Briars

[Sippy]

What can you do to get rid of them, ours are 3' tall over almost 3/4 the property and our deer wont go through them. we mow paths through them that the deer travel, should we just mow all of them?

[Brannon74]

deer love to eat briars. iwould mow routes for the deer to travel and areas for food plots, but would not get rid of them.

[Sippy]

deer love to eat briars. iwould mow routes for the deer to travel and areas for food plots, but would not get rid of them.

what do they eat? every few inches theres a huge thorn

[smokey]

They eat the new growth. I have seen them eat briars in southeastern states, I do not know about Texas. Use them to create funnels! Funneling deer is a awesome way to get them in bow range.

[Sippy]

They eat the new growth. I have seen them eat briars in southeastern states, I do not know about Texas. Use them to create funnels! Funneling deer is a awesome way to get them in bow range.

good idea

[Froggy]

Prescribed fire.

[canny]

Just a good rule of thumb is that if the plant has thorns/spines then theres a 90% chance that its a highly desired food source. The thorns are a defense mechanism that the plants have developed to keep from being eaten.

[kornsqueezer]

If they are wild black berries the deer will eat them for sure. Just cut your trails thru them.

[Sippy]

they are just green vines covered in thorns that are everywhere

[canny]

They are probably green brier, take a picture any post it up next time you can it would help alot more. If it is a green brier species then its one of the prefered species for deer

[WS_AG]

What you are describing is green briar. It is an excellent food for WTD. In the spring it will put on fresh growth leaves and the deer will go crazy for it. You can cut strips through it or shred it all down. When it comes back there will be much more available regrowth for the deer to eat.

[canny]

Just another idea if there are alot of small trees that the briers are growing in I would go in with some brush pants and a weedeater with a saw blade and cut down alot of the small trees, thus kinda creating a brier food plot where the deer can enter and leave more easily.

[Froggy]

If its Greenbriar. Fire will kill it. You won't get it all but you can set it back and open up the understory.

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/greenbrier.htm

Greenbriar
(Smilax species)

Native Americans used:
stem segments to rub on skin to relieve pain and muscle cramps, tea from leaves and stems for rheumatism and stomach troubles, and tea from the roots to help expel afterbirth.
Current knowledge about the plant:
The roots may contain steroid precursors.

[Sippy]

If its Greenbriar. Fire will kill it. You won't get it all but you can set it back and open up the understory.

Greenbriar
(Smilax species)

Native Americans used:
stem segments to rub on skin to relieve pain and muscle cramps, tea from leaves and stems for rheumatism and stomach troubles, and tea from the roots to help expel afterbirth.
Current knowledge about the plant:
The roots may contain steroid precursors.

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thats the stuff

[txtimetravler]

I would say you have a built in groudblind and a food plot all in one place. I woule shred areas and maybe even try to burn a few spots as a experiement. Set up a game camera or blind and see what kind of traffic you get.