I've got a ~ 15 acre woodlot I need to remove invasives from.
I have a grant from USDA that supports first mechanical removal via pulling up by roots and/or cutting, with two followups with herbicide. I have a whole year to complete the mechanical part I plan on doing the work myself. What I'm dealing with is: bittersweet, multiflora rose (not much), bayberry (fair amount but not thickets yet), honeysuckle, and buckthorn. The larger honeysuckle and buckthorn I'll use a chainsaw on paint stumps with hebicide, lopp off any bittersweet that has started to climb paint those too. I have a forest management plan in place and have studied these particular invasives.
What I'm wondering is what have people used on smaller stuff to pull these up by the roots? The bayberry , buckthorn and multiflora rose can't be done by hand due to the thorns. I have a 9N ford tractor I can use to pull with for stuff too large to be done manually. I also have logging chains.
One of the things I've seen is called the "brush grubber". A chain setup that can get wrapped around clumps of brush. For small stuff it looks like it would work by hand and avoid the thorns, bigger clumps I could use the tractor for pulling. Anyone used one of these?
I'm open to any other ideas? Have thought of using loops of cable too.
I have a grant from USDA that supports first mechanical removal via pulling up by roots and/or cutting, with two followups with herbicide. I have a whole year to complete the mechanical part I plan on doing the work myself. What I'm dealing with is: bittersweet, multiflora rose (not much), bayberry (fair amount but not thickets yet), honeysuckle, and buckthorn. The larger honeysuckle and buckthorn I'll use a chainsaw on paint stumps with hebicide, lopp off any bittersweet that has started to climb paint those too. I have a forest management plan in place and have studied these particular invasives.
What I'm wondering is what have people used on smaller stuff to pull these up by the roots? The bayberry , buckthorn and multiflora rose can't be done by hand due to the thorns. I have a 9N ford tractor I can use to pull with for stuff too large to be done manually. I also have logging chains.
One of the things I've seen is called the "brush grubber". A chain setup that can get wrapped around clumps of brush. For small stuff it looks like it would work by hand and avoid the thorns, bigger clumps I could use the tractor for pulling. Anyone used one of these?
I'm open to any other ideas? Have thought of using loops of cable too.