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Killing prickly pear
#7528104
06/05/19 11:34 PM
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Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 516
Whammer7
OP
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Posts: 516 |
Just got a place with a decent amount of prickly pear cactus. I don't want to kill it all, but I definitely want to thin it out in places. Any ideas?
"Sometimes, too much to drink is barely enough"
Mark Twain
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528111
06/05/19 11:48 PM
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 5,225
Rustler
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 5,225 |
Mechanical removal works best & fastest. be sure to get base 4" + underground.
Pile it all together let it dry a few months, burn.
Surmount / Picloram + fluroxypyr. Tordon22k / picloram. Can take 1 - 3 years to kill.
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528138
06/06/19 12:26 AM
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,797
dogcatcher
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,797 |
Grubbing hoe, grain shovel, wheelbarrow and diesel fuel. Growing up one of grandpa's jobs to keep us grandkids out of trouble, so he had us digging up prickly pear, filling a wheelbarrow and piling it up to burn with diesel fuel. You had better not let a weed grow there either.
Combat Infantryman, the ultimate hunter where the prey shoots back. _____________"Illegitimus non carborundum est"_______________
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528281
06/06/19 04:43 AM
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 19,134
TCM3
THF Celebrity
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Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 19,134 |
Do not forget to entertain strangers, For by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels Hebrews 13:2 (R-TX)
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528297
06/06/19 05:50 AM
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 570
Papalote
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Tracker
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 570 |
Dig it up and pile it. I throw it on cedar piles to be burned when conditions are right. One can dig a large area in short time. Can't burn? It will die if kept off soil or water source.
Papalote
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528299
06/06/19 06:14 AM
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 17,721
Txduckman
THF Celebrity
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Posts: 17,721 |
Have many acres do you have and how many in pears. We have one area that is 20 acres of pears and it is the best area to hunt imo on the edges... Yes maybe too many in that one area but something works... Keeps them funneled imo. We have 1,100 acres though and that is where I am headed first 3 weeks.... But whacking them with an axe does kill them.
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528658
06/06/19 06:11 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,005
HornSlayer
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Our land owner sprays tordon 22 about every 4 year or whenever the soil district has funds. Not sure of the details on what help they provide? Stuff works really well for about 3 years.
They make ammo specifically for hunting for a reason!
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528670
06/06/19 06:23 PM
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,657
colt45-90
Texas colt45
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Texas colt45
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 11,657 |
excellent habitat for rats ect, that attract snakes
hold on Newt, we got a runaway
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528672
06/06/19 06:25 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,179
Tactical Cowboy
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,179 |
Forget digging, dozing, etc.
There’s a new herbicide called MezaVue that is working ridiculously fast. Get a spray tank for a atv/utv and spray the areas that you want to treat.
Another option is prescribed fire, with grazing and/or chemical follow up.
The secret to a long life is to try not to shorten it.
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528702
06/06/19 07:09 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 65,527
SnakeWrangler
THF Celebrity
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Posts: 65,527 |
Controlled burn....it doesn't like fire....
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored] Actually, BBC is pretty damn good "You Cannot Simultaneously Be Politically Correct And Intellectually Honest!"
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7528810
06/06/19 10:31 PM
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Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,102
Bbear
Pro Tracker
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Pro Tracker
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 1,102 |
The Llano county lease I was on had a few spots. Asked the landowner about spraying them with something but, no go on his part. So, we used what was available - poured molasses on the cactus (same stuff you can pour on old hay to get the cows to eat it). Put out a bit of soured corn. Next weekend we had a nicely plowed piece to toss out whatever we wanted to grow. All courtesy of the hog population.
[IMG][/IMG]
Pay it forward - Kids are the future.
Rifles are similar to boats and young women...there's no end to how much money you can pour into them without making them any more useful.
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Bbear]
#7528940
06/07/19 01:18 AM
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Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 516
Whammer7
OP
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OP
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Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 516 |
"Sometimes, too much to drink is barely enough"
Mark Twain
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Txduckman]
#7528943
06/07/19 01:23 AM
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Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 516
Whammer7
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Posts: 516 |
42 acres in Llano Cty. Prickly pear scattered throughout
"Sometimes, too much to drink is barely enough"
Mark Twain
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7529339
06/07/19 04:58 PM
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 86
LoneStarCarnivore
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 86 |
Our neighbor in Kimble County got a grant to pay someone to kill it. I can find out where he got the grant through, he said it was easy and they allotted him something like $12k to kill it on 200 acres.
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Tactical Cowboy]
#7529405
06/07/19 06:48 PM
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 15,645
QuitShootinYoungBucks
THF Celebrity
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Forget digging, dozing, etc.
There’s a new herbicide called MezaVue that is working ridiculously fast. Get a spray tank for a atv/utv and spray the areas that you want to treat. Where can you get MezaVue?
https://web.archive.org/web/20170223065011/http:/www.rrdvegas.com/silencer-cleaning.html
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: QuitShootinYoungBucks]
#7529566
06/07/19 10:32 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,179
Tactical Cowboy
THF Trophy Hunter
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THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 6,179 |
Our neighbor in Kimble County got a grant to pay someone to kill it. I can find out where he got the grant through, he said it was easy and they allotted him something like $12k to kill it on 200 acres. NRCS and the conservation district does it... ask me how I know Forget digging, dozing, etc.
There’s a new herbicide called MezaVue that is working ridiculously fast. Get a spray tank for a atv/utv and spray the areas that you want to treat. Where can you get MezaVue? Farm supply stores, etc. It IS restricted use, so you have to have a license to buy a gallon-sized jug (same as tordon or surmount)
The secret to a long life is to try not to shorten it.
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7530294
06/09/19 02:04 AM
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Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 231
nick_adams
Woodsman
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Woodsman
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 231 |
Spraying is a lot faster and easier than grubbing if you have much to do! I have a lot of prickly pear in a couple of my pastures, and finally finished killing it off in one 20 acre pasture by spraying. Went from having the prickly pear cover a good 30% of the surface area of the pasture (there were large areas you just couldnt walk through), to having maybe one or two small surviving plants per acre. And I think most of those are ones I overlooked in the grass and missed when I was spraying. Picloram (name brand version is Tordon 22k as previously mentioned), works nicely, but is a restricted use pesticide, and is hard to get if you dont have an applicators license. Fluroxypyr works a little better and faster than Picloram in my experience, and does NOT require a license. Both are expensive, but Fluroxypyr is even more expensive, unfortunately. However, you only have to mix either herbicide at 1%, so you can get 100 gallons of spray out of one gallon of herbicide. I mix either at 1% herbicide, 1% methylated seed oil as a surfactant, some blue dye to see where you have sprayed, and 98% water. It has worked great for me, and I have consistently gotten 99% kill with no regrowth over 20 acres and 5 years. Its a night and day difference in the pasture. I use a 4 gallon backpack sprayer, and a 15 gallon tank to refill it from in the field, and that has worked nicely. If you can drive an ATV around close to all your prickly pear, a bigger ATV based sprayer would probably be even better. I tried a bunch of different sprayer nozzles, and I like a flat fan pattern nozzle the best, It seems like I can "paint" the pear leaves quickly and easily with it with minimal overspray and waster. Here is a link to where I get fluroxypyr. Fluroxypyr Website
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7531687
06/10/19 09:00 PM
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Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 73
Schat
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 73 |
The chemicals work well, I would suggest not to grub on a large scale or tight soils. Easy to miss or leave pads, If you burn first and then treat the chance of success is greater due to being able to see all the pads and chemicals is not wasted on grass on the edge of the pads. As mentioned by nick_adams paint the pads well, we sent a lot of time retreating after patching spray job
Fluroxypyr has been expense and it does seem to clog up the spray nozzle if cleaned upped really good. MezaVue Surmount / Picloram + fluroxypyr. Tordon22k / picloram works well on panhandle species .
Last edited by Schat; 06/10/19 09:01 PM.
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7531707
06/10/19 09:18 PM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,072
cabosandinh
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
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Posts: 2,072 |
I don't use chemicals, I do mechanical
1. chop off at base, throw handful of swimming pool salt where base is ($5/50 lbs.... cheap)
2. run over with tractor or skidsteer (track) , this breaks it open and dehydrates. This is my preferred method and is the fastest Radio on, and joystick away..... for big pile of cactus , I do donut hole and the track will tear/crush/mush everything
Last edited by cabosandinh; 06/10/19 09:18 PM.
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Re: Killing prickly pear
[Re: Whammer7]
#7552820
07/10/19 03:16 AM
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Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 516
Whammer7
OP
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Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 516 |
Thanks to you all for your excellent suggestions
"Sometimes, too much to drink is barely enough"
Mark Twain
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