Thorny Locusts... how would you remove?

[Richard]

Right smack dab in the middle of the "entrance" between two fields is a small patch of 15/20 foot high thorny locusts. Thorns are five feet in length...(or so they seem) but probably 2-3 inches.

Branches are out from the trunk so you can't really get "close" to the tree without going through/under the branches.

I used hoe to dig some on the back side of farm (what I think were same trees) and was amazed to see, when I pulled them up, it seemed like they had a root system that went on for literally 20-30 feet. It was like under ground tenticles that were rooting out to create new problems. Yanked all those and burnt them. Keep field cut so all that has died.

I did similar to THESE trees but I worked out of state for three years and the farmer who leased the place let them come back.

So... would you take chain saw & cut them down, carry to burn pile and just keep mowing over stumps (flush cut with ground) or would you go extra distance and use hoe to dig them up, create larger hole and fill it in?

There's no way I see doing any of this and not having some of the thorns falling here & there. So, how long might the thorns expect to remain intact before they rot away enough to not be a tire issue?

I know the tree itself can last for years & years, as a fence post... but does that also apply to the thorns??? (I'm thinking surely not?)

 

[RalphVa]

After cutting, apply some full strength glyphosate (Roundup's active ingredient) to the stump with a brush or Buckthorn dauber (online).

Ralph

 

[fried1765]

After cutting, apply some full strength glyphosate (Roundup's active ingredient) to the stump with a brush or Buckthorn dauber (online).

Ralph

Yup....that kills 'em.....forever!

 

[Richard]

Nice, don't have to dig/fix a hole!!

 

[Hay Dude]

Right smack dab in the middle of the "entrance" between two fields is a small patch of 15/20 foot high thorny locusts. Thorns are five feet in length...(or so they seem) but probably 2-3 inches.

Branches are out from the trunk so you can't really get "close" to the tree without going through/under the branches.

I used hoe to dig some on the back side of farm (what I think were same trees) and was amazed to see, when I pulled them up, it seemed like they had a root system that went on for literally 20-30 feet. It was like under ground tenticles that were rooting out to create new problems. Yanked all those and burnt them. Keep field cut so all that has died.

I did similar to THESE trees but I worked out of state for three years and the farmer who leased the place let them come back.

So... would you take chain saw & cut them down, carry to burn pile and just keep mowing over stumps (flush cut with ground) or would you go extra distance and use hoe to dig them up, create larger hole and fill it in?

There's no way I see doing any of this and not having some of the thorns falling here & there. So, how long might the thorns expect to remain intact before they rot away enough to not be a tire issue?

I know the tree itself can last for years & years, as a fence post... but does that also apply to the thorns??? (I'm thinking surely not?)

Have a customer with that junk. Calls me every 3 years and asks me to cut it down. Its like 15 tall and 2-3 inches at the base. I back my 15 bush hog into it and knock it over then grind it up good. Havent gotten a flat tire yet and consider myself lucky.
He wont use glyphosate. Says the stuff kills people.

 

[3gunr]

Unfortunantly i have hundreds of honey locust on my farm .I am now cutting them and spraying with tordon. Problem is i dont have a grapple so moving them is a problem. I f you push them they leave the thorns all over hoping to get a grapple this yr.

 

[pmsmechanic]

What about putting some straw bales around the trees and burning them even before you cut them down?

 

[jmc]

I popped out a few hundred of them after realizing they send up suckers if you leave a stump. IIRC, they still sent up suckers just from the long roots remaining after removing the stump, but not as many. Bushhog the area when the ground is firm so the tire tread keeps the tire carcass off the ground.

 

[the old grind]

Black Locust thorns are predominant on medium-sized branches. I have a patch of them that only now I can drive through/between w/o getting my hat pulled off. Once they're about post-size/diameter (soon) I plan to cut/grapple/clear the area and harvest. (deer bed there) Locust is a top firewood, up there with apple & mulberry for BTU/volume. Not fun to process for that, though.

I'm all for painting stumps after cutting. I no longer dig them out and I grind many stumps as well as 'paint' 'em.. For that I use a ~ 50/50 mix of 42% glypho and 2-4-D (Amine 400, etc) which gives it a color and odor nothing like unadulterated glypho. A customer/client doesn't need to know if 2-4-D has been spiked. Oh, and the whole cut needn't be painted, just the outer 1-2". Re-treat if you see suckers sprouting from the exposed cambium.

 

[grnspot110]

Tordon RTU on the stumps!