Novice question

[mitramarket]

I hope this is the correct place for this question...

My wife and I are beginning to clear a 10 acre lot in central Texas, with the aim of building on it within a year.  The lot is riddled with honey locust trees (they have obscenely long thorns).  What is the most efficient way to kill these horrid things?  I've been told that their root systems allows them to sprout pretty much anywhere.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Manny

[yukon cornelius]

First of all welcome! This is a great place for questions like that. I cannot stand those! I say sell it, cut your losses and move lol. Someone else here will certainly be able to help you.  :D

[Magicman]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, mitramarket, and "horrid" is a very good description.  I am also "richly blessed" with them so I feel your pain.  They drop sweet seed pods which are favored by a variety of critters who pass the seed along in their droppings.

Hack & squirt as well as spraying the trunks with a 1-4 mixture of Garlon 4 and Diesel will kill the trees.  They are shallow rooted so the stumps are fairly easy to pop up, but the thorns are murder on tractor tires.   :-\

[Chuck White]

Welcome to the Forestry Forum, Manny!

Heck, even the thorns have thorns!

If it were mine, I'd cut what I could into firewood, then chop, chip or squirt the rest.

It's important to keep it trimmed back if it sprouts again.

Works pretty good when you can get it down to manageable size, then brushhog it every year until it stops coming back!

[Larry]

Welcome mitramarket.

I did TSI on 40 acres.  Part of the plan was I had to kill all honey locust.  I girdled the trees twice cutting just through the bark.  I also sprayed herbicide in the bottom girdle.  I used one of these three.  Straight glyphosate  (Roundup) during the growing season, a 2,4-D product, or rtu Tordon any time of the year.  They all did the job but I used more Tordon than anything else.  All three can be found at most farm stores, just make sure of the concentration.

I let the trees stand for a couple of years until all the bark and thorns fell off.  It was easy felling the trees than.  The big logs were sawed for cabinet lumber but most went to firewood.