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tonyoneandonly 05-26-2006 16:45:57 64.12.116.10 Report to Moderator	I tried to post this on another forum, but it wouldnt work. I have too much cactus in the pasture to dig up, what kind of poison or home remedy can I use to get rid of it ? [Reply]   [No Email]
John and Karen 07-11-2007 16:56:22 12.190.13.161 Report to Moderator	Help in reply to tonyoneandonly, 05-26-2006 16:45:57   WE have been hand digging cactus (prickly pear) all over our 5 acres. Little baby one's keep coming up. I have called the University of Florida's agriculture research Center and the local county extention office and have gotten no assistance here. If anyone has any ideas that we haven't tried....please let us know. We have burned land off, pulled them up bulbs and all, salted them, fuel-oiled them, used round-up, even used the same chemical the railroad uses to keep the tracks clear...it keeps coming back. HELP!! [Reply]  [No Email]
Rasputen 05-29-2006 08:08:13 71.228.203.244 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to tonyoneandonly, 05-26-2006 16:45:57   Not sure if this works for catus.... But bamboo is a real pain to kill if in the wrong place. Round Up won't kill it unless you use a million dollars worth. I grow tons of bamboo and don't want to kill it....but SALT will kill it dead!!!! Just give some water softner salt a try on a test patch....if it kills the cactus then you can kill it all and then flush it out and regrow grass. It's a LOT cheaper than RoundUp and so much less toxic!!!! [Reply]  [No Email]
Dan 05-27-2006 06:41:50 24.1.192.228 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to tonyoneandonly, 05-26-2006 16:45:57   My wife loves the wild cactus patches, and won't let me kill them :-) At my property in Bonham, I have a few different varieties of wild cactus, this pic is the most common you find - it is Prickly Pear (or opuntia) and puts out bright yellow flowers. Another variety we have is called Cow's Tongue (that is the slang version of course), it looks like prickly pear, but is stretched out (like a cow's tongue) instead of round pads. Whe have an old parch of Cow's Tongue cactus that is over 50' in diameter with main stalks as big as my waist. Another variety is Walking Stick cactus, which puts out nice purple flowers and is more stick shapped like a lot of small sticks stuck together. As has been said, if you cut it, each piece will grow into another plant. I hear you scrape the cactus at the ground with a flat shovel and throw the top in a burn pile. If this is done during a hot dry spell, the roots will die out as well. My wife would kill me if she saw me typing this :-) Good luck, Dan [Reply]  [No Email]
souNdguy 05-26-2006 21:00:39 12.65.162.46 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to tonyoneandonly, 05-26-2006 16:45:57   Our 3ac and 10ac pasture here in florida were filled with cactus.. tried roundup.. didn't work. We hand dug the 3 ac pasture, and were tired of that. We put lime down onthe 10 ac pasture.. heavy... that kille dit, alog with digging the big patches, and a little hand maintenance. Soundguy [Reply]  [No Email]
Gaspump 05-26-2006 17:54:25 24.170.179.105 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to tonyoneandonly, 05-26-2006 16:45:57   Got the FL version and I got rid of it easily with RoundUp Quick Pro. Didn't have much just 20-30 of them so I sprayed with a 2 gal hand sprayer using one 1 gal mix dry pack. [Reply]  [No Email]
tonyoneandonly 05-26-2006 17:16:25 64.12.116.10 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to tonyoneandonly, 05-26-2006 16:45:57   Its wild Texas cactus. I've already tried Round up and that didnt do anything and now I dont know what to think. [Reply]  [No Email]
FarmerDawn 05-26-2006 17:42:19 69.19.14.37 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to tonyoneandonly, 05-26-2006 17:16:25   How far south are you? Do you know what prickly pear looks like, compared to barrel cactus or pincushion? How tall does it get? Which shape on the page I linked is it most like? basic cactus shapes [Reply]  [No Email]
FarmerDawn 05-26-2006 16:58:51 69.19.14.37 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to tonyoneandonly, 05-26-2006 16:45:57   Do you know what kind it is? (That can make a big difference.) [Reply]  [No Email]
tonyoneandonly 05-26-2006 19:46:37 205.188.116.70 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to FarmerDawn, 05-26-2006 16:58:51   Thats a great website, the kind we have is flattened-padded. [Reply]  [No Email]
FarmerDawn 05-26-2006 20:02:52 69.19.14.37 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to tonyoneandonly, 05-26-2006 19:46:37   That's prickly pear, then. The most important thing is not to go over it with a bulldozer or shredder. Each separate paddle that comes off can grow into a whole new cactus. (That's why I wanted to be sure what kind it was.) The roots can be very tenaceous. In general, if you have a whole lot of it, the best way to get rid of it is to burn the pasture. Given the state of Texas grasslands right now, you can't do that of course. The only other effective method I can find is herbicide application: Tordon 22K™ or Picloram. The link below has information about how to apply it and the pros and cons of various methods. The thing is, prickly pear has a very thick, waxy outer skin that keeps most herbicides OUT. So you have to do special things to use that method. The linked article explains more. Dawn Prickly Pear control link [Reply]  [No Email]
Ole Country Boy 05-26-2006 20:14:11 66.82.9.55 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to FarmerDawn, 05-26-2006 20:02:52   Well, it is pain in the buttocks to git rid of. We had a huge, 30 ft X 30ft patch of it on this place when we got it. Half was on neighbors and half on ours. Talked to neighbor first and got premission to git rid of it. I got a chain saw with a long extension shaft and HEAVY welder type gloves, heavy jeans jacket and boots and etc etc. Started in on that durn thing cutting what I could reach, drag it out into a pile. Kept doing that and patching up cuts and scrathes on me!! Finally I had a big butt pile of it in one place, and TWO flat tires on the tractor.. I let it dry a week then poured kerosence all over it, piled old dead limbs and wood on it and set it off!!! Burned for hours it seemed like. Two or three days later, drug it all into another smaller pile and burned it again!! Got a hole dug and shoved it all in and buried it. Had to mow down a couple that came up next year and used round up on some others, but it is all gone now. That has been about 8 years. Well, you asked!! :-) [Reply]  [No Email]
FarmerDawn 05-26-2006 20:16:31 69.19.14.37 Report to Moderator	Re: OT, but how can I kill cactus ? in reply to Ole Country Boy, 05-26-2006 20:14:11   WOW!!! I am IMPRESSED to pieces!!! I have a good idea how much work that was, and how battle-scarred you and your equipment had to have been! Congratulations!!!! WOW!!! Whew! --Dawn [Reply]  [No Email]