Travel corridor maintenance - after the cutting

Spraying or mowing is fine. It's all about the dollars and the equipment available

Back in my weed inspector days we did an amount of pasture and brush spraying with low clearance sprayers and 2,4-D. See if you can locate a good sized brush sprayer with OC nozzles that you can pull behind a pickup or tractor. The municipality or Ont hydro should be able to get you in contact with a contractor.

If you can regularly mow it an have a heavy mower, that is great choice too. Yearly is usually plenty.
 
powdermaker said:
Well I guess I'm outvoted on on use of roundup on this forum. LOL.
Eagle eye, I very seldom disagree with your posts but I've seen whole herds of elk in freshly sprayed GMO canola.
I do agree with everyone on the point that mechanical mowing is the best route though.
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I cannot speak for Elk....possibly they are not as sensitive as moose, but where I hunted moose for years
the moose would always leave a sprayed area for some time after the spraying occurred. They simply moved
to an area that had not been sprayed. Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
I cannot speak for Elk....possibly they are not as sensitive as moose, but where I hunted moose for years
the moose would always leave a sprayed area for some time after the spraying occurred. They simply moved
to an area that had not been sprayed. Dave.
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That is true, but not due to the spray itself but due to the lack of browse in the area that the spray prevents. More of a lack of food, than a chemical in the area. A small area of spraying won't really have an impact on wildlife outside of the immediate spray area.
 
I vote for Round up. The OP is in Kitchener, I can guarantee every farm and golf course around him is spraying round up and other herbicides.

Glyphosate doesn't do anything to deer, but it does kill their browse plantsinI large forestry operations so they move on. I usually cut the brush down then spot spray the suckering plants as they regrow. Knock them back a few times and they should be gone for good. I would then work the soil and plant a cover crop like clover to help keep brush from reseeding back in.
 
The verdict is not out on roundup. There is a class action suit in the US against Monsanto. It may be linked to cancer. I don't know about that But I do know that since the widespread use of herbicides began pheasant, sharptail, and Hungarian populations have taken a tremendous decline. It may be co-incidental but I believe in leaving recreational land in a natural state.
 
Thanks everyone for the awesome input. I have a brush blade that can get through 2" no problem so I've been using that and a chainsaw. This stuff is pretty thick, and very viney, but I've managed to get a good 3' path cleared that's about 60 yards. Pretty steep but it's a saddle and travel corridor so it'll be worth it. Think I'll leave it this season and see how it does. Every farmer here sprays "roundup"/herbicides so if I need to I'll resort to that next season. Thanks again.
 
Jacobpoirier said:
Thanks everyone for the awesome input. I have a brush blade that can get through 2" no problem so I've been using that and a chainsaw. This stuff is pretty thick, and very viney, but I've managed to get a good 3' path cleared that's about 60 yards. Pretty steep but it's a saddle and travel corridor so it'll be worth it. Think I'll leave it this season and see how it does. Every farmer here sprays "roundup"/herbicides so if I need to I'll resort to that next season. Thanks again.
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I have a large property I bought for deer hunting that I have cut about six kilometers of trails about ten years ago and maintain them to this day. I would like to offer you some advice on some tools to make your trail cutting as easy as possible.

Loppers are your best friend for trimming over hanging tree branches and small saplings. You get a lot of output for very little input, a person can lop a long time before they get tired. Using any tool that you swing like an axe or pull back and forth like a buck saw will tire you out in half an hour, bring an axe and a buck saw for when you do need them but they are too labour intensive for long periods of work.

When buying Loppers buy good quality ones and make sure the pivot point is just one bolt like a pair of scissors, don't buy the ones with the power/leverage arm at the pivot point, they are to slow and don't open very wide.

Also for bigger trees up to a good three inches in diameter you can buy a pair of ratchet loppers, they work great, I picked my pair up at home hardware.

A gasoline powered brush saw is great with a steel saw blade, try to buy/find one that is not made in China and make sure it comes with a shoulder harness to reduce fatigue.

I cut all my trails just wide enough for my ATV so I could pull a harrow behind it, drag out deer and carry things like ladder stands and such through the property.

I hope this advice helps you out, For most of us time is limited so getting as much work done with the least amount of effort is the way to go. I wish someone had told me about loppers when I was first starting to cut my trails.

I actually look forward to getting out and maintaining my trails, the initial cutting of the trails is the biggest job but it is well worth the effort in the long run as you make yourself your own custom hunting property.
 
Northshore said:
I have a large property I bought for deer hunting that I have cut about six kilometers of trails about ten years ago and maintain them to this day. I would like to offer you some advice on some tools to make your trail cutting as easy as possible.

Loppers are your best friend for trimming over hanging tree branches and small saplings. You get a lot of output for very little input, a person can lop a long time before they get tired. Using any tool that you swing like an axe or pull back and forth like a buck saw will tire you out in half an hour, bring an axe and a buck saw for when you do need them but they are too labour intensive for long periods of work.

When buying Loppers buy good quality ones and make sure the pivot point is just one bolt like a pair of scissors, don't buy the ones with the power/leverage arm at the pivot point, they are to slow and don't open very wide.

Also for bigger trees up to a good three inches in diameter you can buy a pair of ratchet loppers, they work great, I picked my pair up at home hardware.

A gasoline powered brush saw is great with a steel saw blade, try to buy/find one that is not made in China and make sure it comes with a shoulder harness to reduce fatigue.

I cut all my trails just wide enough for my ATV so I could pull a harrow behind it, drag out deer and carry things like ladder stands and such through the property.

I hope this advice helps you out, For most of us time is limited so getting as much work done with the least amount of effort is the way to go. I wish someone had told me about loppers when I was first starting to cut my trails.

I actually look forward to getting out and maintaining my trails, the initial cutting of the trails is the biggest job but it is well worth the effort in the long run as you make yourself your own custom hunting property.
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This is good advice. We cut about 10 km of trails on our land, and after experimenting with various hand tools, found that loppers and a chain saw were all you need. We would organize a trail cutting party, with three or four on loppers and then flag trees for chainsawing on the next pass. Once the trail was cut, then a annual mowing was all that is required. We never use herbicides our trails.
I was surprised how quickly the animals started using the trails as their own.
 
Eagleye said:
ROUNDUP is Glysophate. It is commercially used by silviculture companies as VISION, sprayed to kill vegetation that is
undesireable in newly planted evergreen areas.
I have seen the effect this has on moose and deer in sprayed areas....They do NOT like it, and will move out, at
least temporarily.
I hate using any chemical means to inhibit plant growth, so I would also suggest cutting the brush. Dave.
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One of the reasons the deer population is such shat in the Maritimes.
 
Herbicides generally emulate plant growth hormones and grow the plant to death. The actual active ingredient will not directly attack mammalian animals. If I remember correctly Roundup is 2-4-D. Quite often the surfactants (chemicals used to make the herbicide adhere to the plant) are made from benzine based compounds and some of these are more nasty than the herbicide they are mixed with. 2-4-D is what is in Weed-n-Feed so lots of people use it in a urban setting for their lawns. Attacks broad leaf (eg. dandelions) while sparing the grass. If you are judicious with your application and spot apply directly to the offending plant you will mitigate the collateral damage as opposed to blanket spraying. I realize you can only do the work when you get the time so not always ideal conditions. If you can get the job done mechanically you are better off.
 
any one tried vinegar/water/dish soap. how would that work? It is suppose to work but never tried it. Clearing weeds etc. around the trailer when I had one I went with roundup because it came in a sprayer jug. I was going to try the home made stuff but moved. I am still curious.
 
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