TreeHog

[Che]

Has anyone every seen or used one of these things? We have MANY fields that are getting crowded out by osage orange trees, too big for a bush hog anymore. We had tried tackling them with a front end loader bucket, holding them over and then cutting them with either a chainsaw or a DR trimmer 'beaver blade'. Now, there are thousands of them.

TreeHog40 at www.stumpster.com

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I would like to see pics of the business end/underneath of that Che. Pretty cool.

 

[Old Monkey]

Fecon seems to make good stuff. Not sure if it would be in your price range. http://www.fecon.com/products/view/?productid=1

 

[SkwerI]

I have very little experience with this type machine but I like the one Darin posted.

 

[sotc]

Nearly bought one of those loftness/ fecon units when I started my business as the state was offering $400 per acre incentive for fire fuels reduction at the time

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I could probably sell the Fecon in some orchards in the valley now that they can't burn. Been eying those for a time now. Need the tractor first though

 

[lumberjack]

It's a horizontal disc with teeth, just like a hot saw. It uses the cylinders to force the blade into the tree rather than just backing into the tree with the force of the carrier (more controlled).

I like the idea, I'd be tempted to build it myself though.

 

[Dave Shepard]

A Brown tree cutter might be a good choice, works like a rotary mower, but much heavier. Brown Tree Cutter Thick steel disc with multiple swinging short blades. I know someone who has one and he hasn't killed it yet, and he could kill anything. Cuts up to 6" or 8" depending on specs.

 

[DTW902]

Whatever method you use Che you need to either spray the stump with stump killer after cutting, or spray the standing tree's to kill them first. All you do when you cut Hedge/Osage Orange is piss it off. It comes back with a vengeance, lots of sprouts and sharp ass thorns.

 

[Dave Shepard]

Will mowing the stuff down twice a year kill it? We've got locust, no hedge. Locust spreads from the roots, I believe, as well as by seed.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Nasty root stock that locust OUCHY!
That one I took down last year had stuff from the roots over an inch thick this year...

 

[Che]

Thanks guys!

No, the Fecon cutter/mulcher wouldn't quite be in our price range, but thanks.


I welcome any more suggestions, and I'll post more info if I find it.


(I'm having my hand surgery tomorrow AM, if I don't reply right away.....that's why.)

 

[SkwerI]

Best wishes for tomorrow, Che.

 

[Che]

Thanks Brian.

No Dave. As the other Dave said, it would just piss it off. We bush hogged forever, but didn't keep up a year (or two or three) and instead of hedge trees, we have BIG FAT multiple stem osage orange trees now.

 

[DTW902]

Will mowing the stuff down twice a year kill it? We've got locust, no hedge. Locust spreads from the roots, I believe, as well as by seed.

No! They actually spray large tracts of land with crop dusters, trying to reclaim the pastureland. If removing mature tree's cut the female tree's first, (the one's that have hedge balls/apples). And treat the stumps as soon as possible after cutting. If you do not treat or kill them, first, it will be a never-ending cycle.

 

[DTW902]

Almost all the clean up around here is done with a clipper or shear, then yearly burning for native grass's. This is out in the Flinthills, we have oceans of grass out here.


O good luck with the surgery Che.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Che, I've done a lot of work with invasive species, the best way of achieving a good kill rate with no regrowth is to completely rip out the tree roots and all.
Have you considered hiring an excavator for a week or two? an excavator with a thumb attachment will very rapidly clear acreage, ripping the whole tree and rootball out. Shake the dirt off and throw the tree on a fire. I found we were able to achieve a 95% kill rate with no regrowth using this method.

 

[Che]

my first thought was ripping them out, too......but these are cow pastures....not great ones, but do have a nice mix of grass/clover (among the weeds)....cutting/spot spraying would damage the least amount of forage...........

oops....short rreply, but i just looked at my fingers and they're turning into little sausages....talk with you all in a day or two.........otherwise surgery went good.

 

[Al Smith]

Osage is tough stuff ,grows like a weed .So is locust for that matter .

Way back when I had Woods heavy duty brush mower that had a "stump jumper " and 3/4" inch thick swing blades .It would wack em off toot sweet up to about an inch and half and pulverize the rest . The poor old Fergeson couldn't handle doing a full swath of 5 feet with it though but could do okay at 3 feet at a pass in heavy brush .

 

[Ax-Man]

Is there any way to get a demo before you commit to buying one just to see if it works for your needs.

From what your describing I would seriously consider it. Looks like it would get the job done. I like the blade thing verses a rotary like a bush hog or flail type cutter like the Fecon if the material is getting to be around 6 inches or more It won't chop up the fallen multi stem trees at least I don't think it will anyway so you will probaly have to push them in a pile with the loader end of the tractor.

Killing that Osage is going to be tough. Osage is in the Mulberry family of trees. Stump cut applications of straight herbicide on freshly cut stumps might kill them but will probaly resprout from the roots. This gets expensive doing it this way. I know from experience that Tordon or Pathway as it is known today will travel in the soil and kill anything around it. I haven't tried straight Roundup or Garlon for stump cut applications but these are pretty tame compared to Pathway.

I have tried poisoning standing Mulberries via injection in the main stem before cutting them, didn't work, all the the darn tree did was look sick for awhile and then came back looking like I never did anything till I cut the darn thing darn and ground out the stump. That gets them everytime.

Cutting the trees in July during a hot prolonged dry might help out some. The carbohydrate and sugar reserves are at a low point in trees during this period of time. Growth isn't a priority with trees at this time. Emphasis is put on maturing newly formed wood before the coming dormant season Elimating the top of the plant starves the root system and not as likely to resprout. I have heard that this works for Popular and I have noticed that the Honeysuckle we have around don't grow back as much and not as numerious when cut during hot dry spells. The more you mow the better, most but not all will give up and finally die if you can get as close to the ground as possible. That machine looks like it can get down to almost ground level with the three point hitch.

Glad to hear your surgery went well. Good luck.

 

[Che]

thanks!

i'll update next week....we were going to purchase it....but couldn't connect w the company. since it's too late to get the purchase on this years taxes....it will wait.

(note to self: describe cistern field's removal method)

 

[SkwerI]

I'm kinda partial to Bivy John's preferred method.

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[Che]

 

[vharrison]

Need the tractor first though

Che has the tractor!

 

[Al Smith]

I'm not so sure but perhaps osage propigates by the roots as I think locust does .Maybe not .

Mulberry however will go through a bird in about a minute and heaven help anything in their flight path . Damned starlings will strip an entire tree in a couple of hours and "paint " everything purple surounding it including your freashly washed automobile . 4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie comes to mind .