Paper Mulberry, Tree of Heaven for firewood?

[Del_]

I just tossed a few 4 inch rounds of Chinaberry in the woodstove.

Fuel of the Gods!

LOL.

(Weed trees from around the property and not going to waste on my watch)

 

[Sidecarflip]

Tree of Heaven sucks. I cut them down or notch them then a good application of 100% roundup. Crap tree.

No such thing as 100% glyphosate. Best you can get is around 48% in solution with an inert carrier. Myself, I cut them off and 'paint' the exposed wood with Roundup Ultra Max and a paint brush straight from the jug. That usually does the trick. Be careful when handling ANY glyphosate as it can be aspirated into your skin and cause you health issues down the road. Wear Nitrile gloves.

 

[pdqdl]

C'mon now. If we gonna pick nits, I'll take up for LazyB.
If you buy a jug of Roundup and don't dilute it with anything else, is it not 100% ? The author didn't mention glyphosate.


As to skin toxicity, the MSDS for a glyphosate brand I sell suggests insignificant risk of dermal toxicity. You have been listening too much to those California lawyers that managed to win a big lawsuit against Monsanto for a bogus claim of long term injury. There are no studies that support your assertions about the dermal absorbence.


The dermal toxicity of glyphosate is >5000mg per kilogram of body weight, with similar numbers for oral toxicity. Basically, it is less toxic than aspirin. While I'm not going to recommend ignoring the safety guidelines of any herbicide label, I damn sure wouldn't make a special mention of the dermal toxicity in a conversation about stump treatment with Roundup, either.

Kindly notice the special mention of "Practically non-toxic" and "Essentially non irritating"


From another paper on that topic:


As to being a carcinogen? In a webpage used by a law firm soliciting glyphosate "victims" for initiating more lawsuits, I found this handy little news bit from our government: " ...the US EPA changed its classification to evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans (Group E) in 1991." Any evidence showing carcinogenicity from glyphosate/Roundup remains nebulous at best. That fact, however, doesn't prevent lawyers from winning lawsuits on the topic, nor convincing the users of these products as to the relative safety while using them.

Nitrile gloves and proper protective gear are a good recommendation for all herbicide applications, regardless of what the product MSDS says. You won't be able to find any herbicide anywhere that advises you that it's a safe product, feel free to get wet and stay drenched in it. If I was required by some maniac to pick a herbicide to take a shower in, however, I might select Roundup for that purpose.

 

[Sidecarflip]

Whatever blows your dress up. I know what blows mine up and I use Glyphosate regularly, along with buffered 24-D(B) as well as other solutions and here in Michigan at least, the applicator must be state licensed and have taken the applicable courses to be certified foe use,

When applying ANY herbicide or pesticide, I always wear appropriate clothing and my application tractor is equipped with the necessary air filtration to mitigate any ingress of airborne solution.

Don't matter what brand you buy actually, it's all Glyphosate in a carrier which is usually a surfactant that improves the filming effect of the Glyphosate.

Don't much care about what anyone does or how they handle herbicides or pesticides, all I know is how I HANDLE AND APPLY THEM.

You can post anything you want to and I'll keep using the recommended PPE when applying them, simply because it's MY ship and not yours.

I'll leave it at that.

 

[pdqdl]

I'm ok with that. It's just that this is a public forum, and you were making recommendations to another person about the relative safety of Roundup. I have evidence somewhat to the contrary, so I publish my opinion, just like you posted yours.

By the way: do you know why nitrile gloves are specified for a select few herbicides, and not for most? Just latex gloves would be an upgrade from the EPA's recommended PPE.

You should understand that the PPE required by the product label of Roundup Pro doesn't even mention gloves at all, much less specifying nitrile gloves:


You see, I don't run on fear or ignorance about a topic, I learn and remember the facts. BTW, I am a certified applicator, and have been since 1984. I've got all the product labels and MSDSs of all my herbicides saved on my computer for instant access.

 

[pdqdl]

BTW, here are a few PPE recommendations from other common herbicides, just for comparison:

Turflon Ester:


Tordon 22k (a restricted use herbicide):


Dursban 50W (a now-banned insecticide)


Paraquat, an ingredient of Agent Orange, and often used in the past by the DEA to rapidly destroy marijuana plots, does require a respirator, goggles, nitrile gloves, and rubberized dermal protections.

You see, each chemical has its own specific instructions.​

 

[Sidecarflip]

My final comment is simply that Monsato is in the midst of a lawsuit concerning the 'after effects' of using Glyphosate and not wearing proper PPE. I to am a certified applicator like most farmers around here are. here in Michigan at least, you have to stay current on licensing and that requires an ongoing 'education'.

The big issue with Glyphosate is how it reacts with the soil and binds with it which is why I prefer 24D (B), actually because I have to eradicate certain weeds in my hayfields. 24D is great stuff but it's not selective and I require a selective herbicide so buffered 24D is what I use the most of. I'm not a row crop farmer but a commercial forage grower.

I'll leave it at that.

 

[Gumneck]

Never even heard of paper mulberry till this thread. My neighbor has the largest Mulberry tree I've ever seen. Over the years tree sized codoms have split off it and she usually asks me to get it out of her yard. I have split it by hand and machine, dry it, and toss it into the wood stove. Since it's a fruit wood it will get soft and buggy but I've kept it in stacks for over 4 years with no issues. Last year I burnt the last of what I had. I also have used it in the smoker....it's good there too.

 

[EastCoastGreg]

For the OP…you got me curious about the Paper mulberry wood. It seems it doesn’t share many of the qualities of indigenous mulberry types of North America, which have good burn times and heat output. I found a few seemingly reliable internet sources that put the average dried weight of paper mulberry at 31.6 lbs per cubic foot. Chinese sumac (tree of heaven) weight is at an average of 37 lbs per cubic foot according to the wood database website. That being said, I’d wager it’s worse than the Tree of heaven to heat with…but slightly better than aspen trees….

 

[sean donato]

For the OP…you got me curious about the Paper mulberry wood. It seems it doesn’t share many of the qualities of indigenous mulberry types of North America, which have good burn times and heat output. I found a few seemingly reliable internet sources that put the average dried weight of paper mulberry at 31.6 lbs per cubic foot. Chinese sumac (tree of heaven) weight is at an average of 37 lbs per cubic foot according to the wood database website. That being said, I’d wager it’s worse than the Tree of heaven to heat with…but slightly better than aspen trees….

There in lies the problem. Paper mulberry and mulberry native to north America have about zero in common to each other. Kinda like a gold fish and shark. Both fish totally different qualities and traits.

 

[EastCoastGreg]

There in lies the problem. Paper mulberry and mulberry native to north America have about zero in common to each other. Kinda like a gold fish and shark. Both fish totally different qualities and traits.

So true. That made me laugh

 

[Woody912]

No such thing as 100% glyphosate. Best you can get is around 48% in solution with an inert carrier. Myself, I cut them off and 'paint' the exposed wood with Roundup Ultra Max and a paint brush straight from the jug. That usually does the trick. Be careful when handling ANY glyphosate as it can be aspirated into your skin and cause you health issues down the road. Wear Nitrile gloves.

I bought a quart of 57% at Home Depot. Dont remember the brand.

 

[PennHavenTW]

Interesting thread.

I am new to Paper Mulberry.

Tree of Heaven though is something we deal with. Its a very trashy wood like was stated earlier in this thread.
Live TOH wood acts akin to dead wood when felling, no elastisity in the wood; breaks right off. I do not like working with it and if thats not enough, the smell! It stinks!

Firewood: very light, certainly no good "overnight" pieces.

IMO