I bought some neglected pastures. There's 1 1/2" locusts and cedars in them. I have a mower capable of mowing them, at least I mowed over a few and they disappeared. I got to wondering if that's the right thing to do, i.e., mowing or cutting them vs killing by some other means. Any advice would be appreciated.
Mowing Pasture
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tanglefoot
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Our pastures have the same mix of sprouts, and I try to kill them any way I can. Shredding or mowing seems to be the most common approach.
Butch
Butch
dooleysm
Platinum Member
We had the district forester out at our place a couple months ago and he said it is nearly impossible to get rid of locusts, as they sprout from roots. You have to cut them down and apply some chemical (maybe it was 24D?) to the stumps, and keep at it for a significant period of time. I think if it was me and I was trying to get rid of them, I'd mow them off and keep the pasture mowed.
MMagis
Veteran Member
Keeping them mowed is probably the best approach. They will come back next year, but eventually most will go away. A few will pop up each year, but if mowed yearly they aren't too bad.
chh
Veteran Member
Brushhogging will kill the cedars usually. You could use this on the locust trees:
Velpar® DF herbicide - DuPont Land Management
3cc for a sapling that is 1" at chest height. Spray on the ground at the base of the tree. Rain will soak it in and it will be absorbed thru the trees root system. I have found it to be very effective on honey locust(thorn trees), scrub hickory, scrub oaks, and even green briars(3cc sprayed in a 3'x3' grid layout).
Any survivors/resprouts(there will not be many) after the first year will not usually survive a second treatment.
Velpar® DF herbicide - DuPont Land Management
3cc for a sapling that is 1" at chest height. Spray on the ground at the base of the tree. Rain will soak it in and it will be absorbed thru the trees root system. I have found it to be very effective on honey locust(thorn trees), scrub hickory, scrub oaks, and even green briars(3cc sprayed in a 3'x3' grid layout).
Any survivors/resprouts(there will not be many) after the first year will not usually survive a second treatment.
EastTexFrank
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Cedars you can kill by mowing but not honey locust. Mowing them encourages them to spread from the roots and you end up with a clump of the boogers. You can tell that I hate them. You need some form of chemical control. A mixture of Reclaim and 2-4-D works well but may take a couple of sprayings.
Another problem with mowing honey locust is that those thorns can lay on the ground and cause flats for years. They take a long time to rot down and decompose. My record was 13 flats in one year because I mowed a big clump of them. It seemed that every time I went through that particular part of the pasture I got a flat in the front tires of a 2WD tractor.
What I've been doing lately is spraying to kill the tree, leaving it for a while and when dead, pulling the whole thing out of the ground with a chain. I then use the grapple to move it to the burning pit. Be careful. Those thorns can do you a whole lot of hurt. I had one fall on me once when I was cutting it down with a chain saw. Not one of my smarter ideas.
Another problem with mowing honey locust is that those thorns can lay on the ground and cause flats for years. They take a long time to rot down and decompose. My record was 13 flats in one year because I mowed a big clump of them. It seemed that every time I went through that particular part of the pasture I got a flat in the front tires of a 2WD tractor.
What I've been doing lately is spraying to kill the tree, leaving it for a while and when dead, pulling the whole thing out of the ground with a chain. I then use the grapple to move it to the burning pit. Be careful. Those thorns can do you a whole lot of hurt. I had one fall on me once when I was cutting it down with a chain saw. Not one of my smarter ideas.
MMagis
Veteran Member
I don't think he mentioned them being honey locusts, I was just assuming black locust. They really aren't that bad at all, and honestly the worst thing you can do it disturb the roots.That's when they spread.
Etch
Bronze Member
For me, it's Mesquite! We're in one of the worst droughts in decades here in San Antonio. All the grass is dying, but those Mesquites are thriving with no competition from any other vegetation. Mesquite also have tap roots so they can get water from down deep. If it wasn't for the Mesquite, I wouldn't have had to shred the pasture at all this year, but they grow fast and if you let them get too thick, look out!
The thorns on these suckers can be up to 2 inches long, which is why I had the front tires filled with foam as I was constantly getting flats. So far they haven't punctured the back tires, which are not foam filled. Yesterday I went out to shred and the only goal was to hit the Mesquites. This Weekend I will try to finish up only to have to repeat the process in a couple of months to keep it under control.
The thorns on these suckers can be up to 2 inches long, which is why I had the front tires filled with foam as I was constantly getting flats. So far they haven't punctured the back tires, which are not foam filled. Yesterday I went out to shred and the only goal was to hit the Mesquites. This Weekend I will try to finish up only to have to repeat the process in a couple of months to keep it under control.
EastTexFrank
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You're right, my mistake. My only excuse is that I've been fighting those honey locusts for years and I get kind of fixated on them. My apologies.