Saplings and brush around pond banks. Suggestions?

[big bubba]

welcome to this forum
can you post a few pics of your challenge? would be interested in the type vegetation, & the dam areas you'll be working. i maintain 3 pond areas that i have landscaped, so things under control. lots of good advice here...my 1st priority on equip would be safety, am sure it's your top priority. 5 acres is a large pond, a worthy project
do post some before & after pics as your project advances. best of luck

 

[Hay Dude]

Weed wacker with a saw blade to open them up followed up by a strong dose of Roundup on the stumps.
We are doing remediation of retention/detention basins and working with a local conservancy to remediate phragmites.

 

[mikester]

It's old school but a sickle bar mower would be less weight hanging over pond

Old school sickle mowers clog up fast with bullrushes and saplings. I will sell you my old school sickle mower if you want to try it for yourself. I don't use it because I waste more time unclogging it than cutting stuff.

I'd buy an offset flail mower.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

We used sickle bar mowers to cut hay grass when I was a kid. We never cut brush with them, that was what the brush hogs were for.

I would suggest an offset flail or offset rotary mower.

Skip to 2:39 if you just want to watch the flail in action. Just one of many models out there.

 

[big bubba]

know most people use round up religiously, but i wouldn't dream of using it adjacent to watershed.
but the weed wacker blade idea works quite well, but i'd say 1-2" or so would be the limit. used one recently to take down dead standing groves of bamboo killed to the ground by the sub zero temps. better than chainsaw.
good luck w/project

 

[RalphVa]

New tractor owner looking for some advice. I have an issue around my pond with some plant I can't recognize that likes to grow right on the water's edge. They can get quite large if left unchecked. I let them get a bit out of hand last summer and had to spend many hours with the chainsaw addressing the issue over the winter. Now there's small stumps and the freaking buggers are starting to come back again. I'd rather not have to back a bushhog up and down the bank over and over and larger the batwings seem like a bit much for my needs. Anyone have any suggestions? would a flail work well?

Note, my tractor doesn't have remotes or a 3rd function, but I've considered adding them, if needed.

Also, I'm aware of the laneshark, but I'm seriously wondering if it's worth the price. For most of my cutting needs, a bushhog would work very well. I only need something like this for the pond banks.

The pond is roughly 5 acres. Some of the bank edges have a ~1 - 2' drop to the water.

I'd cut and paint the stub.

 

[jjp8182]

Yeah, but what about the annual cost of kibble?

I suspect that'd be largely offset by the manure/fertilizer sales....

....and they'd make excellent help for tree trimming too.

As for the vegetation you're dealing with, it'd might be helpful to figure out what they are and if it'd be better to cut them off or remove them roots and all (at least as much as possible).

 

[K5lwq]

I have a ditch bank flail and yes it will do a great job keeping your banks clean. However, I would not cut any saplings over a inch with mine.

I would get the saplings out first then stay on top of it with the flail.

If you decide to add remotes to your tractor for a flail, make sure at least one of them has float. It works so much nicer if you can put the rotational cylinder in float so you do not have to constantly have to adjust the angle.

 

[Smokeydog]

2-4D amine will kill broadleaf plants but not grass. Good stand of grass helps crowd out other plants. It is a plant growth hormone that makes broadleafs grow themselves to death, make grass a little greener.
My spray of choice fence lines and pastures.

Roundup kills everything and is hard on aquatic life. Glycols bind with oxygen in the water and the fish suffocate. Places I’ve used roundup the stuff that comes back is worse than what I killed. Use sparingly on driveway or gravel trails where I don’t want any vegetation.

Country agent will offer good advice for your land and pond. Take advantage of free professional advice that you already paid for.

I back my rotary cutter to the pond edge. Takes longer but I feel safer. Some parts have steep drop offs. Part of my shoreline has bottomless grease like mud so have to be mindful of weather and season. I’ve been stuck more than once.

 

[jeff9366]

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