Tordon K Being sprayed

[lurnin2farm]

As I was coming into my road (Which is private) I saw a sign saying spraying ahead. I live 1 1/4 miles down the road and didnt see the guys spraying. Then as I was walking to the house they went past so I drove down the road after em and asked what they were spraying and for whom?
They are spraying for the power company and supposedly they had permission from all the land owners down here.

So, here's a couple questions. Obviously the power company had a right of way that they are allowed to keep clear for power lines (Mine is underground) But do they have the right to spray chemicals on my property as well?
My guess is they do not since the kid driving the truck said they had permission from the landowners.

I checked with 2 neighbors and they never spoke with anyone about it so more than likely these guys are lying about that part.

This is an herbicide that is only mildly toxic whatever that means. I guess it only kills you a little bit. Supposedly its supposed to retard the growth of trees. When he told me that I asked so my fruit trees are now going to be slowed down because of this? No answer...

He said he was just turning around this afternoon and wasnt spraying down my way yet and he would be back tomorrow.

What should I do? This is a private road with about 17 houses on it over a1 1/2 miles stretch. Is the power company really allowed to just spray whatever they want all over our property?

[MO_cows]

The electric company has a right of way. They don't need your permission for what they do within their "zone". It is in everyone's best interest to keep the trees back from the power lines. Even if your personal line is underground, if a tree takes out a wire a mile up the line, you won't have power.

Tordon is specifically for trees and brush. We use it on the stubs when we cut down unwanted trees so they don't grow back. It works!

A pipeline company has sprayed it along the back of our property a few times over the years to keep their right of way cleared out over the pipeline. We saw no ill effects and there were horses and/or cattle grazing the field at the time.

I understand some people fear and despise any and all chemicals, but unless you are in that group you should have nothing to worry about.

[Tabitha]

Here they can not spray on your land if you do not allow it. They come with a great big chipper shredder. I try to get the chips when they come through here.

[jwal10]

Most of this spraying is done on high line right of way. The big transmission lines that run cross country for miles and miles in brushy areas, not along roads, streets or near private property....James

[tinknal]

They don't spray the power lines here but they do spray the ditches. They put out public notices before and if you put up signs they do not spray along your property, but you now are responsible for keeping brush and trees down. If you do not cut it down they will and send you a bill. Seems reasonable to me. I would imagine if you just control the trees and brush around your power lines they wouldn't have anything to spray.

[coolrunnin]

they sprayed along the road i live on last year here, but they said if you wanted to opt out you could but you were responsible for keeping the lines clear on your property or you got the bill.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I'm sure the agreement is in the small print of something signed when you got power.

[Awnry Abe]

Originally Posted by tinknal

They don't spray the power lines here but they do spray the ditches. They put out public notices before and if you put up signs they do not spray along your property, but you now are responsible for keeping brush and trees down. If you do not cut it down they will and send you a bill. Seems reasonable to me. I would imagine if you just control the trees and brush around your power lines they wouldn't have anything to spray.

Very reasonable. I keep the pasture/fence under the power lines clear. Our neighbor, in their front yard, have half a dead tree from the power company spraying the tree that was at least 5 years away from the power lines that go only to their residence. I'd be a little ticked if I were them.

Up and down the state and county roads the under cover below the lines are a hideous dead-ness. My freezers full of meat say 'thank you'. My eyes say '....'. In a year or two, it will look decent again. In another 10, they will probably be back with the sprayer. I'll keep my chainsaw sharp, so they don't scourge my place.

[texican]

Imho, you should personally visit the company (power or gas) that has the ROW and inform them that You will maintain the ROW's and keep them clean, and there'll be no need to spray. IF whenever their crews are cleaning up everyone else's property on the ROW's, if you have shrubs and brush growing on yours, they'll spray it too.... Surrounding landowners and myself have negated the need for spraying, by keeping our ROW's cleaned off.

[lurnin2farm]

Thank you for all the replies. They were just here early this spring cutting and I have some very nice piles of chips sitting here from it.
I have no problem maintaining the ROW. The lines only come onto my property about 20-30 feet then go underground for a few hundred to my house so its pretty easy to maintain.

[rambler]

They maintain the easement their wires run along. This may include the underground wires, as I'm sure they want to keep that area free of tree roots mostly too.

They can't spray your property willy nilly.

You can set up agreements with the company in most cases where you take care of it, as others have mentioned.

However, the main company often hires others to do the job, hands them a map, and says follow the wires.... So year to year, the fella driving the truck might not be aware of your agreement with the company to maintain your own...... Just how it goes, not saying it is right, but how it ends up.

Paul

[jwal10]

IF you have no woody material growing, they will not spray with a brush killer. They will spray brush, trees or the stubs left after chipping to keep the stubs from sprouting again....James

[KIT.S]

Blackberries are pernicious around here, so I understand spraying along side the roadways, but a few years ago the roadside got sprayed and in a week I noticed the run-off creek that took off across a guy's pasture was dead on both sides. Just how much chemical did they spray on the roadside that had that much overkill to go on to kill pasture for as far as I could see? The cows drank out of that stream, and it ended up in the nearby river....
Kit

[KrisD]

Here the county sprays herbicide along all the county roads. They claim if you don't say "no" then is implied concent. However they don't tell you they are spraying either, so unless you catch them you would never know. I saw them early one morning spraying my roses which is the only reason I know. I filled out a form stating I will be responsible for the weed control.

[Maura]

Call the power company. They will be polite. If they need to spray even where the lines are underground, he/she will explain this to you. If they don't need to spray, he/she will apologize and make a note. Next year, first sign of spraying, call the company again to make sure nobody is spraying where you don't want them to.

Power company doesn't want to ---- you off, they just want your money.

[Michael W. Smith]

We have a large power line crossing over our property. We have lived here for 22 years and one time they came and cut and shredded everything.

Another time they just used a helicopter with a huge chainsaw under it to trim the trees along the lines - so the branches didn't grow out towards the line. (That was SOMETHING to see!!)

This year they came along and a guy stopped and asked if we had our certified letter. "Ummmm . . . . . no."

We were told we should have, but he needed to know where our property was on the power line and asked who owned on either side. It seems that the whole deal was a botch job with the job being turned over to a tree cutting service and them being told - go do it. I directed the guy to the other neighbors and helped him out.

They came through about 3 months later and sprayed everything. (The guy told me they would probably just bring in a brush hog and get everything.)

Now that everything is dead, I'll have to take a look around and mark out the spots where I can brush hog myself and mark the spots that aren't brush hog friendly. Hopefully I can keep it cut down myself and they won't have to bother our property.

[driftwood]

try putting up a sign that says no spraying...........