I live on the Cumberland Plateau in East Tennessee. We had Locust Trees when I was a kid in the 50s/60s we have none now. My problem invasives here are Multiflora Rose, Privet and and one I just discovered last fall. Bush Honeysuckle.
We have some in illinois but Alabama is getting covered by kudzu vine it covers telephones electrical lines will look like there 3 ft around for miles I've seen it take over whole stretches of woods it grows so fast and consumes whole trees you can not even tell what kind of tree is under it it looks like a giant kudzu ball
Here in Northwest Washington our biggest headache is Himalayan Blackberry. Once it is established it is nearly impossible to eliminate totally, but it can be controlled. Crossbow seems to be the most successful poison, nothing else seems to touch it.
Osage Orange. For the same reason you have the locust tree listed. They are thick on my Oklahoma property. Thorns, chain saw dulling stone wood devils.
Upstate NY - Poison Ivy, Russian olive but the turkeys and bears love the berries, wild blackberries are a pain but I eat the berries. I most dislike mowing grass and I have acres of it.
I live in the state of Delaware on the east coast. The number one pest in my book is a Sweet Gum tree!!! They replant themselves like wildlife when the gumballs drop every year! A close second is the Multi Flora Rose. Evil stuff!
You need to differientiate between Locust types. The thorn trees are bad, we killed them all off the farm here but some Locust trees, and I'm not sure if they are black or honey Locust only have horns when small but soon lose them and they make the best fence posts and burn super hot as firewood, you want to mix them with lesser types to keep from overheating your wood stove.
You have my sympathy. Here in southern Oregon, I have: Canada thistle, star thistle, bull thistle, Himalayan blackberry, grape vines teasel, and black locust. Close by is the dreaded English ivy. As bad as I have it, I won't your woes for mine.
In the deep gulf south we have Chinese Privet that is everywhere along with Yaupon Holly. Now we have Chinese Tallow tree or Popcorn Trees sprouting up all over the place. Eastern Baccharis is another one. Sweet Gum is another one difficult to control since it stump sprouts.
Locust trees, I HATE them. We have had war with them. Ended up putting inserts in our shoes to protect from them as we worked to remove them. We lost one tractor tire to the battle. The plus side, after two years of fighting with them and cleaning up, we have finally got the upper hand in a 10 acre area we have been cleaning up. The downside, the back acreage of the farm on the other side of the fields (about 15 acre area) we still have yet to win the battle there.
Specifically, Honey Locust trees. There is Black Locust, but the thorns are *much* less of a problem, and the wood is amazing firewood, and super rot-resistant.
I'm definitely over run with cedars. Seems like a never ending battle. I was always told that multifora rose was originally marketed in seed catalogs way back when as "a living fence" and a way to keep livestock in. I mow and spray but I don't think I'm making a dent. The locust I don't mind as long as they're where they're not bothering me. As a kid I was coon hunting one night and was running through the timber in the dark ran face first into one. How I didn't lose an eye I'll never know. Had punctures all over my upper body and one leg. Squirrel can run up one full throttle and not miss a step. Always amazes me.
I live in Idaho and we have Russian olive trees and I consider them a noxious weed. I understand these trees were brought in for windbreaks and for game bird cover. However the magpies have discovered these trees and roost in them so the game birds suffer. These trees have large thorns and spread terribly. I have them on my 40 acres and have probably cut down 200-300 but you have to keep after new sprouts. They also are terribly hard on tires so I had my tractor tires filled so I didn’t have to constantly get them fixed. My motto is “if you see a Russian Olive cut it down and burn it”.
Hi Mike, here in Western Pa we have a real problem in areas with grape vines and another type of vine. I've seen them kill acres of trees within just 2-3 years making the woods look like a haunted forest with all the dead trees. Have a good day.
We have some honey locust trees on the property that we recently bought...they will be going away soon. Growing up, we had one in our front yard and my youngest sister stepped on a thorn barefoot and it almost came out the top of her foot. 30 or so year later and I can still remember her screams.
Here in southern Wisconsin is wild parsnip you get blisters from the sap. European buckthorn .garlic mustard . Burdock. I can go on and on. Have a great day.
Ash Grove Mo here, got all the same stuff you do! I feel your pain! Been fighting vines and locusts trees since i bought my property five years ago, oh, and not to mention those wonderful rose bushes!
I've spent a lot of time in Ash Grove. Dad used to buy cars at Wilkerson Ford and the negotiation/de-pantsing of the dealer would go on for hours. I'd wander around the downtown area for what seemed like hours until we got the car bought.
Nice video, totally laughed at the multfloral rose destruction. My top few 1. Honey Locust 2. Multifloral rose 3. Russian olive(looks like your olive but can get big) 4. Honeysuckle 5. Thistles-Grrr and I'll add the willow. I have to admire the eastern cedar, take a lot out. But leave some patches too. Central Iowa btw
We use locust trees for fence post in Virginia. They last a long time. Our worst weed is kudzu. The old people said don't sleep with your windows open.... it will Creepy in and strangle you at night. We also have a lot of trouble with bamboo. People planted it years ago because it pertty.... next to impossible to kill.... it take over everything.
In Michigan the number one has to be the autumn olive, they are everywhere and will completely take over in a matter of a year if unchecked. Thanks for the thought generating list.
I have the same problem they were so thick deer went around I got hay field that I reclaimed if I miss a year they start to take over I kill them ever chance
Being in the same area as you I cuncur 100% with your list. Been doing fence row clearing before leaves sprout and the ticks come out to play. Wild grape, rose, locust trees and a myriad of multiple sized saplings. And forgot to video any of it ☹
I am fighting the blackberry vines growing up everywhere here in Arkansas and I want most of them gone, and the vines you mentioned which is growing up killing the tops of trees. I have to cut some of them down along with the poisoned oak and poison ivy which is growing here.
Great Video Mike! Foothills of North Carolina here along the Virginia Line. Here’s list of what I have: 1: Sericea Lespedeza 2: Japanese Stilt Grass 3: Tree of Heaven 4: Chinese Privet 5: Multiflora Rose 6: Not Invasive but Virginia Pine ( I hate them) 7: Black Locust (love them in the woods but not in my fields) That’s all I have but here’s more that I keep an eye out for on my property: 8: Kudzu 9: Miscanthus (Chinese SilverGrass) 10: Autumn Olive Honorable Mention would be the Bradford Pear or Calary Pear!
Hi Mike. Here in Southern NJ, wild multiflora roses are terrible. You can actually puncture a tire with the thorns. We also have invasive poison ivy. And years ago, I made the mistake of planting a row of bamboo. It ended up growing into my barn with a dirt floor. What a mess. It took more than 4 years, but I finally eradicated all of it! Great job on this video. See ya Monday! -Ed
You must not be honored to have Privet Hedge in your area. In central Alabama they will take over a property fast! I bought a Kubota B26 backhoe to control them here. Kudzu is really bad around here too, but not on my property..yet!
Had a Cultivar of honey locus with only some thorns on it. I cut it down but the wood burns hot and is rot resistant. I’m in Northern Illinois, buckthorn Is the worse. I cut them down Then I run the lawnmower over them for a few years they stop sprouting and the grass grows over and now I have more Grass to cut. Buckthorn is so invasive that the soil underneath it is bare any Erosion will become a problem. Bush honeysuckle and bitter sweet are also on my property. I am in Oak Savanna country. Will do a burn but have to be careful it doesn’t get out of control. Poison ivy is here and there in low areas with grape vine. Garlic mustard is around also. Bishops weed A flower that was planted is really hard to get rid of in the garden.
Gum trees with those dang gum balls are a nuisance. Kud Zu is some kind of nasty non-stop growing invasive plant that covers anything it can grow around. trees, telephone poles. fencing, everything. Had to chuckle watching you whacking at those wild rose thorn plants. 👍🏽🙂
Hey Mike, every one of those you mentioned (including the cedar) were plants I grew up fighting. Granted I grew up just west of you in South East Kansas (Fredonia, KS) and went to school at Pitt State in Pittsburg, Ks. I agree 100%, with the following additions: Silver Maple, Mulberry, Johnson Grass, Sericea lespedeza, and Blackberry.
Here in Southeastern Kentucky, the number ONE invasive plant is Kudzu. It has covered trees, powerlines, destroyed natural plants, and every time the highway department cleans out a ditch and dumps the dirt somewhere else, it only spreads it to a different area. It is the worst and hardest plant to get rid of and I don't understand why the state hasn't declared war on it.
WOW, You nailed that list. It's true for our properties in Indiana and Illinois as well. My sister had nothing but Locust on her property. Took them 5 years to finally get rid of them. We had an outside cat that was climbing a nearby tree and fell into a locust. I found it dead in the tree.
Interesting video. Several of those you named are natives here and I don't take out natives, unless they're causing a problem. Shrub Honeysuckle is top of my list here in north central Kentucky, closely followed by Autumn (Russian) Olive. Both brought here to use on highway rights of way, landscaping and reclaimed strip mines. Their wildlife benefits are wildly overstated and, in fact, have negative implications for some. Cedars were the Christmas trees of childhood and are the first step in forest regeneration, at least around here.
Gary Keslar-Ellsworth Ohio-Multiflora Rose is the worst kind here. I clip every one I see. We also have a lot of Honey Locusts in old woods. Some people set fire to the needles and the fire runs right up the tree.
My No. 1 would be Autumn Olive.The Illinois DNR used to give them away as cover for wildlife. No, 2 would be Honeysuckle. No. 3 would be anything with thorns. Fighting all this stuff keeps us busy and an excuse to be sitting on a tractor. Time to be thinking about getting ready for food plots.
Here is my most wanted (to kill) Top Ten list in no specific order: Poison Ivy Ailanthus (Tree of Heaven) Boxelder White Mulberry Eastern Red Cedar Shrub Honeysuckle Autumn Olive Wild Grape Multiflora Rose Sassafras Great video, Mike!
In Illinois, locust, honeysuckle, autumn olive, multifloral rose, thistles ( of course), poison hemlock ( biennial weed) and in the last few years mulberries. The birds are spreading mulberries with a vengence. You definitely can't kill mulberries by mowing. I do slot of spot spraying with a 4 wheeler. Honeysuckle and autumn olive are very hard to kill even with brush killer
Mimosa trees in SC are out of control in some areas. Bradford pears are another invasive that we see everywhere now. Cudzu is an obvious one but cattle love it.
On our land In southern Wisconsin, Our biggest perennial offenders are shrub honeysuckle, buckthorn, poison ivy, and autumn olive. We also have a lot of garlic mustard, japanese hedge parsley, and reed canary grass, which is really hard to get rid of.
We hunt deer under Locust trees at first good snow. Something happens to the Seed pods at first good snow, and the deer love em. Most hated plant is what we call Honeysuckle Bush. They have taken over large portions of our timbers in Grundy and Will County Illinois. NOthing grows underneath em. Hard to get rid of.
Cass County, Missouri. Bush Honeysuckle and Possum Grape are spreading rapidly and choking out everything else. Possum Grape is like Kudzu - kills even 80 foot trees.
In Oregon #3. Scotch broom, spreads like wildfire around here #2. Himalayan wild blackberries, also spreads way too easily #1. Poison oak, the only plant that actually scares me
Amazing machine and somebody dreamed it, somebody designed and made it, and the guy in that cab gets to have fun running it! Thx for sharing and great camera work!
In my area (NC) I planted a number of Bradford pear trees and they are quite beautiful when they bloom ( they smell bad at that point), other than that they are pretty good, 30 years now and no major broken limbs or issues (we haven’t had too many bad ice storms). The Honeysuckle is really bad they spread like crazy, but at least they aren’t poison ivy or poison oak - hate them with a passion.
I live in the same area as you and I completely agree with the Locust tree and Multiflora Rose. My property has a ton of both, and probably a bunch of these others as well.
OMG, I don't have all of those in New England. Some of your trees & vines look nasty and I would be out to remove them as well. Good luck with the upkeep Sir
Hedge bushes, kudzu, and polk salad are the worst. I'm fighting hedge bushes at my grandma's place. One pops up you'll have a small forest of them if you let them grow out of control
I guess Ive been pretty lucky Mike. Over here in Texas county, my big fight has been with sumac in the pasture. After several years of spraying with crossbow, it is pretty much under control, but I still have to go out with the atv and spot spray for new ones that shoot up in the late spring.
Eastern North Carolina - Kudzu vine... don't know if there are any in NC but Virginia has Giant Hogweed. The sap will cause you to get severe burns on your skin.
Here in California, we have a lot of introduced plants that continue to spread and escape from people’s gardens and take over. Himalayan blackberries, scotch broom (and other brooms), pampas grass, arundo donex (large bamboo like plant), tree of heaven, eucalyptus are the big six in central California where I live. The only native that I can think of is poison oak that grows almost anywhere under 5000’ in elevation.
Near STL. My list is: 3. anything with thorns, 2. any vine, and no. 1 is bush honeysuckle. My woods looks like a different place now that I've pulled these weeds out and burned them. I've been told that turkeys don't like underbrush because they can't see predators. Guess we need to do some research into it and see what is correct.
Weeping willow...may be pretty, make good shade, help suck up water in wet areas...but they rain down more crap than any tree I've ever dealt with...very weak in high wind...that canopy is a giant umbrella...and when they go over, they'll have a root ball about 30' wide and 10' deep because they have so many roots
Tractor Mike, On my property in Easter Kentucky I have many Sweet Gum trees in the lower elevations or draws. Almost every one of these trees have a thick Poison Ivy vine attached to the trunk. I plan to clear most of these trees to open the land for pasture, but it’s s there any way to destroy these vines on the trees that will remain standing? Thank You, I enjoy your videos. Ron Mailhot
I'd have sericea lespedeza, bush honeysuckle, and fescue on my list. Your list covered the biggies, but I'd say elms are good trees as long as they're not along your driveway.
Just ystdy was battling multiflora rose! Gotta get after them in spring, when it’s cool enough to wear long sleeves. Good cover for rabbits but wicked on people!
Living in WA now and we have 10+ acres of black berry to clear, have any recommendations on the best way to get this under control? Box blade? Back hoe? It seems the previous owner just kept brush hogging it and every cutting produced a new growth. Well they stopped cutting around 10 years ago and now the whole place is overrun.
Sad.... Virginia Creeper... also known as trailing pine is an endangered species in Virginia. I don't know if its the same Virginia creeper that you are talking about.
@@williambrown238 Not "Trailing Pine", we have plenty of the vine, Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia in Michigan! After freaking out about whether it was a strain of poison ivy, some research showed it as a direct match for VA Creeper. In both Monroe County (moist river clay flood plane) and Osceola County MI (dry upland sandy-loam soil).
I can't believe Smilax (Greenbrier) didn't make you list. In my part of Oklahoma it protects itself by forming an impenetrable network of thorns. Great for small animals, but it climbs and will kill Blackjack and Post Oak given enough time. Nearly impossible to eradicate. The Red Cross would love to have all of the blood I have lost to this plant.
Adding goats into your rotation with other livestock will control the majority of these, especially if you remove the large problematic trees. Goats love cedar and autumn olive. Cut down a Bradford (Callery) pear and they come running.
Well Mike I have to disagree just slightly; my #1 is the Canadian thistle only because they will overtake a pastures!!! And the Locust tree is my #2 only because it is so trashy ( thorny )but they make great fence posts!!!
I agree with you I absolutely hate the locust trees I inherited a farm in Nixa and there is several locus trees I bought me a forest mulcher just for the honey locust trees I just got done replacing four tires on my pick up because of them
Lantana is the big weed in coastal areas of Australia. Lantana has taken over most bushland and is changing the environment. Bushfires are more fierce because of this weed. It poisons cattle and is hard to get rid of. Constant mowing seems to keep it under control but it will jump back before you know it.
For me the #1 is multiflora rose. I’m a grounds keeper of 80+ acres and am constantly removing them from areas the homeowner doesn’t want them. How many cuts and scrapes I’ve gotten I can’t even count. Stick to everything!
Here ya go Mike, up here in NE Kansas we have everything on your list except for that oak tree on your list. But if you have it, I bet it won't be long before we do. We do have a pin oak that can be a nuisance. Now, the Black Locust. I see that big, ugly, useless tree made your list. We moved to this property 7 years ago and I have been cutting out as many as I can. I still have about 10 more to go. Neighbor to my west even invited me to get his too. I have a few over there to cut down within 50 feet of the property line. Thats all I am doing for him free of charge. Tires, boots gets expensive to fix and replace. It does make great firewood after it sits for a couple of years. Then we get to that Rose Flora and the red cedar. I hate that stuff. I cut it down with a brush head on the weedeater, chainsaw and brush hog and go back and hit with tordon. I hate that stuff. You made a good list and I also keep a little for the habitat. Spring is here, chore time in the air, don't forget maintenance on your grass mower. Enjoy the warmer climate and stay safe. See ya next Thursday Mike.
He called it a Locust tree, but it's a Honey Locust tree. I have many here, and they stump sprout like crazy. The thorns on a Honey Locust tree are *much* worse than the little ones on a Black Locust tree that I doubt would puncture a tractor tire or even a car tire. The wood of the Black Locust is amazingly rot-resistant, and good for fence posts and anything made for the outdoors. The roots of the tree also add nitrogen to the soil. I actually plan on planting some Black Locust trees here.
Might be a different kind of locust tree that has all cut down in North Carolina to make fence posts probably some old ones still in the ground the fence hanging on them last a long time
Sumac, Sumac, Sumac at my place in SC. Next is sweetgum. My dad has gotten old and his fields are full of sweetgum saplings I am trying to bush hog away.
I’ve got one here in GA that will send most of you to Wikipedia. It’s called a Trifoliate Orange and it is a nightmare! It is currently restricted to about 30 of my 137 acres but I fear I am going to spread it with my tractor and mowing. Very invasive. It’s a bushy tree that gets 10-12 feet tall and a circumference of 15-20 feet, with thorns the length of your thumb. I don’t wish that plant on my worst enemy.
Interesting that here in Central Washington State, we have none on your list. It's semi-arid here and we have no native trees. But a lot of sagebrush. Our worst invasive plants include Russian Thistle (tumbleweed), Kochia, and Cheat Grass. None are native.
Garlic Mustard in southern Michigan it’s everywhere. Japanese Knotweed is starting to take off in southern Michigan. Giant Hogsweed is being found in southern Michigan, it causes burns on your skin if you touch it.
Cedar needs to be #1 and they do stump sprout if not cut off below the first green, I.e. brush cut in pastures. Honey locust is my #2 and thistle is close behind for #3. Green briar and buck brush are numbers 4 and 5, though I’m not sure in what order. I don’t worry much about the other vines since they are mostly deep enough in the woods not to be seen, provide screen, and wild life habitat. Blackberrys are also an on-going pasture and my wife particularly hates tiki-foliate orange. Bottom line is I think you need a longer list. My place is just south of you on Lake Bull Shoals and our “noxious/invasive/hated plants are almost surely close to the same as yours. The Ozarks are still heaven to me, though and I have no desire to be anywhere else despite the common challenges of invasive/noxious plants, ticks, chiggers, rocks that “Grow”, or the summer heat. I tell anyone who will listen that when I leave it will be in an urn that someone has stolen. Enjoy your UA-cam’s.
Western Michigan here. I’d like to see the poison ivy and the eastern cottonwood gone off my property. I’d love to have some eastern red cedar here for the lumber. I have one autumn olive here. It’s always a race to see if I get the fruit or the birds do.
In Georgia Chinese Privet will take over a place. Fortunately the new place I own doesn't have any. My old place was choked with it. A native tree I hate is Sweetgum.
Barberry is a also terrible invasive as well as tick habitat. WV is very similar terrain to MO and we have all the same invasives. After destroying numerous bushhogs in the battle, I ended up investing in a Compact Tract Loader and a severe duty brush mower. For the moment I'm winning. But the effort never ends.
Here in North Florida my #1 weed that I can't stand and try to get rid of is the Palmetto bush. I leave some on the more "natural" areas because they do offer some cover for wildlife, but they spread very quickly.
I live on the Cumberland Plateau in East Tennessee. We had Locust Trees when I was a kid in the 50s/60s we have none now. My problem invasives here are Multiflora Rose, Privet and and one I just discovered last fall. Bush Honeysuckle.
We have some in illinois but Alabama is getting covered by kudzu vine it covers telephones electrical lines will look like there 3 ft around for miles I've seen it take over whole stretches of woods it grows so fast and consumes whole trees you can not even tell what kind of tree is under it it looks like a giant kudzu ball
Here in Northwest Washington our biggest headache is Himalayan Blackberry. Once it is established it is nearly impossible to eliminate totally, but it can be controlled. Crossbow seems to be the most successful poison, nothing else seems to touch it.
Central Texas: Mesquite, thistle, hackberry, red cedar, prickly pear cactus, Johnsongrass, grapevines.
Tennessee: Sweet Gum, Sugar Maples, briars and then the badest of all is Poison Ivy and Poison Oak.
Me to in Eastern Kentucky.
Have you found a way to get rid of the Poison Ivy vines?
Osage Orange. For the same reason you have the locust tree listed. They are thick on my Oklahoma property. Thorns, chain saw dulling stone wood devils.
Upstate NY - Poison Ivy, Russian olive but the turkeys and bears love the berries, wild blackberries are a pain but I eat the berries. I most dislike mowing grass and I have acres of it.
I live in the state of Delaware on the east coast. The number one pest in my book is a Sweet Gum tree!!! They replant themselves like wildlife when the gumballs drop every year! A close second is the Multi Flora Rose. Evil stuff!
I certainly agree with you about the locust trees, but I would also like to add poison hemlock and BlackBerry to the list.
You need to differientiate between Locust types. The thorn trees are bad, we killed them all off the farm here but some Locust trees, and I'm not sure if they are black or honey Locust only have horns when small but soon lose them and they make the best fence posts and burn super hot as firewood, you want to mix them with lesser types to keep from overheating your wood stove.
Honey locust is the trees that have thorns on the trunk black has them on the limbs
Marine locusts can be beautiful trees that provide greater forage for bees when they bloom. No thorns.
HI MIke. Here in North Central Texas it's mesquite! Hate them and they have a large root ball that is nearly impossible to get out!
You have my sympathy. Here in southern Oregon, I have: Canada thistle, star thistle, bull thistle, Himalayan blackberry, grape vines teasel, and black locust. Close by is the dreaded English ivy. As bad as I have it, I won't your woes for mine.
In the deep gulf south we have Chinese Privet that is everywhere along with Yaupon Holly. Now we have Chinese Tallow tree or Popcorn Trees sprouting up all over the place. Eastern Baccharis is another one. Sweet Gum is another one difficult to control since it stump sprouts.
But the Chinese Tallow make great honeybee trees.
The battle with the grape vines and the multi flora rose is about to start for me... Again!
Locust trees, I HATE them. We have had war with them. Ended up putting inserts in our shoes to protect from them as we worked to remove them. We lost one tractor tire to the battle.
The plus side, after two years of fighting with them and cleaning up, we have finally got the upper hand in a 10 acre area we have been cleaning up. The downside, the back acreage of the farm on the other side of the fields (about 15 acre area) we still have yet to win the battle there.
Specifically, Honey Locust trees. There is Black Locust, but the thorns are *much* less of a problem, and the wood is amazing firewood, and super rot-resistant.
I'm definitely over run with cedars. Seems like a never ending battle. I was always told that multifora rose was originally marketed in seed catalogs way back when as "a living fence" and a way to keep livestock in. I mow and spray but I don't think I'm making a dent. The locust I don't mind as long as they're where they're not bothering me. As a kid I was coon hunting one night and was running through the timber in the dark ran face first into one. How I didn't lose an eye I'll never know. Had punctures all over my upper body and one leg. Squirrel can run up one full throttle and not miss a step. Always amazes me.
I'm in Northeast Oklahoma, and my list is pretty similar to yours, although I don't hate blackjack oaks, and I do hate eastern red cedars.
Black locust makes really good fence post
I live in Idaho and we have Russian olive trees and I consider them a noxious weed. I understand these trees were brought in for windbreaks and for game bird cover. However the magpies have discovered these trees and roost in them so the game birds suffer. These trees have large thorns and spread terribly. I have them on my 40 acres and have probably cut down 200-300 but you have to keep after new sprouts. They also are terribly hard on tires so I had my tractor tires filled so I didn’t have to constantly get them fixed. My motto is “if you see a Russian Olive cut it down and burn it”.
Love the attack sequence! Made my day! Aloha!
Privet is my enemy on every fence we have, 😂.
Hi Mike, here in Western Pa we have a real problem in areas with grape vines and another type of vine. I've seen them kill acres of trees within just 2-3 years making the woods look like a haunted forest with all the dead trees. Have a good day.
We have some honey locust trees on the property that we recently bought...they will be going away soon. Growing up, we had one in our front yard and my youngest sister stepped on a thorn barefoot and it almost came out the top of her foot. 30 or so year later and I can still remember her screams.
I don't know if they're technically invasive, but blackberry and honey locust are the ones that drive me nuts.
In western Iowa , the invasive nightmare is The Tree of Heaven, also have a lot of thorn locust, and of course the cedar trees
Tree of Heaven, AKA Stinking Sumac, is bad in southern Michigan as well.
Ahhh, the Tree of H___ you mean. It's also called a Stink Tree, because it really does stink.
Agree with you on the Locust but count yourself lucky that you have no Mesquite! It’s just as bad as Locyst and harder to kill.
Here in southern Wisconsin is wild parsnip you get blisters from the sap. European buckthorn .garlic mustard . Burdock. I can go on and on. Have a great day.
Ash Grove Mo here, got all the same stuff you do! I feel your pain! Been fighting vines and locusts trees since i bought my property five years ago, oh, and not to mention those wonderful rose bushes!
I've spent a lot of time in Ash Grove. Dad used to buy cars at Wilkerson Ford and the negotiation/de-pantsing of the dealer would go on for hours. I'd wander around the downtown area for what seemed like hours until we got the car bought.
Nice video, totally laughed at the multfloral rose destruction. My top few 1. Honey Locust 2. Multifloral rose 3. Russian olive(looks like your olive but can get big) 4. Honeysuckle 5. Thistles-Grrr and I'll add the willow.
I have to admire the eastern cedar, take a lot out. But leave some patches too. Central Iowa btw
We use locust trees for fence post in Virginia. They last a long time. Our worst weed is kudzu. The old people said don't sleep with your windows open.... it will Creepy in and strangle you at night. We also have a lot of trouble with bamboo. People planted it years ago because it pertty.... next to impossible to kill.... it take over everything.
Just cut down three locust trees that were tangled with vines up in the crowns. I’m not proud of some of the words I uttered.
In Michigan the number one has to be the autumn olive, they are everywhere and will completely take over in a matter of a year if unchecked. Thanks for the thought generating list.
I have the same problem they were so thick deer went around I got hay field that I reclaimed if I miss a year they start to take over I kill them ever chance
Being in the same area as you I cuncur 100% with your list.
Been doing fence row clearing before leaves sprout and the ticks come out to play. Wild grape, rose, locust trees and a myriad of multiple sized saplings.
And forgot to video any of it ☹
Yeah Mike the wild grape vine are bad up here. They will even form a canopy over areas in the bush.Thanks from Georgian Bay.
I am fighting the blackberry vines growing up everywhere here in Arkansas and I want most of them gone, and the vines you mentioned which is growing up killing the tops of trees. I have to cut some of them down along with the poisoned oak and poison ivy which is growing here.
Great Video Mike!
Foothills of North Carolina here along the Virginia Line.
Here’s list of what I have:
1: Sericea Lespedeza
2: Japanese Stilt Grass
3: Tree of Heaven
4: Chinese Privet
5: Multiflora Rose
6: Not Invasive but Virginia Pine ( I hate them)
7: Black Locust (love them in the woods but not in my fields)
That’s all I have but here’s more that I keep an eye out for on my property:
8: Kudzu
9: Miscanthus (Chinese SilverGrass)
10: Autumn Olive
Honorable Mention would be the Bradford Pear or Calary Pear!
Hi Mike. Here in Southern NJ, wild multiflora roses are terrible. You can actually puncture a tire with the thorns. We also have invasive poison ivy. And years ago, I made the mistake of planting a row of bamboo. It ended up growing into my barn with a dirt floor. What a mess. It took more than 4 years, but I finally eradicated all of it! Great job on this video. See ya Monday! -Ed
You must not be honored to have Privet Hedge in your area. In central Alabama they will take over a property fast! I bought a Kubota B26 backhoe to control them here. Kudzu is really bad around here too, but not on my property..yet!
Had a Cultivar of honey locus with only some thorns on it. I cut it down but the wood burns hot and is rot resistant. I’m in Northern Illinois, buckthorn Is the worse. I cut them down Then I run the lawnmower over them for a few years they stop sprouting and the grass grows over and now I have more Grass to cut. Buckthorn is so invasive that the soil underneath it is bare any Erosion will become a problem. Bush honeysuckle and bitter sweet are also on my property. I am in Oak Savanna country. Will do a burn but have to be careful it doesn’t get out of control.
Poison ivy is here and there in low areas with grape vine. Garlic mustard is around also. Bishops weed A flower that was planted is really hard to get rid of in the garden.
Gum trees with those dang gum balls are a nuisance. Kud Zu is some kind of nasty non-stop growing invasive plant that covers anything it can grow around. trees, telephone poles. fencing, everything. Had to chuckle watching you whacking at those wild rose thorn plants. 👍🏽🙂
Hey Mike, every one of those you mentioned (including the cedar) were plants I grew up fighting. Granted I grew up just west of you in South East Kansas (Fredonia, KS) and went to school at Pitt State in Pittsburg, Ks. I agree 100%, with the following additions: Silver Maple, Mulberry, Johnson Grass, Sericea lespedeza, and Blackberry.
Those would all get honorable mention on my list. Especially Johnson grass and Sericea.
Here in Southeastern Kentucky, the number ONE invasive plant is Kudzu. It has covered trees, powerlines, destroyed natural plants, and every time the highway department cleans out a ditch and dumps the dirt somewhere else, it only spreads it to a different area. It is the worst and hardest plant to get rid of and I don't understand why the state hasn't declared war on it.
WOW, You nailed that list. It's true for our properties in Indiana and Illinois as well. My sister had nothing but Locust on her property. Took them 5 years to finally get rid of them. We had an outside cat that was climbing a nearby tree and fell into a locust. I found it dead in the tree.
Privet and English Ivy.. Poison ivy is bad too.. don't forget the bamboo or we call it River cane here in central arkansas..
Amen to Honey Locust! I have a small acreage in NE Iowa. If it has thorns, I’ve got it! Multiflora rose, honey locust, prickly ash, blackberries, etc.
Interesting video. Several of those you named are natives here and I don't take out natives, unless they're causing a problem. Shrub Honeysuckle is top of my list here in north central Kentucky, closely followed by Autumn (Russian) Olive. Both brought here to use on highway rights of way, landscaping and reclaimed strip mines. Their wildlife benefits are wildly overstated and, in fact, have negative implications for some. Cedars were the Christmas trees of childhood and are the first step in forest regeneration, at least around here.
Gary Keslar-Ellsworth Ohio-Multiflora Rose is the worst kind here. I clip every one I see. We also have a lot of Honey Locusts in old woods. Some people set fire to the needles and the fire runs right up the tree.
My No. 1 would be Autumn Olive.The Illinois DNR used to give them away as cover for wildlife.
No, 2 would be Honeysuckle.
No. 3 would be anything with thorns.
Fighting all this stuff keeps us busy and an excuse to be sitting on a tractor. Time to be thinking about getting ready for food plots.
Here is my most wanted (to kill) Top Ten list in no specific order:
Poison Ivy
Ailanthus (Tree of Heaven)
Boxelder
White Mulberry
Eastern Red Cedar
Shrub Honeysuckle
Autumn Olive
Wild Grape
Multiflora Rose
Sassafras
Great video, Mike!
In Illinois, locust, honeysuckle, autumn olive, multifloral rose, thistles ( of course), poison hemlock ( biennial weed) and in the last few years mulberries. The birds are spreading mulberries with a vengence. You definitely can't kill mulberries by mowing. I do slot of spot spraying with a 4 wheeler. Honeysuckle and autumn olive are very hard to kill even with brush killer
Mimosa trees in SC are out of control in some areas. Bradford pears are another invasive that we see everywhere now. Cudzu is an obvious one but cattle love it.
On our land In southern Wisconsin, Our biggest perennial offenders are shrub honeysuckle, buckthorn, poison ivy, and autumn olive. We also have a lot of garlic mustard, japanese hedge parsley, and reed canary grass, which is really hard to get rid of.
Wild garlic and nutsedge
Buckthorn, autumn olive, multiflora roses, tree of heaven, blackberries. Those are our biggest problems in WV!!
Locust is my number 1 as well!!!
Your top 3 are mine as well. Not too many locus trees, thank goodness.
I have a few acres in the suburbs. Honeysuckle and bradford pears are taking over.
We hunt deer under Locust trees at first good snow. Something happens to the Seed pods at first good snow, and the deer love em. Most hated plant is what we call Honeysuckle Bush. They have taken over large portions of our timbers in Grundy and Will County Illinois. NOthing grows underneath em. Hard to get rid of.
Cass County, Missouri.
Bush Honeysuckle and Possum Grape are spreading rapidly and choking out everything else.
Possum Grape is like Kudzu - kills even 80 foot trees.
In Oregon
#3. Scotch broom, spreads like wildfire around here
#2. Himalayan wild blackberries, also spreads way too easily
#1. Poison oak, the only plant that actually scares me
Amazing machine and somebody dreamed it, somebody designed and made it, and the guy in that cab gets to have fun running it! Thx for sharing and great camera work!
In my area (NC) I planted a number of Bradford pear trees and they are quite beautiful when they bloom ( they smell bad at that point), other than that they are pretty good, 30 years now and no major broken limbs or issues (we haven’t had too many bad ice storms). The Honeysuckle is really bad they spread like crazy, but at least they aren’t poison ivy or poison oak - hate them with a passion.
Buckthorn, Grapevine, wild rose, wild raspberry, Virginia Creeper and thistle. My wetland soils are being overrun by ferns. Southern Michigan.
I live in the same area as you and I completely agree with the Locust tree and Multiflora Rose. My property has a ton of both, and probably a bunch of these others as well.
Arizona here. Number 1 thru 10 are all the same, mesquite trees.
Tree of heaven... I just herbicided them last summer so it should be just getting what I missed this year.
Central Oklahoma. 1. Eastern red cedar. 2. Locust have caused many flat tires on ATV and tractor. 3. Poison Ivy.
Very helpful! Not a fan of the Bradford Pear either here in Southern Maryland. Thanks!
OMG, I don't have all of those in New England. Some of your trees & vines look nasty and I would be out to remove them as well. Good luck with the upkeep Sir
Hedge bushes, kudzu, and polk salad are the worst. I'm fighting hedge bushes at my grandma's place. One pops up you'll have a small forest of them if you let them grow out of control
I guess Ive been pretty lucky Mike. Over here in Texas county, my big fight has been with sumac in the pasture. After several years of spraying with crossbow, it is pretty much under control, but I still have to go out with the atv and spot spray for new ones that shoot up in the late spring.
My farm in Southside VA, it would be sweet gum and privet hedge as one and two.
Eastern North Carolina - Kudzu vine... don't know if there are any in NC but Virginia has Giant Hogweed. The sap will cause you to get severe burns on your skin.
Here in California, we have a lot of introduced plants that continue to spread and escape from people’s gardens and take over. Himalayan blackberries, scotch broom (and other brooms), pampas grass, arundo donex (large bamboo like plant), tree of heaven, eucalyptus are the big six in central California where I live. The only native that I can think of is poison oak that grows almost anywhere under 5000’ in elevation.
Near STL. My list is: 3. anything with thorns, 2. any vine, and no. 1 is bush honeysuckle. My woods looks like a different place now that I've pulled these weeds out and burned them. I've been told that turkeys don't like underbrush because they can't see predators. Guess we need to do some research into it and see what is correct.
Weeping willow...may be pretty, make good shade, help suck up water in wet areas...but they rain down more crap than any tree I've ever dealt with...very weak in high wind...that canopy is a giant umbrella...and when they go over, they'll have a root ball about 30' wide and 10' deep because they have so many roots
Tractor Mike,
On my property in Easter Kentucky I have many Sweet Gum trees in the lower elevations or draws. Almost every one of these trees have a thick Poison Ivy vine attached to the trunk. I plan to clear most of these trees to open the land for pasture, but it’s s there any way to destroy these vines on the trees that will remain standing?
Thank You, I enjoy your videos.
Ron Mailhot
I'd have sericea lespedeza, bush honeysuckle, and fescue on my list. Your list covered the biggies, but I'd say elms are good trees as long as they're not along your driveway.
Just ystdy was battling multiflora rose! Gotta get after them in spring, when it’s cool enough to wear long sleeves. Good cover for rabbits but wicked on people!
Living in WA now and we have 10+ acres of black berry to clear, have any recommendations on the best way to get this under control? Box blade? Back hoe? It seems the previous owner just kept brush hogging it and every cutting produced a new growth. Well they stopped cutting around 10 years ago and now the whole place is overrun.
Virginia Creeper and Poison Ivy... from the sticks in NW Oklahoma, I forgot the sandburs.
Sad.... Virginia Creeper... also known as trailing pine is an endangered species in Virginia. I don't know if its the same Virginia creeper that you are talking about.
@@williambrown238 Not "Trailing Pine", we have plenty of the vine, Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia in Michigan! After freaking out about whether it was a strain of poison ivy, some research showed it as a direct match for VA Creeper. In both Monroe County (moist river clay flood plane) and Osceola County MI (dry upland sandy-loam soil).
I can't believe Smilax (Greenbrier) didn't make you list. In my part of Oklahoma it protects itself by forming an impenetrable network of thorns. Great for small animals, but it climbs and will kill Blackjack and Post Oak given enough time. Nearly impossible to eradicate. The Red Cross would love to have all of the blood I have lost to this plant.
Adding goats into your rotation with other livestock will control the majority of these, especially if you remove the large problematic trees. Goats love cedar and autumn olive. Cut down a Bradford (Callery) pear and they come running.
Well Mike I have to disagree just slightly; my #1 is the Canadian thistle only because they will overtake a pastures!!! And the Locust tree is my #2 only because it is so trashy ( thorny )but they make great fence posts!!!
I agree with you I absolutely hate the locust trees I inherited a farm in Nixa and there is several locus trees I bought me a forest mulcher just for the honey locust trees I just got done replacing four tires on my pick up because of them
Southern Ontario - Buckthorn, Canada Thistle, Burdock
Tansey ragwort, sour dock, thistle, stinging nettles, St Johns Wart.
Lantana is the big weed in coastal areas of Australia. Lantana has taken over most bushland and is changing the environment. Bushfires are more fierce because of this weed. It poisons cattle and is hard to get rid of. Constant mowing seems to keep it under control but it will jump back before you know it.
For me the #1 is multiflora rose. I’m a grounds keeper of 80+ acres and am constantly removing them from areas the homeowner doesn’t want them. How many cuts and scrapes I’ve gotten I can’t even count. Stick to everything!
Here ya go Mike, up here in NE Kansas we have everything on your list except for that oak tree on your list. But if you have it, I bet it won't be long before we do. We do have a pin oak that can be a nuisance. Now, the Black Locust. I see that big, ugly, useless tree made your list. We moved to this property 7 years ago and I have been cutting out as many as I can. I still have about 10 more to go. Neighbor to my west even invited me to get his too. I have a few over there to cut down within 50 feet of the property line. Thats all I am doing for him free of charge. Tires, boots gets expensive to fix and replace. It does make great firewood after it sits for a couple of years. Then we get to that Rose Flora and the red cedar. I hate that stuff. I cut it down with a brush head on the weedeater, chainsaw and brush hog and go back and hit with tordon. I hate that stuff. You made a good list and I also keep a little for the habitat. Spring is here, chore time in the air, don't forget maintenance on your grass mower. Enjoy the warmer climate and stay safe. See ya next Thursday Mike.
He called it a Locust tree, but it's a Honey Locust tree. I have many here, and they stump sprout like crazy. The thorns on a Honey Locust tree are *much* worse than the little ones on a Black Locust tree that I doubt would puncture a tractor tire or even a car tire. The wood of the Black Locust is amazingly rot-resistant, and good for fence posts and anything made for the outdoors. The roots of the tree also add nitrogen to the soil. I actually plan on planting some Black Locust trees here.
Might be a different kind of locust tree that has all cut down in North Carolina to make fence posts probably some old ones still in the ground the fence hanging on them last a long time
Sumac, Sumac, Sumac at my place in SC. Next is sweetgum. My dad has gotten old and his fields are full of sweetgum saplings I am trying to bush hog away.
Down here in Florida it's Brazilian pepper trees and smilax vine
I’ve got one here in GA that will send most of you to Wikipedia. It’s called a Trifoliate Orange and it is a nightmare! It is currently restricted to about 30 of my 137 acres but I fear I am going to spread it with my tractor and mowing. Very invasive. It’s a bushy tree that gets 10-12 feet tall and a circumference of 15-20 feet, with thorns the length of your thumb. I don’t wish that plant on my worst enemy.
Interesting that here in Central Washington State, we have none on your list. It's semi-arid here and we have no native trees. But a lot of sagebrush. Our worst invasive plants include Russian Thistle (tumbleweed), Kochia, and Cheat Grass. None are native.
Garlic Mustard in southern Michigan it’s everywhere. Japanese Knotweed is starting to take off in southern Michigan. Giant Hogsweed is being found in southern Michigan, it causes burns on your skin if you touch it.
Cedar needs to be #1 and they do stump sprout if not cut off below the first green, I.e. brush cut in pastures. Honey locust is my #2 and thistle is close behind for #3. Green briar and buck brush are numbers 4 and 5, though I’m not sure in what order. I don’t worry much about the other vines since they are mostly deep enough in the woods not to be seen, provide screen, and wild life habitat. Blackberrys are also an on-going pasture and my wife particularly hates tiki-foliate orange.
Bottom line is I think you need a longer list. My place is just south of you on Lake Bull Shoals and our “noxious/invasive/hated plants are almost surely close to the same as yours. The Ozarks are still heaven to me, though and I have no desire to be anywhere else despite the common challenges of invasive/noxious plants, ticks, chiggers, rocks that
“Grow”, or the summer heat. I tell anyone who will listen that when I leave it will be in an urn that someone has stolen.
Enjoy your UA-cam’s.
Western Michigan here. I’d like to see the poison ivy and the eastern cottonwood gone off my property. I’d love to have some eastern red cedar here for the lumber. I have one autumn olive here. It’s always a race to see if I get the fruit or the birds do.
In Georgia Chinese Privet will take over a place. Fortunately the new place I own doesn't have any. My old place was choked with it. A native tree I hate is Sweetgum.
Barberry is a also terrible invasive as well as tick habitat. WV is very similar terrain to MO and we have all the same invasives. After destroying numerous bushhogs in the battle, I ended up investing in a Compact Tract Loader and a severe duty brush mower. For the moment I'm winning. But the effort never ends.
Here in North Florida my #1 weed that I can't stand and try to get rid of is the Palmetto bush. I leave some on the more "natural" areas because they do offer some cover for wildlife, but they spread very quickly.