Mile-a-Minute

[Tap]

Learn to identify this evil invasive and kill it on sight. I wish I knew what it was when it 1st showed up on my place. It's so nasty that it will outcompete oriental bittersweet and grapevines. It'll climb and smother-out valuable cover that we work so hard to develop. Hinge-cut trees, mast trees, ornamentals...you name it, it will smother it. It's not so much of a problem in plots, but it'll destroy your edge habitat! It's nasty for hand-to-hand combat...tiny little barbs will tear you up.
The "good news" is that it's an annual and spreads by berries. I've read that berries remain viable for up to 7 years, so it's kinda a short-term invasive. Keep it from forming berries!
Ive spent quite a few hours ripping the crap off of valuable crabs (both wild and ones I've bought and planted).
Now that I can recognize it's massive mats from a couple hundred yards, I'm realizing just how widespread that it is around here. KILL!

NYIS

 

[mikmaze]

stuff is a nightmare, if it blooms, it has set seed. Killing the plant with gly at that point is easy, but the seeds will be there to grow next year. start flagging areas you treat so you can watch them next year and hit them late june with gly. gly does wonders, kills it easily so have at it. I used 85 gallons of 2% gly early July and will move my spray date earlier next year.

 

[Tap]

stuff is a nightmare, if it blooms, it has set seed. Killing the plant with gly at that point is easy, but the seeds will be there to grow next year. start flagging areas you treat so you can watch them next year and hit them late june with gly. gly does wonders, kills it easily so have at it. I used 85 gallons of 2% gly early July and will move my spray date earlier next year.

So how do you spray it when it's covering valuable stuff that you don't want to kill? Geeze, we take great pains to not spray plots on breezy days because of spray drift, so doing so while it blankets my trees??
This crap really does pull easily so I can imagine that it wouldn't be that difficult to interrupt the seed stage (look for blue berries). But the barbs will rip you up so gloves and long sleeves are a must.

I started this thread because I want to warn those who don't have it YET or for those that have only have a little...DON'T IGNORE IT! YOU'LL EVENTUALLY BE VERY SORRY IF YOU DO.

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[mikmaze]

mile a minute blankets the plants so effectively that you can spray over top, you might loose a bit of what it is on, but if you have a lot of it, it is either that or labor intensive like mad.

 

[Tap]

I just went back and reread that link (NYIS) in post #1. Everyone should make sure they read that link.

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[chickenlittle]

Never seen it before but I did notice some stuff growing in spruce trees in the local park. I'll have to check to see what that is.

 

[John-W-WI]

There are some advantages of living on the frozen tundra. This appears to be one of them. Too cold for it here thankfully.

-John

 

[mikmaze]

I had a thread on qdma, with some pictures, if I get out today I'll take some, we missed quite a bit spraying, and it is up to 20 feet tall on things, no use to the local wildlife at all, deer don't even nibble on it.

 

[Tap]

Please allow me to rant...
I sure wish we could swear on threads. My keyboard would be smoking while I typed curse words that haven't even been invented yet. Feel free to mentally insert 4 letter words as you read this...
I was out in it again today. Ripping it out by hand because my tractor is broken so I can't brush hog a portion of this evil stuff. It's growing in amongst the nastiest stuff...multiflora rose, hawthorn, blackberry, poison ivy.
My body is so tore up from mile-a-minute barbs and thorns. Got a big knot on my head from pulling over a dead tree that this crap smothered and killed.

I bought my original 20 acres in 1985 and it had very little cover. It was mostly hayfields. I've spent the last 25 years developing tremendous cover but in just the last couple years, mile-a-minute has begun to take over acres and acres of my place. I can't believe how fast it has happened. This stuff is going to smother and destroy every thing I've worked for. I am NOT exaggerating how bad this problem is.
I think my only alternative at this point is to start brush hogging (or dozing) my cover in order to stop this stuff from producing more seeds. After 6 or 7 years, the seed bank should be non viable and I could start developing cover again. The only problem with that is I will be getting long in the tooth by that time. I'll probably never have excellent cover again...there's just not enough time.
I guess one alternative is to convert everything to switchgrass. But even that cannot happen until the seed bank is exhausted.
I'm begging you guys with all my heart...don't let this invasive take hold on your property! Keep an eagle eye out for it, and not just on your own land. If it's nearby, then it WILL eventually be pooped by birds onto your land.
Here's a few pics from today. My frickin arms are on fire right now from the barbs.
This stuff will climb and smother anything and every thing.

I have dozens of wild crabs and hawthorn that are smothered like this...

Here's a shot of what happens in the years after the stuff climbs a tree. It sets fruit (think "seeds") within the drip line and then the seed sprouts in following 6 years and the smothering problem just multiplies. MaM is bad enough when it's in mowable areas like berries or goldenrod, but when it gets well established under valuable trees, it gets to be even more of a problem.

Just a shot of some with berries. Most of mine has not developed mature berries this year...yet. Every day that I don't destroy this stuff is another day that seed will become viable.

Here's an example of newly developing MaM starting to climb a crab that I spent good money on. If I don't kill the MaM now, the evil stuff will grow berries and I'll be fighting it around this tree for years to come...

Climbing high up into an elm...

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[mikmaze]

1 oz gly per gallon, give it a test plot try, say an acres worth and see what survives next year, you will be surprised how easy it is killed, and how the good stuff will bounce back.

lower left hand pic has a nice cluster of half ripe berries, blue in color. I have areas way worse than what your pictures show, and only one way to rid that much.

 

[Tap]

1 oz gly per gallon, give it a test plot try, say an acres worth and see what survives next year, you will be surprised how easy it is killed, and how the good stuff will bounce back.

lower left hand pic has a nice cluster of half ripe berries, blue in color. I have areas way worse than what your pictures show, and only one way to rid that much.

My pics don't adequately show how bad it is.
I realize gly will kill it but I have stuff growing that I'm not willing to risk spraying around it.
I disagree that there is only one way to get rid of it. Spraying is one way but mechanical removal is another way. I plan to brush hog everything in between the trees and either weed wack or pull what is growing too close to mow. I just have to keep it mowed until the seed bank is gone...6 or 7 years. There goes my cover and sanctuaries

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[Native Hunter]

Tap, that is a wicked looking invasive. I wish I had an easy solution but don't. Thanks for making everyone aware of it. Getting on it early might really help someone.

 

[mikmaze]

how about a good burn? then start with the mechanicals next year, spring seed a few hundred pounds of good stuff to get it kick started.

 

[Tap]

Tap, that is a wicked looking invasive. I wish I had an easy solution but don't. Thanks for making everyone aware of it. Getting on it early might really help someone.

There is no easy solution. And that's why I did this thread...I want everyone to be aware how nasty this stuff can be if you live in the wrong climate zone. Might not be an issue farther North.
I really don't like starting threads like this, with pics of nasty problems, and bitching about it. I'd much rather talk about more positive and fun things.
But this is one topic that I wish to God that I was aware of 4 or 5 years ago. Maybe my invasion wouldn't be so bad.
I did this thread for you guys. Forewarned is forearmed.

 

[Tap]

how about a good burn? then start with the mechanicals next year, spring seed a few hundred pounds of good stuff to get it kick started.

Not sure I understand.
Burn as in fire? Not feasible here.
Burn as in chemicals? I'll end up damaging or killing the stuff that I'm trying to save.
Spring seed what? I'm under the impression that I'll need to keep the area either mowed or sprayed until the seed bank is exhausted. Maybe start my switchgrass sooner and use broadleaf specific herbicides? Ya know, all of a sudden I think I realize I may have another option for creating cover sooner rather than later. Mow it all down (the stuff that I can get the brush hog into and pull what I can't mow), plant switch next year instead of waiting 6 years, and use broadleaf herbicides to fight this crap while the switch gets established?? I thought I was doing this thread to warn and help you guys, but in doing so, maybe my brain got in-gear...might be an acceptable solution. Not what I really want to have to do, but could it work???

 

[mikmaze]

I was thinking fire, but I think you may have stumbled on a good idea, mow what you can, pull what you cant, grasses for a few years till you see a serious drop in MAM, then get back to letting it get back to what you want. Seed I was talking about were the other good natives, goldenrod, aster, black eyed susan, clovers......

seeing the berries it has already set seed, and dropping them via winged help, next year it will be seen again. Not sure if a rental is in the budget, but a bobcat brush cutter will clear your place in a day.

 

[Tap]

I was thinking fire, but I think you may have stumbled on a good idea, mow what you can, pull what you cant, grasses for a few years till you see a serious drop in MAM, then get back to letting it get back to what you want. Seed I was talking about were the other good natives, goldenrod, aster, black eyed susan, clovers......

seeing the berries it has already set seed, and dropping them via winged help, next year it will be seen again. Not sure if a rental is in the budget, but a bobcat brush cutter will clear your place in a day.

Your earlier comments are what helped me think I could develop cover (maybe switch grass) sooner.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I need to stick with a non-broadleaf for seeding. Clovers, and such would probably complicate spraying into the switch to control the MaM. I realize I'll still be limited from spraying on/near the trees I will be trying to preserve. I should stay away from broad spectrum sprays like Roundup.

I'd love to rent a skid loader for clearing.
Actually, I have access to a skid loader but I'd need to rent the attachment. Wonder where I can get one near here.
Thanks for helping me to jump start my brain. This will be a major project but at least I feel empowered with a plan. Otherwise, this crap is demoralizing.
Gotta fight it...can't sit back and watch it completely engulf my property.

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[Weed Wacker]

I can feel for you Tap, I am battling the same invasive stuff here in South Central PA. Have you ever checked into using Oust as a pre-emergent? I use a backpack Air Blast sprayer for the areas that are badly invaded and and a regular backpack sprayer to do small spots. put down about two ounces per acre late winter early spring it has worked very well for me. I have greatly reduced mile a minute on our property in the last 2 years and there's a lot of other good stuff coming now.

 

[Tap]

I can feel for you Tap, I am battling the same invasive stuff here in South Central PA. Have you ever checked into using Oust as a pre-emergent? I use a backpack Air Blast sprayer for the areas that are badly invaded and and a regular backpack sprayer to do small spots. put down about two ounces per acre late winter early spring it has worked very well for me. I have greatly reduced mile a minute on our property in the last 2 years and there's a lot of other good stuff coming now.

I don't know anything about Oust. Would it harm crabs from soil activity?
Also never heard of an air blast sprayer. What is it?

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[Bill]

I don't have it in MO. But I have seen it taking over huge swaths of land in NJ, DE and PA.

mikmaze might be on to something. It doesn't take bush killing doses of gly to kill it. I had some show up in the yard in NJ this summer. It was 25 feet up a tree with a runners going across the ground another 50 feet easily. I hit the base of the tree with gly and it killed the whole shooting match. Just snapped this about an hour ago. All that's left is dead vine.


Obviously me killing one plant isn't what your dealing with but try some gly. If you kill some bushes experimenting, oh well, it was an experiment. But with all those roots being attached I think a good dose of gly will kill a lot of vines.

Nuking everything and replacing with switch would work also but I'd experiment before getting the big guns out.