Hack and Squirt

[BSK]

Really good video on hack and squirt chemicals and application:

 

[BSK]

A three-part video series by Dr. Craig Harper on Forest Stand Improvement (FSI)

 

[JCDEERMAN]

That first video is by far the BEST video on the specifics of herbicide treatment for the girdling and hack and squirt treatment I have seen. Hadn't seen that one before - thanks for sharing! Most all the videos out there do NOT go through the specifics on oz's per herbicide/water for a squirt bottle. Most seem to explain it and show it in the most confusing way possible. The only thing I wish he would have gone in to was the timing of the applications.

I've seen all the other Dr. Craig Harper videos. I keep up to date with those.

 

[BSK]

Using those herbicides, best results will occur when you girdle/hack and apply in late fall, just before the leaves turn. I try to do mine mid-September to mid-October.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Excellent information on the hack-n-squirt method...interesting comment on the cost and your return on investment.
He also makes a good point how much area one squirt bottle will cover...good stuff....thanks for sharing.....expensive up front....but money well spent.

 

[BSK]

You can buy smaller jugs. I bought 12 oz of Imazapyr for around $100.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

That price just makes me cringe, but it will do a whole lot. Just have to tell yourself, "that 5 acres of complete habitat improvement only cost me $100.....or $20 an acre". Of course, that doesn't include the price of the somewhat cheaper Triclopyr. I already have a gallon of that. Imazapyr will be purchased for this fall

 

[BSK]

It is not cheap, that's for sure.

 

[DoubleRidge]

No doubt....it's not cheap....but as he mentioned in the video....the return you get for that investment is tremendous... I love food plotting....but same money spent on a food plot may be beneficial for a portion of the year....that money spent on TSI project could provide benefits for years to come..... another powerful tool for the land manager.

 

[BSK]

that money spent on TSI project could provide benefits for years to come..... another powerful tool for the land manager.

A VERY powerful tool. Give me 10 acres of well-managed woods and it will take the place nutritionally of 5 acres of food plots. In addition, the 10 acres ALSO serves as cover. A real double win.

 

[MickThompson]

No doubt....it's not cheap....but as he mentioned in the video....the return you get for that investment is tremendous... I love food plotting....but same money spent on a food plot may be beneficial for a portion of the year....that money spent on TSI project could provide benefits for years to come..... another powerful tool for the land manager.

I can buy a lot of hatchets, squirt bottles, chainsaws, and chemicals for the cost of a tractor and implements though

 

[DoubleRidge]

A VERY powerful tool. Give me 10 acres of well-managed woods and it will take the place nutritionally of 5 acres of food plots. In addition, the 10 acres ALSO serves as cover. A real double win.

Great point....in addition to the increase in nutrition the amount of cover that's created is amazing!
I didn't truly realize the benefits until the last year or so....starting late in 2019 into 2020 we worked with our Forester on a timber stand improvement project which included hack-n-squirt.....I had read about the process before but didn't fully realize the impact until the spring of 2021....last summer we saw some effect....but this spring there has been a explosion of new tender new growth, new grasses in areas we've never seen any.... tremendous improvements to fawning and nesting cover as well as a big bump in available nutrition...or like you said...truly a win-win.

 

[DoubleRidge]

I can buy a lot of hatchets, squirt bottles, chainsaws, and chemicals for the cost of a tractor and implements though

Great point.... equipment can be a significant investment...so if a landowner had to choose one method or the other... managing the timber area correctly brings a better return on investment (when factoring the dollars spent per acre).....but I will say I do enjoy some tractor time working food plots.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Great point.... equipment can be a significant investment...so if a landowner had to choose one method or the other... managing the timber area correctly brings a better return on investment (when factoring the dollars spent per acre).....but I will say I do enjoy some tractor time working food plots.

I do too. The enjoyment for me is watching deer and turkeys use an area we have improved, whether that be by creating natural growth, or planting a candy plot. Seeing critters consistently in areas you have never seen them before in 20 years is a HUGE win for me. The killing is just a small cherry on top

 

[budro2]

that is a lot of work , I use Arsenal and do one hack per 4 in dbh and have great results
But I usually hit smaller trees a min of 2
Lots less work than ringing a tree
It's high 90s effective

here are my notes
On mixing and seasons
Hack and squirt

Full leaf out untll Jan is best time , not very effective when sap starts to rise
With imazapyr (53%) you use 9 ounces of herbicide to 23 ounces of water in a quart spray bottle (28 ounces herbicide:100 ounces of water/gallon of mix). One quart will easily treat 5 acres with hack and squirt. this means one gallon of mixture will do about 20 acres so a 2.5 gallon jug of herbicide should treat over 200 acres by hack and squirt.

with the imazapyr (53%) only doing 1-3 hacks per tree so use a lot less and a lot less hacking . making it a lot easier to go thru a patch of woods in prob half the time

late summer or early fall is best time

 

[RxHunter]

Using those herbicides, best results will occur when you girdle/hack and apply in late fall, just before the leaves turn. I try to do mine mid-September to mid-October.

I have seen some of these mixes with either crop oil or diesel instead of water. I think it helps get the chemicals through the bark. Is that not better? Maybe it doesn't matter since they are girdling. I am sure it is messier.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

I have seen some of these mixes with either crop oil or diesel instead of water. I think it helps get the chemicals through the bark. Is that not better? Maybe it doesn't matter since they are girdling. I am sure it is messier.

That's what I eluded to earlier when I stated I was hoping he would have gotten into that. Not just with Hack & Squirt, but also when it comes to spraying cut stumps - the mixture with diesel and herbicide when spraying stumps weeks after the stumps were cut to act as a penetrant.

 

[rukiddin]

I waged war on a bunch of volunteer Bradford pears about a month ago. 3/8" drill bit. I drill into the tree at a down angle about 3-4" deep. Fill that hole with tordon and sit back and grin as those Bradford pears die a horrible death.
it's amazing to me because the ground was clean under the Bradford pears before I killed them. I went in there a couple days ago and the blackberries, and other browse are already sprouting under the trees since there's no more canopy cover.

 

[Omega]

I waged war on a bunch of volunteer Bradford pears about a month ago. 3/8" drill bit. I drill into the tree at a down angle about 3-4" deep. Fill that hole with tordon and sit back and grin as those Bradford pears die a horrible death.
it's amazing to me because the ground was clean under the Bradford pears before I killed them. I went in there a couple days ago and the blackberries, and other browse are already sprouting under the trees since there's no more canopy cover.

Ok, have to ask, what is wrong with pear trees? Seems they would be good to have out there for the wildlife, if not personal consumption.

 

[MickThompson]

Ok, have to ask, what is wrong with pear trees? Seems they would be good to have out there for the wildlife, if not personal consumption.

The wild Callery pear makes tiny little bird-sized pears and have big thorns for poking tires