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Post by benmnwi on Oct 21, 2019 9:11:11 GMT -6
I start by going after the buckthorn adjacent to areas with good shrubs. Then the good stuff can expand and take the place of the buckthorn. I've had decent luck with that, but it does require a follow up later to get the buckthorns that are missed and the new seedlings. you will never kill it all, but you can keep it out of certain areas if you follow up.
I have a couple acres with a light oak canopy and lots of sun hitting the ground. This is former pasture ground and the cattle kept the buckthorn controlled, but when the cattle left the buckthorn took over the understory. It's the thickest crap in the neighborhood and the deer like it when the hunting pressure is on. I'm leaving that section alone since I will hold more deer with buckthorn there than without it.
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Post by biglakebass on Oct 21, 2019 9:13:19 GMT -6
whats the mix ratio for diesel to crossbow? Did you have good results? There's a bunch of info out there with varying mix rates. I started out using generic triclopyr at 1 quart per 2 gallons of diesel. I then found some info stating Crossbow was as effective as triclopyr...it's also cheaper and you use less of it. I'd have to go look at the jug, but I believe I was using a pint per 2 gallons of diesel. From what I can tell, every thing I hit last winter is dead. I will need to go back in and hit all the new seedlings that have germinated thanks to getting sunlight now. I know I will never win the war, but my intentions are to at least keep the shit from taking over my entire property. There's research out there showing that there are more predators in areas with lots of buckthorn and fewer deer. I don't know if that's agenda driven research or not....but it is at least worth being aware of. Part of my desire to do "something" is that the forester we had do our stewardship plan said that once the buckthorn takes over completely, few native trees will ever have a chance because they will be completely canopied from any sunlight. Secondly,,,,, for deer hunting its a bitch looking at a wall of brush thats still covered in bright green leaves in mid november!
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Post by smsmith on Oct 21, 2019 11:10:18 GMT -6
There's a bunch of info out there with varying mix rates. I started out using generic triclopyr at 1 quart per 2 gallons of diesel. I then found some info stating Crossbow was as effective as triclopyr...it's also cheaper and you use less of it. I'd have to go look at the jug, but I believe I was using a pint per 2 gallons of diesel. From what I can tell, every thing I hit last winter is dead. I will need to go back in and hit all the new seedlings that have germinated thanks to getting sunlight now. I know I will never win the war, but my intentions are to at least keep the shit from taking over my entire property. There's research out there showing that there are more predators in areas with lots of buckthorn and fewer deer. I don't know if that's agenda driven research or not....but it is at least worth being aware of. Part of my desire to do "something" is that the forester we had do our stewardship plan said that once the buckthorn takes over completely, few native trees will ever have a chance because they will be completely canopied from any sunlight. Secondly,,,,, for deer hunting its a bitch looking at a wall of brush thats still covered in bright green leaves in mid november! The stuff can and will take over entire areas when the conditions are right (wrong?). I don't mind having some of the stuff, but I don't want 87 acres of it. The "easy" way to control how much you have is to target the female trees with berries.
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Post by benmnwi on Oct 21, 2019 11:39:33 GMT -6
In our area the deer have plenty of food in most years, so their survival depends more on having a hiding spot to get through gun season than anything else. Buckthorn is awesome in that regard even though it is exotic, invasive and ugly. Thick and nasty shrubs that hold their leaves late are awesome places for deer to hunker down when the bullets are flying. I actually don't really want the deer to have great food sources where they bed so I don't mind buckthorns there (just ideally not the big female ones with thousands of berries). I prefer to have the deer eat where I can kill them, so I'm trying to promote good shrubs around my food plot. I'm spending more of my buckthorn eradication efforts there the last couple years.
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Post by biglakebass on Oct 21, 2019 11:42:55 GMT -6
good idea
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Post by mnfish on Oct 21, 2019 12:19:18 GMT -6
Does buckthorn stump sprount? Will deer browse on it?
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Post by smsmith on Oct 21, 2019 12:29:36 GMT -6
On my old place I had buckthorn and bush honeysuckle, and they both were pretty much out of control. Those two got started there early on and were on the way to out of control before most people really knew what either one was. I put forth zero effort in fighting them there because it was so far gone, it just wasn't worth the fight IMO. The buckthorn there held very few deer, but the bush honeysuckle was tops for bedding. Deer also browsed the B.H. some, I never saw browsing on buckthorn there. Here, I do see some browsing of buckthorn, but very little on the B.H. I'm not fighting the B.H. here (for now anyway)
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Post by smsmith on Oct 21, 2019 12:30:46 GMT -6
Does buckthorn stump sprount? Will deer browse on it? It does stump sprout big time. Deer browsing on it will probably be site dependent.
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Post by benmnwi on Oct 21, 2019 12:32:03 GMT -6
Buckthorn will stump sprout like crazy and I've never seen the deer browse it.
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Post by Sandbur on Oct 21, 2019 13:30:25 GMT -6
A few years ago, I saw a young doe walking through the woods and selectively eating the top green leaves from young buckthorn.
You can create nice trails through buckthorn.
Too late for me to do anything about it.
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Post by smsmith on Oct 21, 2019 13:34:49 GMT -6
A few years ago, I saw a young doe walking through the woods and selectively eating the top green leaves from young buckthorn. You can create nice trails through buckthorn.Too late for me to do anything about it. Yep. On my old place I didn't fight the buckthorn, but did try to use it to my advantage. Deer didn't like walking through thick patches of it, but if you remove some and tie some down or hinge it...you could get deer to walk where you wanted them to walk.
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Post by mnfish on Oct 21, 2019 13:52:06 GMT -6
With my high deer density, im guessing they will browse it. And i need thickets that wont be browsed to "death". Maybe one mans trash will be my treasure. Eliminating it would definetly be almost impossible at my place
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Post by biglakebass on Oct 21, 2019 13:56:07 GMT -6
You have deer in there? I thought you went to pigs?
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Post by mnfish on Oct 21, 2019 14:15:48 GMT -6
You have deer in there? I thought you went to pigs? I do have free range pigs and added turkeys this year. I am not a deer farmer. State animals, including whitetails, roam inside my fenced areas. As soon as the house is complete, the entire farm including the house, will be under 8' fence.
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Post by biglakebass on Oct 21, 2019 14:51:35 GMT -6
Your moving to the becker place?
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