What and when can you should you hack and squirt hardwood under pines? Only Imazapyr? Any other options that won't kill the pines? I have about an acre in front of my house I want to open up. Thicker than dog hair with gums and a few water oaks. Pines are 60-70 feet high and 10-15 in dbh.

I've never done hack and squirt, but I know you can use Gly concentrate. I seriously doubt that would affect the pines.

Gly and anytime. The trees have no choice but take up the gly using hack and squirt.

Pathfinder is good and Tordon RTU also.

Cutting them down and treating the stumps will yield faster results. I killed a gum that was growing too close to my house with gly using hack and squirt. While it eventually killed it, it took over 2 years to fully die. Even when it dies, it's still standing. Stump treatment with Tordon RTU will yield immediate results. Treat the stump ASAP after cutting and use the Tordon sparingly. You only need to treat the outer growth rings.

Hack and squirt does not work as well in the spring when the sap is rising. Fall and winter is the best time. Imazapyr is the very best for gum. Tordon is good all around.

Imazapyr might kill other trees in that immediate area that you don't want to kill. I would check out Garlon.

I've killed a bunch of stuff on my property with pure gly and a machete. Just don't skimp on the hacks and it'll die.

Tordon must not be as potent as it use to be. The old stuff would kill it and everything the rain water went to. It would sterilize the soil where NOTHING would grow for years. Seen it several times. I thought about using it under fences to sterilize the soil but was afraid of the run off. HYPOTHETICALLY, if someone made you mad enough, you go in at night and spray their food plots and give them a gift that kept on giving for years to come.

You mean Garlon 3A? Imazapyr is the killer of all around stuff.

http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/rec_fishing/documents/garlon_label.pdf

Freaking spell check!!! Tordon dang it!

Tordon RTU (Ready To Use) is not concentrated. It's already premixed at the appropriate rate. The label warns of overuse. You are correct that runoff is dangerous for surrounding plants, but that's true for almost any herbicide. If used in the appropriate manner, it should be relatively safe. The proper usage should have little to no runoff. You apply just enough to do the job.

Legal disclaimer: my memory ain't worth a dang.

Seems the Tordon we were using required a license and came in pellet form. There was a spray also back then. But the runoff from the pellets would kill a LONG ways.

I was very afraid to open this topic at work. Big sigh of relief when I learned what hack and squirt meant.

Triclopyr active ingredient in Garlon 3A...TSC has it