Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Controlling unwanted plants brush and sappling on back side of dam

The back side of my dam has sapplings and small trees starting to grow, some are already 3 or 4 inches in diameter and 8 or 10 feet tall. Is there any thing that i can spray to kill the brush and sappling.

At that size, 8 to 10 feet tall I am not sure there is anything you can spray that will kill the tree completely? Others may have a better idea... A chain saw and some sweaty days may be the only option.

Yea I know that is one option, my fault for letting it get this far but I got to get a handle on it before they get bigger. Thought some of the brush killer that you see DOT use on the highways might work.

Might check out the online info on Tordon for treating cut trees. Also, consider burning if you have the right situation to contain the burn. This may require a couple annual Spring burns.

Talk to the forestry service there is a chemical that all you have to do is hack the tree and spray a small amount of it on the hacked area and it will kill it. I think its called Arsonal but not sure. I had my land sprayed with it a few years back. Any timber management service should know what it is and can tell you where to get it. You might try using Round-up but it needs to be atleats 41% active ingredent.

Roundup poured on the fresh cut stump should work. We have used it to kill Osage Orange/Bois D'Arc/Hedgeapple, which are pretty hard to kill.

I think it's gonna require chainsaw work first to cut the trees back to stumps. Then you can look into adding one of the herbicides to the stumps.

It depends.
If you don't mind the look of dead trees standing then "hack & squirt" will kill them. Hack them with a hatchet or machete & squirt full strength glyfosphate in the cut.
If you don't want the dead tree standing look then cut them down & do the same to the trunk.

Renovate, Arsenal or Habitat will work. No hacking necessary, just spray (saturate) on the leaves and on the truck. Glyophosphate (generic for Round-up) will work as well, although I'd use the 41% stuff and follow their directions for dilution rates. I think Renovate, Arsenal and Habitat are labeled for aquatic sites, not so sure about Glyophosphate.

If you are out in the country, check the local farm store or co-op.

I believe glyophosphate is ok for aquatics. It's the surfactant used that matters.
The non diluted glyfos squirted in the hacks is the recommendation of the NC State Biologist for killing trees.

Big Jake, do you know the species of trees? Some herbicides will control some kinds of trees and not others. Once you ID the trees, then look at the label of say Roundup to see if it is effective. Remedy can be used on some trees as a basal spray without cutting. Leaf application may work, but keep in mind wind drift could damage or kill nearby desirable vegetation..du

Jake,
On small diameter growth such as you have, a quart of Ortho Brush Killer and a $1 throw-away paint brush is a good method. I pour the brush killer in an old coffee can or similiar and paint the chemical on the cut stump and the sides of the stump, clear down to the soil level. Put a good, wet coat on the stump and you should not have any re-growth.
On larger diameter stumps, say 8" or greater, cut numerous grooves in the stump with your chain saw before applying the chemical.

Ive got 30 years in the business of weed and brush control...I would never use arsenal in a situation like yours. Arsenal is way to active, way to mobile and can kill the grass nearby and lead to erosion issues.

Tordon RTU is made to treat a cut stump surface. It will kill the root system and is not a restricted herbicide.

You can "hack and squirt" it as well...three hacks with a hathet and squirt the slit with RTU tree will die standing.

If they are locusts-black locust is worst-cut and treat the stump with RTU. 2,4-D makes em angry and they sprout about 50 new sprouts for every one you mess with

Habitatpro, you probably know this, but as a FYI, Surmount with Inergy as a surfactant is an outstanding way to control small locust or the sprouters from cut off mature trees. After three years, I have essentially a 0% return of locust sprouters from previously sprayed trees...du

David...Surmount for many brush species is fantastic but as a foliar spray. The knock on it for many is it is a restricted use herbicide. But Surmount is a great product as well is Forefront for weeds.

Thanks to all those that comented, I have been out of town and just now able to follow up to say thanks for the advise. I think I will try the 41% round up. I will let yall know how it goes.

Thanks, Jake

Jake I'm doing the same thing with our pond. I'm using the roundup on freshly cut stumps and so far it is working. I've got the 41% stuff and put it full strength in a spray bottle. Cut the tree down and spray the stump. It changes color very quickly. This helps you to know what you sprayed and what you missed. Good luck.

I hate to tell you this, but it might be too late. If those root systems are well developed and deep, you may do more harm that good killing those trees. Once those dead roots rot out you will have extensive tunneling. They will rot and water will find it's way in, that is inevitable. I take my saplings out 1/2 inch or less during the winter when dormant by hand cutting then spraying down on emergents in Spring with systemics.

Why is everybody crying about dioxin, that's right it is banned and causes diabetes for Wilfred Brimly. Agent Orange? That was kiddie stuff. Try Agent Purple, three times the dioxin as orange and a bonus helping of arsenic. Killed everything, I mean everything. So bad they quit using it and went to orange. Only thing close was super orange, which was less than purple. All 2 4-D and 2 4 5 - T blends. Talk about a toxic cocktail.

Here is one for you. I have to knock down and terminate one of Californias biggest screw ups of all time oleanders. These things are toxic on thier own. Have a ton of pitch and dead leaf generators causing a massive fire hazard. They had them planted for hundreds of miles as center divides on major freeways until they figured out cars would launch over them into oncoming traffic. Caltrans came in and backhoed all of them out, oops.

Mine are at a duck club, in between houses as a privacy fence. They have been hacked before, have multiple stumps and are at least 30 years old. I hand saw and chainsaw then to nothing, and still they remain. I'm thinking a fresh painting of the cuts, with any ready to use or mix product, and then more systemic on new growth and then cover with heavy duty weedblock. Any thoughts here would be appreciated.

Does this help?

http://ag.arizona.edu/pipermail/arid_gardener/2005-May/002344.html

Amazingly I cut the worst one back, close to 30 limbs like a hydra but way, way back, and no new growth zero. I am going to load it up under a pile of hot compost and a heavy landscape cloth held down with foundation blocks and let that stump rot out on its own. I think if you get below the lowest bud unions it cannot regenerate, but I sure would have bet against that before I tried it. I should take some photos. The other stuff is really bad but I just want to start over so I will cut it back to about 3-4 feet and rake back all the years of crap under it. Try to manage it like a hedge.

Another project I have is a spillway clearout. Somebody cutback trees growing in a spillway, and the roots just sent up multiple trunks. They did not follow up and naturally I get called in. Even more fun than that a big ol suger pine timbered in and almost completely blocked the entire channel. I counted 55 rings on the trunk. I am chainsawing this disaster over big ol slippery pond rocks before the channel fills up. I figure a couple of cords minimum. Some of it is soft, some seems petrified and is killing my chains. Then I have to haul out all of the crap, big ol rounds up and out over slippery rocks. I laid bark down just for footing. Going to be a gigantic burn on that material. The trunk is just under 4 feet across. Looking forward to put some war paint on with the kids and dance around like injuns.