Sounds like you are right in the range for that type of product. Rock on!

The other thing you can do on the mature (thick bark) trees, is use Pronone Power Pellets. They contain Velpar (hexazinone). They are expensive, but if you've only got 8 acres, you hopefully wouldn't need a ridiculous amount. I have used them (and also used liquid Velpar, as a soil spot treatment), and they do work, though you have to wait for rain to "activate" them. I carry a 4 foot long piece of 3/4 pvc to "guide" the pellets to the base of the tree (drop them down the tube), rather than simply "tossing" them. I use fewer, and they don't end up sitting on top of high grass. The pvc will guide them to the ground, where they can work better/quicker. You'll end up with a defoliatied tree within a few months, along with a 10-20' "ring of death" (dead grass/brush) around the tree.

The liquid Velpar is less expensive, but it is restricted. The power pellets are not.

Velpar will also kill any live oak you can see from where you treat something, so be very, very careful with it.

HTownAg98 said:

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Velpar will also kill any live oak you can see from where you treat something, so be very, very careful with it.

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Very true.

Hey, guys. I'm back and ready to start ridding the property of the dead mesquite trees from last July's Sendero spraying. Some questions I have:

1. The vast majority of trees have died but some have a very small rebudding of leaves that occurred. What is the best thing to do with those trees? Wait for the spraying window and respray the tree's new growth or go ahead and try to knock it down knowing I obviously didn't kill the whole root?

2. What's the best way to get rid of thousands of small *DEAD* mesquite trees? Am I breaking these things off at the ground, piling them up and burning them? Using a front-end loader to scrape the ground?

3. Have discovered our property has a healthy population of honeylocusts. Not good. We sprayed some last July with Sendero and it looks like it works on them, but I'm curious if there's anything we need to do differently to get rid of them after they die. The thorns on those things make mesquite trees look tame.


Any other advice? We are currently working with Falls County to hopefully get some help with some dense brush patches. A long way to go.

oldarmy76 said:

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I sprayed lots of small mesquites in a field that had been shredded multiple times in the past last summer. Used remedy and diesel. Vegetation all fell off and trunks looked like twigs. Just about the time I was going to mow them under this spring aboit 50% of them sprung up fresh green from the root area. Very frustrating!
I guess work them over again this summer? What dye do y'all recommend with diesel? Most of the dyes say water soluble so not sure if it's effective with diesel.

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Yep, me too. Screw it I'm going to try Sendero, I know it's more expensive but damn the pastures would look great if thos small mesquite and huisache were gone from the remedy.

Item 1 - yes wait til soil temp is in effective range and re spray the remaining green foliage.

Item 2 - sendero out of a tractor or mule and spray boom or wand is perfect for small waist size mesquite and lower.

It kills jumbo trees dead too, but you have to soak the entire canopy and the amount of wasted chemical and drift is a big problem once the trees get big. When large like that and we want to clear that area, we grub w an attachment that will pull up the tap root, rake, and burn.

Do not try to mow or break them off at the soil they will just regrow.

No idea on 3, we don't battle HL at our place.

dr_boogs said:

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Item 1 - yes wait til soil temp is in effective range and re spray the remaining green foliage.

Item 2 - sendero out of a tractor or mule and spray boom or wand is perfect for small waist size mesquite and lower.

It kills jumbo trees dead too, but you have to soak the entire canopy and the amount of wasted chemical and drift is a big problem once the trees get big. When large like that and we want to clear that area, we grub w an attachment that will pull up the tap root, rake, and burn.

Do not try to mow or break them off at the soil they will just regrow.

No idea on 3, we don't battle HL at our place.

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Thank you for taking the time to reply. I'm mainly asking for advice on how to get rid of the trees that are now dead after we sprayed with Sendero last July. We have hundreds if not thousands of dead adolescent trees to clear from the property, most of which are 5-6 feet or taller.

Over time they will fall over and rot. That process will be quicker if you have cattle. Otherwise use a bucket on your tractor to pile them up. Burn the piles if warranted.

You'll likely have to go back and re-treat the plants that didn't die after the initial treatment.

I recently acquired a small place that has some small mesquite in a few pastures. Some are around pecan and live oak trees. Anything safe to use with those other trees nearby?

Quote:

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Thank you for taking the time to reply. I'm mainly asking for advice on how to get rid of the trees that are now dead after we sprayed with Sendero last July. We have hundreds if not thousands of dead adolescent trees to clear from the property, most of which are 5-6 feet or taller.

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I don't know your budget, but I seem to recall you were working with between 25-50 acres of infestation.

I had about 20 acres of heavy mesquites, some of them quite mature. After letting all of them die (Remedy + diesel applied basally) and waiting 6 months or so, we hired in a big 300 HP HydroAx to mulch it all up.

It wasn't cheap at $2,800/day, but in a little over 3 days it was handled.

bmfvet said:

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I recently acquired a small place that has some small mesquite in a few pastures. Some are around pecan and live oak trees. Anything safe to use with those other trees nearby?

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You can do the stump treatment with few caveats. Be careful around live oaks that have those little sprouts popping up, and don't get any chemical on those. Also, be conservative in your application on the cut stumps. It's a little more of a pain, but if you can use a paint brush to apply the remedy/diesel mix to the cut stump surface, you'll get less runoff. I've used it under trees and in ornamental beds without fazing anything. Just be very careful with it.

Yeah, your best bet is to knock them down, after the tree has had a chance to "rot" for a year or two. You can also just turn cattle loose, and they'll knock/rub over the small ones. The 3"-4" or so, and bigger, will require you to deal with them. A mulcher will work well, but those guys aren't cheap.

Also, for anyone looking to have mesquite spraying done, I'd recommend at least thinking about the new stuff, "Invora". Not saying it kills any better than Sendero, initially, but it's supposed to keep stuff "dead" on the sprayed property at a MUCH higher rate, for up to 10 years. Neighbor of mine had a section sprayed with Sendero, 3-4 years ago. Looked like a 90%-ish kill. Here we are, 3-4 years later, and stuff is coming up, again, all over. I had some Invora done about 2 years ago, on a small pasture of mine. Probably too early to say anything, yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll stay deader/cleaner, a lot longer.

Also looks cheaper then Sendero. Thanks for sharing.

fburgtx said:

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Yeah, your best bet is to knock them down, after the tree has had a chance to "rot" for a year or two. You can also just turn cattle loose, and they'll knock/rub over the small ones. The 3"-4" or so, and bigger, will require you to deal with them. A mulcher will work well, but those guys aren't cheap.

Also, for anyone looking to have mesquite spraying done, I'd recommend at least thinking about the new stuff, "Invora". Not saying it kills any better than Sendero, initially, but it's supposed to keep stuff "dead" on the sprayed property at a MUCH higher rate, for up to 10 years. Neighbor of mine had a section sprayed with Sendero, 3-4 years ago. Looked like a 90%-ish kill. Here we are, 3-4 years later, and stuff is coming up, again, all over. I had some Invora done about 2 years ago, on a small pasture of mine. Probably too early to say anything, yet, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll stay deader/cleaner, a lot longer.

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Thanks. This is good info. I'd like to be able to bale hay next year but that means I've got a lot of clearing to do. So I'd like to take a more active role in their removal. Appreciate the insight.

Just be sure to read your product's label closely about hay production and mulching or removal of dead trees.

Here is Invora's. Can't use it on hay production areas and trees must decompose on site.

I'm assuming cut and paint method is better as well.

I'll chime in with basal treatment for anything with greenery this year.

Curious question: why would one even consider shredding after spraying? Even small Mesquite a few feet tall have thorns long enough to take out an inflated tire. Unless the equipment you have has tracks or flat proof tires, shredding only spreads the Mesquite shrapnel around the pasture.
I've been using Remedy for a couple of decades, only recently tried Sendero, and let them rest at least a year, until they dry out, then rake the dead tops off with a farm rake into a loader bucket and haul to a burn pile.