How to Kill Cactus?

[texashunter74]

Anyone know of a good herbicide to kill cactus? All this rain has caused the cactus on our lease to explode. It is growing up around the feeders and blinds and I am tired of getting stuck evertime I get in and out of my blind and fill my feeders.

[Jaspro]

By cactus do you mean prickly pear?

If so Tordon is the best and Remedy mixed with deisel will do it just mix it stronger than recommended or it will just make it sick. If it were me I would go to TSC and buy a pear burner and just toast them.

[eradicator]

What kind of cactus? We use REMEDY down around Ft. Stockton to help keep the roads clear. It'll kill mesquite, sagebrush and all of those stick cacti. I'm not sure about prickly pears. Our landowner when we had a lease at Throckmorton had the prickly pears sprayed commercially. I'm sure Jaspro would know.

[trailboss]

Our rancher did ariel spraying for them on our ranch last year. According to him, it takes 3 years to kill (3 sprayings). We can already see some effects. Doesn't appear to have any effect on other vegetation. I'll see if I can find out what it is they used.

Trailboss

[Russ81]

Roundup 4oz. to a gallon of water ain't bad

[cj7zrcool]

Originally Posted by eradicator

Our landowner...had the prickly pears sprayed commercially.

Our's supposedly did, too. Not one plant died! I told her I wanted the contract this year and would guarantee the same results for half the money.

[cj7zrcool]

duplication

[mesquitecountry]

Pretty much napalm is the only effective means. Then it will give you about 5 years and you'll have to do it again.

[Tommyh]

I hear Buck Medley can get rid of it with his laser vision.

[Dave]

Tordon 22K is your best bet. Round up and Remedy deisel mixes won't kill it and even putting hot/over mixed doses won't kill at the same rate and in the end cost you a lot more. Physically removing them works for the small ones but once they get big you either spray them or burn them.

Disking, dozing, root plowing will only spread it out because there is no way you will get every pad and any thing left will resprout.

[dr730]

The only known guaranteed method is to grab it with your bare hands and choke it to death. (sorry, I couldn't resist!)

[BrandonA]

A Tordon, Remedy, Diesel mixture will kill it. If you have a lot it will be expensive. I second the burning. We have a pear burning rig at the ranch. Basically a propane tank mounted on a trailer with three 100 ft hoses. works pretty good.

[glen]

Remedy and deisel fuel mix out of a sprayer

[rberg]

According to the Texas Agricultural Experimentation Station's "Brush Busters" program (http://tcebookstore.org/pubbrowse.cfm?catid=61)you should use the following:
Surmount 1%
Surfactant 1/4%
Hi-Light Blue Dye 1/4%

Mix with water and spray entire area. They found if you damage the plant (run over with a drag or roller), it absorbs the herbicide better.

This method will take 2-3 yrs to get a 80% overall kill.
Surmount is a restricted use pesticide.
Surmount contains picloram and can kill other plants/trees. As always; follow label directions.

[GR5]

I have used Tordon, Remedy and a small amount of diesel. The only negative is that NOTHING will grow where you sprayed for about 2 years. I have had 100% kill on prickly pear

[Dave]

Surmount is the replacement for Tordon22K, both have picloram as the active ingredient. Picloram is a restricted used chemical and will require a herbicide applicators liscense to use.

Using Remedy or Reclaim on prickly pear is really wasting money. With out the picloram you are just weakening the plant but not really killing it.

The best time of the year to treat is the hotest dryest part of the summer when the plant is stressed the most. If all you are doing is clearing out around a few stands and feeders then a tractor with a front end loader might be your best option. It won't kill them but it will knock them back so you won't get stuck as much.

[Chuey]

burn baby burn ......

[SKLOSS]

Bush Hog

[DrenalinJunkie]

can tell ya this............ dont burn em! My wife had one die in the yard, threw it in the burn pile, few months later the dam thing was 5 feet tall!

[txtimetravler]

don't shread!!!!!!!!! Makes more of them!!

Burn or chemically treat.

[Cropduster]

Use "Picklaram" on those things. The spelling probably isn't correct but it will do the job. It will take a few years for the full effect of it to be noticed.

[shaft]

get ya the new hackerdacker weed inwacker and get after it!

[BrandonA]

I will let ya'll in on a little secret. If you burn off the throns and don't kill the cactus you just created a super deer maganent. It will also attract every cow in the pasture so be careful.

[imyomama]

sorry to reopen and old thread... but one of my fields is now getting infested with prickly pears.. i mowed the field and they spread everywhere... what do you think of this site? wondering how and if it works...
http://www.kactuskrusher.com/pictures3.html

[HOYTPRO2001]

4 oz. of Remedy to a gallon of diesel will kill it dead first try but only on warm weather above 75 degrees

[buxNdux]

tordon!!! when spraying pp cover all sides of the pear... surmount is slightly different.. yes they both contain piclorym but surmount also contains fluroxypyr which is soil activated and therefore the private activators liscense. If you can find someone with their liscense it works with a higher kill rate as residual herbicide in the soil continues killing.

[gatorgar]

Burn the thorns off and use it as bait. Deer down here love it when we burn them for our cattle. We call it "chamuscando" lol. Place kids on the other side of the cactus with Red Riders and let them have at it blasting the pack rats that come flying out
Man I miss being a kid

[Mister Bubba's bulletman]

Originally Posted by gatorgar

Place kids on the other side of the cactus with Red Riders and let them have at it blasting the pack rats that come flying out

You alright dude!

[Codie]

Are yall getting rid of your cactus for cattle purposes?

[GoneHuntinAgain]

surmount

[imyomama]

I don't want to use chemicals as I plan on replanting this field for a deer food plot . I also have some fruit trees planted also to attract deer and I don't want to kill them either ...

this field is 10 acres or so ..

here's a pic .. the cactus are all over , but small ... since I mowed .. they're popping everywhere..

[HUNTING_COACH]

Originally Posted by Jaspro

By cactus do you mean prickly pear?

If so Tordon is the best and Remedy mixed with deisel will do it just mix it stronger than recommended or it will just make it sick. If it were me I would go to TSC and buy a pear burner and just toast them.

If you have cattle on the place, or any wildlife for that matter, dont do this. The cattle and wildlife will eat the prickly pear, once the spines are burnt off, due to the nutritional value, the water content, and the fact that it is sweet. If you dont get every spine, the wildlife or cattle will continue to eat, and will not know any better, about the spines. It will kill them once those spines get in their stomach.

The really only way to get rid of them, is to dig them up by hand, put them in a pile, and let them dry out and decompose. They will decompose back to dirt, no seeds, and then you can just spread the dirt out. We did this on 50 acres and now we have no cactus left, as of right now. Of course, we have a Bobcat, which makes it a little easier, but that is the only permanent way that I know of. If we see a little one growing up, we immediately dig or kick it out of the ground and start a new pile.

Hope this helps.

[Stan R]

I have the same problem. I decided to dig them up a section at a time.

This seems to work..

http://gardenweasel.com/weasel_produ...eedpopper.aspx

[paulgmckavett]

We use surmount and grazon next or grazon PD you can spray around the trees

[Andy]

Pastureguard by dow chem cost $175.00 per 2.5 gal, I mix it 2 oz per gal water and 2 oz liquid soap ..........It will dry up the pear works on turkey pear or as some call it jumpping catus,,,,,,,,This will kill all trees also so use it in a hand sprayer . Spray down all leaves, I mix the dye in with it to see that I got all of it.........Mix this at 1 oz per cal water with 1 oz soap good broad leaf killer for weeds. I use it inmy coastal fields.......Good thing it is NONrestricted ..........Thats why it cost so much,,,,,,Just make sure no rain comming for at least 3 days after spraying.... I spray it year round on the pear.......Andy

[jkf123]

I have found that Surmount works best but requires applicators license.
Vista works too. I used it two years ago and got about 70% kill. Does not require applicators license.

I have not tried Remedy with diesel.

[tookeymonster]

Originally Posted by mesquitecountry

Pretty much napalm is the only effective means. Then it will give you about 5 years and you'll have to do it again.

this ^

[froghunter]

i fell the last 5 feet out of my ladder stand once and my lower leg landed on a cactus. i used anger and a shovel to kill mine.