Machete Clearing Honeysuckle (lonicera tatarica)

[secureland]

I have a hundreds of honeysuckle shrubs ranging from 1/2" to 2" diameter shoots. I need to clear them out from under my trees before I start cutting.
Does anybody have any good recommendations? I don't have a tractor (which pulls them out quickly), and using the saw is tough, as it wants to pull the chain off. I'm thinking a machete, but don't have one, should I buy one?

Bill

 

[Lignum]

Your truck and a good rope/chain. Tie it up around the base and pull them out. You have to get the root ball out or they will become the 9 headed Hydra in about 2 months time.

 

[secureland]

No pick-up, Yes I know these will comew out easy with a vehicle or tractor, but I don't have either right now. I can pull some of them up by hand. Still wondering about buying a machete. They are very resilient, and if you just pull one up and toss it on the soil somewhere else it will reroot.

Bill

 

[Lignum]

Believe it or not I pulled a ton of that crap out with my 12hp riding mower. If you cant get access to the mower, that sucks. If all you want to do is get access to the tree, the machete will work on the smaller stuff, around 1/2 inch. The bigger stuff will require a lopper. That is why I suggested pulling them out.


If you have time, the Ortho Brush be gone works quite well, but takes a week or more so see the effects, and that will require more spraying later on as that crap takes over real fast.

 

[computeruser]

Machetes work well for this kind of use. I've used mine for clearing up areas of honeysuckle invasions in the nature preserve. Cold Steel makes some good, inexpensive machetes that are a heck of a lot better than the import Chinese crap. I've been happiest with their Bolo style for this kind of work, as it weights the front of the blade more than a straight Latin American style blade.

If your goal is to eradicate the stuff, getting the roots is better. But some machete work followed up with the string trimmer on the regrowth will get the job done.

Alternatively, a clearing saw or a trimmer with a blade would work great.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

We cut lots of Honeysuckle for our surveying. Machetes work OK for just clearing a small line above waist level - when you want to take the whole thing out near the ground we use a Bank Blade (Some people call them a brush axe or brush hook - however I believe the Brush Axe is a heavier built tool). The Bank Blade works really well until the Honeysuckle is more than a couple of inches diameter. Bank Blades are also pretty affordable and can be purchased for less then $ 30 I believe.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Weedwrench

I don't know if you can get this around the base, but if you can, it will probably do the job for you. I've pulled litterally HUNDREDS of saplings with this, from fingerlings up to the max.

http://www.weedwrench.com/

I'm planning to post a review soon, now that I've used it for about a year. I've been pulling oak, hickory, and other assorted stumps with it, up to its maximum jaw capacity. (I got the 2nd biggest unit, by the way, so that means 2 inches.)

A lot depends on the soil, of course. Last year during the summer I was struggling to get 1 inch oak saplings up. This year we've had a lot of rain, and I'm pulling oak & hickory right up to the full 2 inches. Some are dead this year, but some are still alive. I whacked them all down to about 18 inches tall last year, and sprayed them.

What size should you get? The next size up. Whatever you think you need, go one bigger. If the budget will handle it, go all the way up. There are only two reasons to go small:

1. Budget. Nuff said.
2. Terrain - you're going to be carrying this a lot over steep terrain.

Every once in a while one will break off at or below the surface (usually sending you backside over teakettle! ), but for the most part, you get the roots.

 

[gruff4531]

It will work

I use a machete on pretty much a daily basis to cut line for surveying, and they will cut through pretty much anything 1" and under without much of a problem. The machetes we use (we also call them corn knives) are heavier on the point end. If you end up getting one stay away from the cheap ones they sell at walmart.

 

[Joshlaugh]

For work, I cut the honeysuckle at its base and than apply Garlon 4, a pesticide, to make sure it never comes back.

Good Luck

Josh

 

[kevin j]

these are not cheap, but seem to be very well made and US made.
have seen, but not used. I have spent many hours on what we called 'corn knives' also, chopping corn out of soybeans as a youngun, so I think the handle design and weight balance are what I would want.


http://www.woodmanspal.com/


k