I'm also purchasing the best backpack sprayer I can find.
My problem is the rapid regrowth we've experienced in our timber cut areas. We had 100 total acres cut fairly hard (down to 10" DBH), spread across 7 different cuts. The remaining canopy in those cut areas varies from 70% in patches down to 0% in patches. After 3 summers of regrowth, the areas with 0% canopy have already regrown to saplings (mainly poplar) over a deer's head. This almost eliminates sunlight from the ground. I want to go around to those patches of head-high poplar saplings and nuke them with herbicides. Basically, just 1-2 acre patches scattered through the 100 acres of heavy timber thinning. Ultimately, I would like to see these patches turn into a permanent mixture of tall grasses and weeds. The rest of the cuts will be allowed to regrow naturally.
We have two high-tension powerline right-of-ways that cross our property. Years ago I though these right-of-ways cutting across mature hardwoods were going to be a Godsend of cover and food. However, they never turned out to be. Deer would bed in patches of the right-of-ways, but they never turned into the hunting hot spots we expected. Originally, the right-of-ways were maintained through mowing every 3-5 years. between mowings, they would fill in with hardwood saplings. However, ever since TVA switched to maintaining the right-of-ways through spraying herbicides, the species composition within the right-of-ways has switched dramatically to Indian Grass, blackberry and a multitude of forbs (weeds). NOW, after the switch to broadleaf herbicide maintenance, the right-of-ways have become a major focus of deer activity.
I hope to permanently turn patches of our timber harvest into the same species mix as the powerline right-of-ways.