Mesquite tree spraying pains

[Bignoles]

I've seen the dozers work together with the BIG chains before. Growing up in ranch country of New Mexico I watched some guys take out lots of cedar trees, but they didn't offer to let me operate one They could turn this little project into a one day job...too bad my wallet can't stand the strain Running the equipment myself would be a piece of cake, but again, not enough $$$ in the budget for rental. Looks like I'm stuck using the chainsaw a lot. As far as gvmt. money goes, they can mind their business and I'll mind mine. I'll get some pics to show what I'm up against later...it started raining this morning and I'm not gonna ask it to stop just for a picture
By the way, J35 is right. Mesquite smoked brisket is some goood eatin.

 

[Western]

what I have seen is they spray in early summer then doze'm out and burn them in the winter. I hunted on a place in west TX that still had the trees standing dead, but they appeared to have been there awhile, we couldn't keep air in any tires!

You may be able to sell the wood for something to one of the area BBQ joints. may at least get something for your time.

Thing about sawing them off though, is you'll have 25 acres of stumps

 

[Bignoles]

Thanks for all of the good advice and ideas guys. I want to get rid of these the best I can the first time

Some mesquites were in the way of my new gate so I cut them flush with the ground. Seems to have worked ok. I can go over them with the mower without the blades hitting.

What bad things could happen leaving the stumps cut off at ground level? I can see ruining a couple of chains on the saw. Sometimes it's hard to think of all the possibles. Could they affect my horses? What about a cow?

Hadn't really thought too much about it, planned in my mind to burn it all, but maybe I can find a market for the mesquite wood like you say.

 

[twarr1]

I've seen the dozers work together with the BIG chains before. Growing up in ranch country of New Mexico I watched some guys take out lots of cedar trees, but they didn't offer to let me operate one They could turn this little project into a one day job...too bad my wallet can't stand the strain Running the equipment myself would be a piece of cake, but again, not enough $$$ in the budget for rental. Looks like I'm stuck using the chainsaw a lot. As far as gvmt. money goes, they can mind their business and I'll mind mine. I'll get some pics to show what I'm up against later...it started raining this morning and I'm not gonna ask it to stop just for a picture
By the way, J35 is right. Mesquite smoked brisket is some goood eatin.

Just curious, If you did rent the dozers where would you get those huge chains? The ones I've seen are made of links that weigh around 40 lbs each. Where do they come from?

 

[Bignoles]

Good point Twarr1, I have no idea where they get the chain from My first thought was anchor chain from a big ship...not too many of those in New Mexico. Wherever they get it, I'll bet it's not too cheap. I have been cutting a little at a time with the saw, cutting out the BBQ wood, and piling the rest to burn. Renting equipment isn't in the cards for me right now. If you find anything out on the chain let us know.

 

[kossetx]

I did a big post about clearing mesquite a while back, so do a search. I can tell you this. I only use the remedy/recaim mix fnow for small, up to 2' trees. Cut stump is the most economical and can be accomplished with a 10% remedy mixture with an almost 100% kill but is a lot of work in the summertime and it is sometimes hard to find all the stems once they have been cut. Miss one and the tree lives. Basal stem spraying is easiest but more expensive and it takes 9-12 months before my tractor can knock out a 4" tree. It's years before a can get a 6"+ tree out, and the bush hog usually does that by accident. The wetter the better for stump removal.

Now the bad news. A mesquite bean can lie dormant for 50 years before germinating. I spray about 5000, under 10" trees a year on 35 acres.

 

[nancyb]

Hi Guys - I have a horse ranch in Central Texas and my worst enemy is mesquite. One of my hands and I have developed an attachment for our skid steer that works great - at least so far. I have not seen, nor heard of an attachment like this. Have any of you? It removes the brush and the entire root system. I have found many that cut it off at ground level, but that is just a bandaid for a short period of time. I have been getting a lot of negative respondes from non-rancher/farmer types as to the possible market for something like this. Any thought anyone? Thanks.

 

[txdon]

nancyb, will it work on a with a tractor skid steer like attachment (Kubota quick attach). Does it uses hydraulics pushing off the ground or just the weight of the tractor?

 

[Bignoles]

nancyb,
do you have pictures? I would be interested in an attachment like your talking about. No skid steer, maybe I could adapt it to my tractor. Pics please

 

[Mike120]

Growing up in S. Texas my grandfather had one solution..."cut them down and burn the stump". It worked pretty good. Once you get rid of them, Kotara Mfg in Stockdale Tx. sells a 3 pt root plow that will keep them gone.