Prickly pear cactus

   / Prickly pear cactus #1  

Cormac

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2005
Messages
23
Location
Park Springs, Texas
Are these easy to eliminate in a pasture? Can I simply cut them off at ground level with the front end loader? Or do I need to dig down? I played around with a pick to dig them out but....
Thanks
 
   / Prickly pear cactus #2  
Scraping with tractor will more than likely spread it around. If its a little it you can grub it out. I had about 5 acres of cactus I sprayed last summer with Grazon PD, made by Dow. I sprayed one application, and a year later the prickly pear withered and turned to dust. Mixed properly, it will not hurt your grassses either.
2.5 gallons will run you about 90 bucks. I have seen it at TSC but it is a restricted chemical so you will need an applicators liscence to buy it there.

KB
 
   / Prickly pear cactus #3  
KrumpsBrother has the answer. Be patient, not an overnight kill. Mechanical removal requires removing roots as well and picking up all pads from the ground or they will reroot and grow.
 
   / Prickly pear cactus #4  
You may want to look up TX A&M Brush Busters. Lots of interesting info. MP

agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/RNEC/Mar1004a.htm
 
   / Prickly pear cactus #5  
Whatever you do "DO NOT" mow it, you will spread it like the plague.
I use the mechanical method on my place (shovel), I never used any chemical application, I figured manual labor was cheaper and I don't have the required liscense nor the patience for it to work.
After four years of digging up Prickley Pear I still find it in places it never was. I carry a sparp shooter on the side of my golf cart just for Prickley Pear.
 
   / Prickly pear cactus #6  
KrumpsBrother is dead on-point here.

Chemical control is ultimately the easiest and surest method of dealing with prickly-pear.

We've spent years and years on controlling these things on our property with good results with spraying easily over any other method.

Grazon P+D was mentioned and it will work. For years we used a mixture of Dow Remedy @1 pint and Grazon P+C (P+D's stronger and more expensive alternative) @1 quart to a 55 gallon tank load as a multipurpose mix for pear as well as mesquite and cedar and jubu. Remedy is very expensive but all-powerful too.

But, we found that a 1 pint each mix of Remedy/P+C/P+D would work as well for a little less money. We spot sprayed from a tractor mounted 55-gallon drum/pto pump set-up and it works fantastic.

We kill 90% of everything we hit and by spot spraying we can control what else is affected. Prickly-pear are odd though. You can cover a pasture accurately and see a wide variety of results. Some pear will begin to turn relatively soon...a week or a month. Others will take months to show signs of the application. Therefore, it's a good idea to hit a pasture as well as possible and wait until the next year to really guage the results. Don't go back in a month a spend a wad on more spray to hit plants that aren't showing distress yet.

You essentially control them as much as you can afford to. As expensive as these chemicals are, you should determine what you want to do (wipe them out...or...clear a particular area...etc) buy and apply accordingly, and then give them some time do their job.
 
   / Prickly pear cactus #7  
Joe - you put any diesel in that recipe?
 
   / Prickly pear cactus #8  
No, the only other ingredient in that mixture is one quart of generic dish washing liquid. It helps the spray stick to the petal or leaves for better absorbtion.

But there are people that use diesel on pear and mesquite by itself, applying mainly around the base, and it will work.

The method and mixture I spoke of above has proven nearly bullerpoof in kill percentage.
 
 
 
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