Cut & Paint Stump Method – For the larger trees with trunks two or three inches in diameter, we find this method most efficient. This situation arises most often when yaupon have grown right up next to a nice larger tree. The yaupon often forms a thicket around the larger tree and some of the yaupon is quite large and tall, growing up into a tangle in the limbs of the larger tree. Poison ivy may also be on the main tree and obscured from view due to the yaupon so we are always very careful around these yaupon clumps. See post of August 5, 2010 about how to handle poison ivy.
First, we use the chain saw to cut the yaupon, close to ground. We pull the yaupon out of the tangle and stack it. The pile of cut yaupon is tied to a rope that we hook to the hitch on the ATVE and drag it burn location. More on our brush burning pile later.
Next is the painting process. We mix Remedy with diesel oil or vegetable oil (whichever one is cheaper, right now I think diesel is cheaper) and a squirt of liquid dish soap and apply it to the stump with a paint brush. The Remedy is the key ingredient; the oil’s purpose is to make sure the Remedy sticks to the trunk and doesn’t just run off to ground. The soap is a surfactant, meaning in small amounts it reduces the surface tension of the Remedy/oil mixture so that the surface contact between the Remedy mixture and surface of the yaupon trunk is increased. As an aside, the word “surfactant” is “surface acting agent” run together. The mixture is applied immediately to the fresh cut surface and down the sides and all the way around the stump from cut to dirt. When yaupon attempts to grow, it sucks in the poison which kills the roots. Our non-scientific survey of this method is 99% effective to prevent re-growth of the yaupon. Care is needed to prevent getting the Remedy mixture on other trees as this stuff seems to kill everything it touches. You don’t need a chemical license to buy it. We purchase it at Tractor Supply in Brenham for about $100/gallon. It’s expensive but by mixing and using it properly, it goes a long way
2 comments:
How much Remedy and oil do you use with the "squirt" of liquid dish detergent?
I use 1 part Remedy and 3 parts water or oil to make about a quart of solution total, with a squirt" of detergent. If I'm mixing a gallon of solution, I put in a bit more detergent-I just eyeball it and don't put in so much the solution gets too foamy. Good luck with your yaupon treatment!
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