How do you kill kudzu vines

In these situations, surface disturbances such as mowing, disking, grazing or burning are unlikely to have much effect. Therefore, few options remain except the application of herbicides. A prescribed burn in March before herbicide treatment will kill the smallest plants and sever draping vines, leaving roots and new growth a better chance for exposure to chemicals.

This is an opportune time to mark the largest roots as well as any hazards in the area slated for treatment. Old roots need heavier herbicide application than young ones.

Best results from chemical treatment occurs if application is done in late summer when flowers appear and nutrients are being actively transported to roots. If preservation of a natural area or community limits the use of grazing or large-scale herbicide application, a combination of trimming, disking, and digging as outlined above will set the plants back and perhaps eradicate a new infestation in three to four years.

Foliar application of herbicide using a backpack sprayer will provide more rapid eradication. The expense of restoration of a small area following herbicide use compared to the effects of kudzu spreading over additional acres may weigh in favor of a concentrated herbicide treatment prior to spread.

Plant native grasses in the fall after treatment to control erosion and spread of kudzu and invasion of other weedy plants which may colonize the site after kudzu dies. Many herbicides will kill back the stems and leaves of kudzu; however, most will not provide eradication by killing of the root systems. Testing of 25 herbicides over an eight-year period by Miller led to the following recommendations:. Both products are applied as foliar sprays which then should be washed from the leaves to the ground by rainfall or spray irrigation of less than one inch within two to five days after application.

This allows additional uptake by root systems. Treatment should be done no earlier than late June or July to assure that all stems are actively growing. Tordon Mixture is recommended at a rate of one gallon per acre for younger kudzu infestations and two gallons per acre for patches older than ten years. The rates are again doubled for this mixture on older infestations.

Successful eradication has been achieved by applying the Tordon sprays at a volume of 40 to 80 gallons of spray mixture per acre. Thorough coverage of herbicide is essential to successful treatment. Open patches should be sprayed in a cross-hatch pattern because of the density of foliage. Half of the total solution should be sprayed in one direction and the other half sprayed perpendicular to the first application. Spot treatment with a backpack sprayer can be used on small patches or as a second treatment.

These mixtures will be percent effective when vines immediately around root crowns are sprayed to medium wetness. Re-treatment with the Tordon products is recommended following a successful initial treatment. Many large kudzu roots will not sprout for two years following the first treatment, so re-treatment should occur starting in the third year following the initial treatment.

Thus, one year is skipped between the initial treatment and the first re-treatment. Re-treatment application rates are half those of the initial treatment. They are voracious eaters and can easily navigate hilly terrain. There are Vertical Climbing Plants to Embrace. Additionally, get more ideas on how to successfully control or eliminate kudzu with our Kudzu: A Field Guide. Search for:. Join the conversation. Related Stories. Gardening Kudzu by Amanda Gutterman. Read all recent posts.

If you spray herbicide on a plant like a tree, the herbicide will end up harming this plant as well as the kudzu. Method 3. Remove kudzu during the correct times of year. Regardless of the method you use, you want to make sure you remove kudzu at the right times of the year. Kudzu should be treated several times throughout the year. New kudzu will usually emerge from the first kudzu plants.

This should be treated again in later summer or early fall to prevent a reoccurrence. Use herbicide conservatively. If you choose to use herbicide to treat kudzu, be careful. Only use herbicide in select areas and only apply the recommended amount. Read instruction manuals that come with your herbicides carefully, especially the safety instructions. Chemicals in herbicide can be toxic if ingested or touched. Make sure to use mild herbicides in residential or environmentally sensitive areas.

If you're working in residential areas, make sure you choose mild herbicides. You also want to make sure use of herbicides is permitted in any area you choose to spray. You can contact your local Department of Natural Resources for more information. Did you know you can get expert answers for this article? Unlock expert answers by supporting wikiHow. Lauren Kurtz Professional Gardener. Lauren Kurtz. Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

Not Helpful 6 Helpful Not Helpful 3 Helpful 4. Someone suggested that spraying salt water on kudzu will kill it. Is this true? If so, what would be the salt to water ratio? Not Helpful 0 Helpful 6. Is it effective to cut kudzu vines and apply the herbicide directly to kill the root? This method is unlikely to kill the root. The best way is to cut the vines to the ground and place a black plastic sheet over the infested area.

This will bake the roots and any seeds in the soil by trapping heat from the sun while blocking light for anything that sprouts up. Remove the fabric after a season and plant whatever you want. Not Helpful 18 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. It is very important to be both thorough and persistent when trying to kill kudzu.

Many people use only half-measures and give up too easily. Remember, it is certainly possible to control and eliminate kudzu if you stick with it. Helpful 12 Not Helpful 7. Read and follow all directions when applying chemicals and use with caution. Be aware of risks to flora and fauna. Helpful 9 Not Helpful 2. Related wikiHows How to. How to. This collection focuses on named cultivars varieties that have been selected for depending on color, size, bloom time, etc.

The Georgia Moon Series will have fragrant white-blooming Georgia native species, and the Sunrise to Sunset Series will be comprised of Georgia native species in warm orange, reds, and soft yellows blooming from March — July. The Stumpery Garden is a horticultural oddity, serving as a public place for learning and exploration and demonstrating how trees can be utilized in a beautiful way.

Stumpery gardens utilize dead, fallen, and storm-damaged trees as an asset to the garden — providing critical habitat for beetles, frogs, birds, and small mammals such as chipmunks. Whole logs are placed upside down to display their root structure, and logs, branches, and pieces of bark are arranged to form walls and archways. Plants such as ferns, lichen, mosses, soft grasses, and trailing plants are encouraged to grow on and around them.

Take a virtual tour of the Stumpery Garden here. Different from the Eastside collection, the Westside collection has all straight species and natural varieties that encourage free hybridization. These azaleas are all grown from seed so there are many variations in the hues even between the same species. Home to the largest American persimmon tree in the state of Georgia, this remnant old growth forest on 1.

Walking through a nature trail and over a few bridges will bring you up close and personal with woodland groundcovers, rare spring ephemerals plants with a short life cycle such as trillium, and a large collection of native woody species. Enjoy the seasonal blooms, learn from plant identification signs, and get hands-on with volunteer opportunities to plant, divide woodland perennials, and collect seed. How to Remove Kudzu.

Removal Difficulty: Hard Removal of this species is rated as hard because removal is possible but difficult without professional treatment. Cut and Treat Kudzu quickly climbs mature trees to reach sunlight and can completely cover canopies.