Getting rid of mesquite

[bdog]

I bought a place in west Texas and have about 80 acres that were once a cotton field, then CRP, then go and is now over grown with mostly mesquites and some juniper. The junipers are easy enough to dig out with the dozer but the mesquites are a different story. I would say 90% of them are less than 1 in diameter but they are over head high and so thick you can barely walk through them. Dozing them out is very difficult. I can snap them off at the surface no problem but trying to get the root stops my little dozer. I can eventually get them out but it will take a lifetime to get them all at this pace.

I talked with some people and they recommended aerial spraying as the best option but I am hesitant to do that as I don稚 want to kill them all. This place is primarily for hunting. I want to thin them out not have a parking lot. There are some pretty good chemicals to kill them that I read about but can you mow them down first? I have a skid steer mounted heavy duty shredder that will eat them up. Could I go through and do this now while they are dormant and then wait until the spring when they resprout from the roots and spray them then and get effective kill? I am thinking this would logistically be the easiest as I could mow now with my tracked skid steer (no flats) and then rig up a spray rig on my skid steer and go spray the areas I mowed once they start growing.

 

[mwayne]

This may not answer your question directly as my place is not as big and my mesquite problem was not as bad. For the size trees you have I found cutting them off at ground level with a sawzall and applying 15% Remedy with diesel to be by far the most effective, even doing it during dormant season. More effort up front but then you are done. Then make small piles and use your attachment to grind the piles down.
I tried to cut the trees down with a rotary cutter and then immediately spray but that was not at all effective because the tree base shatters and it is impossible to thoroughly apply the Remedy solution.
A guy who clears power lines for a living told me if you cut them with a machine then wait a year before spraying and spray during the peak growing season.
Good luck!

 

[oosik]

I have 80 acres. My ONLY trees are Ponderosa pines. Every spring I go out to my stands of young pines and - identify, cut, drag to pile and chip young pines. This is a process of selective reduction. The pines I cut will be from 1" to 6" on the butt. This results in 900 to 1200 young pines being chipped every spring.

The REALLY DIFFICULT part - dragging these cut pines out of the stands and piling them up. When I'm done cutting the selected pines from a stand it will look like a gigantic game of Pick Up Sticks. Pines laying all over each other and in all directions. Tripping and falling while dragging is a foregone conclusion. I've pretty much learned how to fall and not injure myself.

You might want to consider clearing critical trails throughout your property first. Then go in - off these trails - selectively thin. Having open trails may make the entire process easier.

From what I know about mesquite - it's a lot like Russian Olive. Pretty twisted and many varieties have LARGE spiky thorns.

 

[AWSubie]

I agree with mwayne. If u don’t want to do aerial spraying then the best way I’ve found is cut them off at the base and drizzle glyphosate (roundup) full strength on the base.

 

[Xfaxman]

I did an image search on clearing mesquite and a lot of Grubbers showed up that would work on your CTL:

Here is an old thread: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...ent/311893-does-grubbing-mesquite-work-2.html


This squeeze type tree puller would work also: Buckthorn Puller - Custom built Skid Steer attachments to fit almost any need you may have.

 

[EddieWalker]

If you do not poison them, any of the roots left in the ground will create more trees.

 

[bdog]

Thanks. I will probably buy one of those grubbers. These areas would be hard to grub though. The trees are so thick. An area the size of a pickup might have a dozen or more.

I know I need to poison them what I am wondering is if I mow them down first to make a passable trail and then spray them with a boom if it will be effective at all. I am sure it wouldn't work as good as manually cutting one and manually spraying the base but I figure even if I have to repeat the spraying a dozen times it would be far faster than doing it any other way.

 

[AWSubie]

Thanks. I will probably buy one of those grubbers. These areas would be hard to grub though. The trees are so thick. An area the size of a pickup might have a dozen or more.

I know I need to poison them what I am wondering is if I mow them down first to make a passable trail and then spray them with a boom if it will be effective at all. I am sure it wouldn't work as good as manually cutting one and manually spraying the base but I figure even if I have to repeat the spraying a dozen times it would be far faster than doing it any other way.

I think that if you mow them you will wind up with dozens of tire popping spears, ask me how I know.

 

[radios1]

maybe advertise "free mesquite you cut" it's great for barbecues!..

 

[EddieWalker]

From what I read when looking into this a few years ago, spraying them when they are actively growing is the most effective way to get rid of them. Spring time when everything else is starting to grow after winter. Then you have to wait a month or two, so it's all dead, all the way down to the roots.

Mowing the new shoots will encourage the roots to send up additional trees. Where you have one, you could end up with a dozen from the roots left in the ground.

 

[Xfaxman]

Old thread about grubbers: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/271803-tree-brush-wedge-style-input.html

And: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/355352-fork-mounted-stump-tree-puller.html

Realized that I can put mine on the SSQA to 3 point adapter and use it on the front.

I will have to convert it from a counter weight back to a grubber :

 

[bdog]

From what I read when looking into this a few years ago, spraying them when they are actively growing is the most effective way to get rid of them. Spring time when everything else is starting to grow after winter. Then you have to wait a month or two, so it's all dead, all the way down to the roots.

Mowing the new shoots will encourage the roots to send up additional trees. Where you have one, you could end up with a dozen from the roots left in the ground.

I guess what I was wondering was if I mow it down now while dormant, wait for the new shoots to come up in the spring, and then spray if it will kill it effectively. Wait a few months and until it is dead and then mow again. I have definitely heard if you mow it it will shoot up more snd have multiple trunks.

With eighty acres and estimating one plant per 5 square feet I have around 700,000 plants. Spraying or digging them out individually doesn't seem too feasible. They are so thick and thorny I can't even walk through them much less get through there and spray each one. Shredding,waiting for new growth, then spraying with a 10' boom or something, then waiting and shredding again. seems like a logistically doable approach I just don't know how effective it will be.

 

[tmc_31]

Bdog, I live near Abilene Texas so I have a pretty good idea of what you are facing with the mesquite. I have done several mesquite removal projects in the area over the years. I use a NH L190 Skid steer with a sheeps foot grubber and a rake (similar to what you might find on a dozer except skid steer sized). This system works pretty well for the smaller mesquites such as you are describing when the ground is damp (usually 2 weeks or so after a good soaking rain). I can also remove fully mature mesquites with this system, it just takes longer, think 5-10 min per tree.

It is a time consuming process but very effective if you want to till the land. As long as you cut the plant below the basal nut (usually 6-8" below the surface) you will see little regrowth.

I have participated in several threads on this forum over the last few years regarding mesquite removal. There is some good information there, If you would like to talk about this you can pm me. I would be happy to share my experiences.

Tim

 

[Beeenvenue]

Lots of anecdotal stories. Some work some don’t. Here’s the Bible on mesquite.

Brush Busters: How to Beat Mesquite - Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

TLDR; remedy 1:4 mixed with diesel, spray anytime on saplings to full trees.

My anecdote: on 14 acres previous owner had dozed the land. Billions of pinky to thumb size shoots. I used 2 gallons of remedy and did as many as I could, individuals applications April/may. Got 90%! Now I just shred 3-4x/year and occasionally go hit a few stands of the small ones in groves. Very manageable.

 

[jaxs]

It look's like noone want's to answer your question,I will. Mowing/shredding/cutting then spraying regrowth later is the most effective from the point of labor and expense. Everyone is harping on the fact multiple sprouts will spring from each stump but that's actually a good thing. Why? Because there will be more leaves to absorb herbicides and translocate them to roots. Depending on weather,it might be more effective to delay herbicide til early fall or following year. Livestock and wildlife eat tender growth so it might serve as food supplement until you spray. Juniper doesn't resprout much when cut nor is easy to kill with herbicides so concentrate hand cutting to those. With that out of the way,I believe you need a better understanding for best long term benifits. First off "West Tx" can mean 2 destingth different locations to Texans. Are you on IH35 between Hillsboro and Waco or out in Goathead country in Western half of Tx? You mentioned hunting. Maintaining land for cattle and wildlife demand's different approachs. Even deer and quail management is a different. I suggest you talk to your county agent,TP&WL and A&M about your goals. What your neighbors are doing highly impact's what you can successfuly do on your property so take that into consideration before spending much money and effort then realize it will never work. If your place is near Childress or between there and Sherman,I know an old man with a son and grandson who are life time Texans,ranchers and hunters who like visiting with like minded landowners, touring their properties and sharing ideas.

 

[Granthol]

maybe advertise "free mesquite you cut" it's great for barbecues!..

My thought exactly...cut them stack them up then burn slowly with a pig on a spit hanging over it. No it痴 not helpful, but exactly where my thoughts went.

 

[bdog]

Thanks for the replies and sorry for my very delayed response. My place is located by Spur which is a couple hours NW of Abilene. We have no intentions of running cattle on this property. I met with a TPW biologist who came out to my place and he recommended drastically thinning the mesquite and juniper but not eliminating them. He basically said to leave about a softball throw distance between the trees so there is some cover and not an overgrown mess.