence rows. Heavy use in spring. Probably overkill for most people here.

Kelly, I use the high pressure for reach and to blow through the winter rye. I wasn't having good luck with the lower pressure pumps. I should have clarified that.

Surflo does make great pumps and that's what I use on all 3 of my sprayers.

Nice spray rig.

Do you put your own tank / pump together?

I've looked at the Tractor Supply rigs and they look pretty cheaply made for the money.

YJ, never looked at tractor supply, but ultimately I do make my own. The tanks last well from NT, but I always try to find them when the rigs are on sale, then put a Surflo on them when the house brand pump quits.

I would really like a rig like Kelly's, but I don't spray enough to warrant it. Good hoses and spray guns is where I really need to upgrade.

Building spray-rigs is a sick hobby
One can't always find what is really needed on a store's shelf.

Nice rigs Kelly!

Slight hijack here. Do you have any recommendations on what to use to "inject" in River Birch trees to kill them? Pathway by Dow was recommended, but I was wondering if anything else would be better. 6"/8" to 18"24" DBH trees. No matter what I use, it'll have some dye in it to make it readily visible where I was. The plan is to do the injection after leaves are hardened off. I didn't do a transect yet, but they are interspersed among other trees in the approximately 65 acre tract.

Oh man....

I love it! I'll post my pics on the other thread this weekend.

Not too many river birch growing in my neck of the woods, so I'm not sure what all products are effective on it.
IF it's safe to use picloram at the site in question, then I'd say go for it (with Pathway ~ a restricted-use pesticide).
Very few products have the potency of picloram. But, be very careful with this soil-active product; especially with desirable trees nearby.
Pathfinder (triclopyr / general-use) would offer better safety to adjacent trees, IF there's any concern of soil-contamination with Pathway.
Either one will probably work as well as the other. My favorite saying: "You can only kill something so dead"
You can use frill-injection year-round, so no need to wait for leaf-maturity. Also, you might consider cutting down and removing the targeted trees and then treating the cambium layer on the remaining stumps - as shown - unless the dead river birch carcasses represent no future aesthetic issues - whether standing or fallen.

Thanks Kelly. Cutting down isn't really an option as there's literally 100's of trees to treat. Some areas cutting could be worse as widowmakers are a possibility, then it'd take even more time to get them down. I read that I have to wait until the sap is done running in the Spring, as the sap washes off the chemical. The buds up here haven't even opened up with the exception of Maple trees.

1 ml per 2"-3" DBH is required. I'll be hacking into the cambium about 3' off of the ground and applying with a spray bottle. The chemical, if not dyed, will be dyed when I use it.

Leaving the trees standing as dead snags in areas where a tree or limb falling won't be a safety issue is actually better. The dead snags are a boon to wildlife. Birds feed on the insects under the bark, and woodpeckers make nests. There are Pileated Woodpeckers in the area, so their abandoned nests can be used by Wood Ducks. Some trees will be cut, but I estimate less than 2 dozen.

I'll look into Picloram and see if it's a viable option. Buying restricted use chemicals is not an issue, I'm certified for both land and water.

Most formulations of picloram (as in the "active-ingredient", rather than a specific product brand) are restricted-use pesticides.
However, I was mistaken earlier, as PATHWAY is evidently not restricted-use - even though it contains a combination of picloram and 2,4-D.