Honeysuckle Control

For most people spring is that joyous season when the first blush of spring creeps over the woods. Unfortunately, for us the first obvious signs of life on our property is the leaves of invasive honeysuckle shrubs which have taken over large areas of our woods. We have used a number of methods to remove them, from spraying to cutting. We have settled on a combination of cutting and stump treatment (using glyphosate) for larger shrubs and simply grubbing out the smaller plants. It has been amazing how easy it has been to grub out pretty good sized shrubs by either direct pulling or cutting the roots. I just started using new gloves from Duluth Trading Company, which are amazing in their dexterity and gripping ability. We try to pull as much as we can to minimize the use of herbicides. While I feel that the benefit of glyphosate (Round-Up or any of its much cheaper knock-offs) used in moderation and with care are worth the potential environmental problems, I realize that not everyone agrees. (see http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticides/factsheets/Glyphosate.pdf) The way I see it, if we didn't use glyphosate, we could not clear as much land as we do of invasives, and that would have a longer-term negative effect than using a targeted application of glyphosate, which will break down to a less harmful residue in a few weeks. By using a stump application, we eliminate the problem with drift, and can target just the honeysuckle. We will be printing more on our techniques and results as the year progresses.