Mark,

Since you are also asking about surfactants, I assume you are considering foliar treatments?

I have used Remedy Ultra mixed with diesel as a cut stump/stem treatment with great success. It uses Triclopyr as the active ingredient. It is not expensive when used in that fashion.

The Renovate 3 is specifically for plants that are already in the water. As is the Aquasweep.

Are the bulk of your invasive woody plants in the water, or on the banks?

If they are on the banks, then I believe cutting and poisoning will be much more effective. I use a brushcutter (Husqvarna 345FR) on that type of brushy material and have someone follow 10 feet behind me with dyed Remedy Ultra - diesel mix. I make the cuts about 8"-24" off the ground so the stems are exposed above the felled material.

We have a very high kill rate with that technique, and very little of the powerful herbicide makes it from the stems to the ground. However, it is certainly more labor intensive than foliar spraying.

(You must have safety rules when using a brushcutter with an assistant. When cutting even a moderate-sized trunk at a slightly incorrect angle, the brushcutter will kickback to the right and up - much faster than the operator can react.)


If the job is so big that you are forced to resort to foliar spraying, then I believe you do need to utilize one of the pond safe products you listed above. The sheer amount of herbicide required for effective foliar spraying almost guarantees that some portion of your herbicide will end up in the pond.

(I have not had great success with foliar spraying on our two most common invasive woody plants - Honey Locust and Siberian Elm.)

Blackberry and willow are species specifically listed to be treated with Triclopyr products. I don't know how waxy their leaves are, but I have definitely had better success on foliar treatments of species with waxy leaves by adding surfactant to my herbicide.

Crossbow (2,4-D + triclopyr) is one of the recommended foliar treatments for Russian Olive. I use lots of Crossbow on our farm every year to kill poison ivy. I have been very impressed with its selectivity to "woody" plants. I have sprayed areas with poison ivy mixed into our tallgrass prairie grass and forb species, and Crossbow only kills the poison ivy. This might be helpful to you to kill the woody species and leave the grass on the pond banks for erosion control.

Good luck on your project!