Mexican pepper (Schinus) invasions

[Bermie]

For you sub tropical crew;
How bad is mexican /brazil pepper (Schinus terebinthifolis) where you are, and how do you get rid of it?
It is our number one public enemy and I detest being asked to clear it!!! I swear the stuff is evil, it fights back, lashes you across the face, grabs you behind the knees, pokes in your ears and up your nose!! If you are allergic to poison ivy it can give you a rash too.
The only final satisfaction is a bonfire, a chipper and a Garlon party for the stumps.
I have heard it is a problem in Florida too, any comments?

 

[Kate Butler]

Brazilian pepper

Yes, a huge problem in Florida. It's one of the non-native invasives that have been mandated (by the state) to be eradicated from properties before a Certificate of Occupancy will be issued to a new homebuilder/owner (new construction only). Also meleluca and Australian pine and a number of others.

I like Roundup - undiluted - in a trigger-spray bottle. Spray it IMMEDIATELY on the stump after cutting. It won't come back.

Big peppers are a trip: the wood is VERY dense and heavy. And you're right about the "whippy" aspects of the young growth and the rash for some sensitive folks.

Although I'm from Vermont, but I grew up in S. Florida and work winters there. Mostly logging out 80' pines, but quite a bit if big pepper, too.

 

[Bermie]

Wow, that's quite something that the state makes you get rid of it on new developments. Over here we have to do a woodland management plan first and show how we're going to remove it and what we're going to plant in its place, sometimes it has to be phased because the pepper is 90% of what's there!!
There is a nature reserve here on Nonsuch Island, that is known as our 'living museum' restored as Bermuda would have been before the arrival of man, with native & endemic flora and fauna, they reckon they cull a million pepper seedlings every year, from the tiny ones just sprouted from bird poop, to the 5' ones that get overlooked occasionaly.

 

[vharrison2]

Bermie, you and Kate are right on.We use Garlon 3A to keep them from coming back.

Kate, what part of South Florida did you grow up in? I grew up mostly in Miami.

 

[Kate Butler]

Brazilian pepper

Miramar, North of Miami and West of Hollywood. Spent a lot of time in the Grove (Coconut Grove, Miami's art-y area for those of you who are curious)playing and listening to (live) music. The 60's were quite a time.

 

[vharrison2]

Kate, funny, we would have to explain Coconut Grove. It was a cool place back in the days. I went there mostly in the 70's. The park was neat, especially during the Art Festival. Last time I was there, John and I had just finished school shopping with our girls (at Dadeland Mall), ugh, we needed something for us. Monties on the bay, in Coconut Grove. That chilled the day off.