So, you’re ready to load up the 4-wheeler with all your favorite tools and gear for combating plant material that you wish to remove or eradicate? Or perhaps it is simply a magnificent day outside and a walk through your property suddenly sounds like a great idea. In either case maybe you should be “pack’n”. Hold on a minute… in this case we are not describing a weapon, but instead a squirt bottle! That’s right, a squirt bottle. Well, perhaps undesirable plants may consider it a weapon, and if that is the case, it might need to be your weapon of choice.

Many of you are familiar with basal applications of triclopyr products, the most common being Garlon 4®, a Dow Chemical product. This triclopyr based product is mixed with specially formulated oil and dye that is not harmful to the environment; it is then used as a carrier for this herbicide, being applied to the base or stem of a target plant (of course always read and follow label instructions). The bottles I use are 30 oz. This is a handy size. Try to buy a high-quality bottle. This may involve some trial and error, but you will find a good one. My loaded squirt bottle always travels in a cut off 1 gallon jug. I like the type that bleach or windshield washing fluid comes in due to their heavier construction. This size jug easily fits into a toolbox on the 4-wheeler.

You can keep an old rag in the jug to keep the bottle stable. If walking, you can use the 1 gallon jug’s handle to loop your belt through for easy carrying. You can tie a 12-inch piece of fluorescent ribbon to the bottle in case it does fall out of the carrying jug. This size piece normally makes the errant bottle easy to find. Here are some of the applications where the squirt bottle approach has been convenient and beneficial:

• Treating unwanted invaders in tree plantings;

• Killing exotic, invasive plants. Most of these are hard to kill, and in the case of Tree of Heaven, basal application may be the best way to kill it;

• Crop tree release within the forest. One can kill post/pole sized trees quite readily; and

• During an inventory it can be fastened on your belt, ready to be deployed against those unwanted plants throughout your stand, including that deep hollow you will likely not revisit for years.

There are likely many other applications where this method can be helpful. The primary benefit is that it is a powerful and effective tool that comes in a very small package. It is easy to carry and readily available. I am always surprised at how far one of these full 30 oz. bottles will go. Part of the growing season (June-August) is my preferred time of year to use this product due to quick results and ease of spotting certain unwanted plants. I use it in the cool of the morning to avoid the heat and vaporizing of the chemical.

Remember to write the name of the chemical on the squirt bottle and adhere to the label instructions, then go out there and get em’.