Briar removal

[viking65]

I need to clear the perimeter of my property and an acre or two of woods of briars. I have briar bushes everywhere. Most of these briar bushes are very large, some of these briars are 12' tall or more and have entangled themselves in the trees. I have just started to cut them down with a chain saw and brush cutter and now I have piles of tangled briars. The first mangled and tangled pile I loaded into my 12' trailer and pick up bed with a pitch fork and took to the dump. I cut the heck out of my arms and hands on those darn things. It took a long time to just to get rid of this one pile.

I have considered buying a chipper shredder (I looked at a Makissic Mighty Mac, 10hp Troybilt and a Woods 5000 series) but untangling these briars so they will fit down the chute will be quite difficult. I thought about buying a rotary cutter and backing over the briars with the tractor and rotary cutter. Burning is not an option.

Any better ideas?? I am not having any fun with this project at all.

 

[RodgerF]

I did the same thing last year and have a little more to do this year if the mud ever dries out. I used the teeth on the loader to pull the briars/vines out of the trees then used the loader and box blade to to dig them out of the ground. I too loaded them in the truck and hauled them away.

I'm thinking this year to finish the job I'm going to get a brush hog and chop them up. Too much work loading and unloading them.

Rodger

 

[Gatorboy]

I drop the FEL down into the bush and then back out which usually pulls a majority of the bush out of the ground. After that, I take my rotary mower and lower it over the pile I pulled out, and also over the remaining portion still in the ground.

The mower cuts it up pretty darn good, and it doesn't take long for the clippings to decay.

 

[RalphVa]

I chopped up briars and big oriental bittersweet vines that I'd cut away from some black walnut trees. Took the LX4 down there yesterday (made all sorts of mistakes; see under Owning/Operating general section). Chopped them up pretty good.

Day before yesterday, I chopped up some briars and smaller stuff on a new trail bypass that I'd cut with my Gravely bush hog. Stuff yesterday was too big for it and too big a landscape area, as I wanted to go around under all the tree drip lines.

Ralph

 

[getut]

I had a combination of briars and honeysuckles that had formed a webbing from tree to tree about 30 feet high behind my shed. It was a mass of solid vines from ground level up to the tops of the trees. I just kept backing into it until I had it all chewed up. When I encountered a vine larger than the rotary cutter could handle I stopped and cut it off below ground level with a chainsaw. Most of the stuff pulled out of the tree tops on its own.. but some of it did rip off and stay in the trees. That part has died over the last year and has just about completely fallen or blown out of the trees now. It looked bad for a while, but is looking much better now.

 

[viking65]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I like the rotary cutter idea. I looked at and priced a Woods RCC42 (42" Estate Series) rotary cutter for $879 today, and a King Kutter 48" cutter for $596. I guess I'll just have to buy a new implement...darn /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[deere_x475guy]

Be real careful pulling those vines out of the trees with your bucket. I did that last year and almost had a terrible accident. The 1' diameter dead limb that I didn't notice got pulled lose with the vines and came withing inches of the top of my head. Scared the **** out of me!!!. I was very lucky.

 

[RodgerF]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Be real careful pulling those vines out of the trees with your bucket. I did that last year and almost had a terrible accident. The 1' diameter dead limb that I didn't notice got pulled lose with the vines and came withing inches of the top of my head. Scared the **** out of me!!!. I was very lucky. )</font>

I watched that carefully while I was doing it. I also have a pretty nice hard canopy that should help save my melon. Hopefully I never need to find out. Glad to see you didn't get hurt.

Rodger

 

[1bush2hog]

Oriental bittersweet? What a PIA! This is one of the most agressive invasive species.

If you used your rotary cutter to chop it up, look out this spring, it will come back with a vengence unless you got the roots too, and/or treated with a herbicide.

My property has quite a bit of this stuff and I have used a logging winch to pull some of the larger vines(2-3in dia) out of the ground. I used Remedy herbicide last year on some other. that I had bush hogged before I found out that cutting it only makes it multiply with great tenacity.

I'll let you know this spring when things start coming back out, how the remedy worked. I do expect to have to apply multiple treatments over a few years based on what I have read.

 

[rdbrumfield]

I make short work of briars. I use the loader to pat them down as I mow over them. They are a mess to go through, but they mow easily. Be sure to wear protective gear. I sometimes wear my full face motorcycle helmet. Sure saves the hide and getting slapped with limbs.