Ugh, Prickly Pear cactus

TexasRed · #1 04/30/15, 12:52 AM

I have been an avid reader and learner on this site for a year. Just now getting my confidence up to post questions and participate in conversations. I have learned so very much already, thank you for sharing the wealth of knowledge with us newbies. Bear with me as I get my feet wet.

We have recently retired and are in the process of moving to Texas later in the year. We just returned from a trip to our country place and I'm having nightmares about the overgrowth of prickly pears. They seem to be multiplying like rabbits. Research tells me they thrive in drought conditions. Great news - not!

The property was passed down from my grandparents. Even though it has been continuously leased for grazing and agriculture since my grandfathe's passing in the late 1970's, no one has lived on the homestead in over 30 years. So no routine management of this invasive monster. We would very much like to live on the property and improve it, but these cactus are putting a damper on that plan. This is breaking my heart to see the place in this condition.

The property is sizable (over 1000 acres) but not all of it is infested. Part of the land is hilly, some is flat. It is also has an abundant crop of mesquite trees, which I don't mind so much. Would prefer to preserve a fair amount of the trees if possible. Nice shade for the livestock in the Texas heat.

Help! Anyone have experience eradicating PP cactus? Aerial spraying would be a costly option and hand spraying is just out of the question due to the large area to cover. Besides the chemical process takes awhile to kill - I'm impatient. LOL Can they be dug up? What do you do with the debris after? I have done quite a bit of reading, but it never compares to real life experience.

Any thoughts, ideas, experience ... will be appreciated.

Bearfootfarm · #2 04/30/15, 02:38 AM

Even if the area is large, spraying is the best option, followed closely by fire.

Mowing or digging with equipment generally ends up spreading it more since each piece can generate a new plant

Small patches can be dug by hand and burned, but it will still take years to eradicate

We even have it here, but luckily a lot of grass will choke it out, and we tend to stay a lot wetter than it likes so it's easier to control

I even have it in a raised bed due to the colorful flowers it produces.

My neighbor, though, has a 10 X 10 patch in his yard that's been there for over 30 years that started from a single pad

Wolf mom · #3 04/30/15, 05:42 AM

If it does not have thorns (there are two types - with & without thorns) the ones without are good cattle feed. Leave them alone. Both types are good for making Cactus jelly after the flower finishes blooming.

Prickly Pear cacti have very shallow, short roots. Slide a pitch fork under the center of the plant and pull - the plant will come right up. If the patch is too big, just use a machete to lop off enough pads to get your pitch fork underneath. Spear the pads to dispose of them. If you leave them on the ground chances are you'll have an new plant next year.

Once a year, I'd go around my acreage with a wagon & pitch fork pulling up any cactus I'd find then dump it along my fencing in the forest to make a living fence.

BTW: I lived in AZ at the time - lots of prickley pear there.

1shotwade · #4 04/30/15, 08:52 AM

First off,welcome aboard! You'll get the occasional " poke in the ribs" here but nothing viscous!
We just leased some acreage to the government for a Quail/songbird habitat so I have been very busy for the last 6 months studying the management practices.
If you will contact Texas A&M you'll get all the info you need.They have a program that studies Quail management which addresses the pear issue(there are two different kinds) and use prescribed burning and grazing as habitat management tools.I have studied these practices from 3 different states and find their program to be excellent!
You can also find all the infor from them on youtube. It is very complete and informative.

Wade

TexasRed · #5 04/30/15, 10:30 AM

Thanks for welcoming me. I enjoy reading the informative conversations among this "family".

Unfortunately we have the species with horrific thorns. I remember my Dad telling me they would burn the thorns off and let the cattle eat the petals during the drought in the 1950's. Of course, there was not near the infestation as compared to now. Suppose that was a means of control and cheap feed for the cattle.

The land easily grows grass for grazing but the cactus is chocking it out. My Uncle runs cattle as well as sheep on the property. There is abundant wildlife that I know some benefit from the fruit of the cactus. Deer, turkeys, quail and many species of birds, including Great Blue Heron. Can't forget to mention the Rattlesnakes too! DH had an unfortunate encounter with a large one on our recent trip. What an experience that was. He is about 40 days post bite and improving every day.

Bearfootfarm - After spraying (or digging), how long before they can be burned? My reading tells me the spray method takes about 2 years to kill them.

Wolfmom - I had not heard of using a pitchfork - we were thinking more like a FEL. HaHa! We found several single petals laying here or there that were indeed rooting. It would be feasible to maintain an area around the house and barns with thie pitchfork method.

1shotwade - Texas A&M - that's a great source I had not pursued yet. Good idea. You mentioned Quail... It happens that the Quail have recently returned to the property after vanishing many years ago. While visiting we saw many and noticed they nest in the cactus. I don't want to disturb their natural homes, but most of this darn stuff has got to go. I will look to TA&M for further information.

I'll post some pics later to show just how bad the problem is. Thanks again for the help. I look forward to participating in this great forum.

1shotwade · #6 04/30/15, 11:46 AM

The 2 types of cactus,one large and ons small or short and the large is good for wildlife. The smaller they want to get rid of. If i remember correctly they get 85% kill with burning and yes,after the burn the cattle graze on them. They are a good food source for cattle.
There are many video clips that really do explain so much about Texas grazing land and different things working together to improve wildlife habitat,even "hinge cutting" mesquete for a cover source for quail and how they feed on and nest in the larger cacti but the smaller are useless.It is really an excellent info source.

Wade.

fordy · #7 05/01/15, 01:22 PM

.............One method that worked for me , I used my 5 foot wide bucket on my tractor placed about 2 inches above ground level , flat , and simply moved forward slowly ! The bucket will literally pull all or most of the cactus out of the ground by the roots and it will fill the bucket rather quickly . Then , you can build small piles , 3 or so buckets at a time .
.............By using the frontend loader you keep the front tires away from direct contact with the thorns . I also kept a 6 foot box blade mounted on my 3-point and could UP root lots of cactus by backing up OR dropping the box blade onto a big growth of cactus and up root it by dragging it forward as well . , fordy

sisterpine · #8 05/01/15, 06:36 PM

I am with wolf mom. My small 20 acres had about 100 PP mainly huge when we moved in last summer. We now have only one that I found...a single paddle growing by the wash which I will pull up next time I do my walk around. Last year I made the mistake of scooping some big ones out with the tractor and dumping them over the fence....thinking no one would cross the fence there ever again...unfortunately by this spring they were beginning to root. So we picked them all up and dried them out and burned them. Ours all have spines so I don't know who eats them. It was well worth the work to remove them from around the house and livestock areas mostly because I then to land on them way too often!

Belfrybat · #9 05/01/15, 06:42 PM

SisterPine -- what method did you use to remove the PP?

Alaska · #10 05/01/15, 07:25 PM

we used the same method as Fordy. Piled them with other brush and burned them. Now that the majority are out of the pasture I use the pitchfork or trench shovel in the spring and winter before the grass and weeds grow up. I prefer not to spray. A little workout in the pasture keeps me away from the gym. We are in mason cnty tx

TexasRed · #11 05/01/15, 11:27 PM

I am loving the responses. You are all giving me different options to conquer this monumental problem.

Fordy - I see you are in Texas and not that far from me. I like your method of using a tractor and bucket. Seems like it would speed up the process quite a bit (as opposed to spraying). After you did the big dig, did you have them return or does routine maintenance keep them in check? Thanks for giving me hope there is a faster way to my greener pastures.

Sisterpine - You must feel so good to have all that cactus cleared from your property. Yay for you! I would at least like to start with the areas around the house and barns. There is lots of pasture that isn't infested, but plenty that is.

Alaska - Thanks for the vote that this can be done without chemicals. Once you have dug up the cactus, do they need time to dry out before they can be burned?

Oh yeah, thanks a lot 1shotwade, (jk) I spent HOURS yesterday reading on the Texas A&M site - didn't get a thing else done! What a great source of information that I had not visited in awhile. I will continue reading and learning from that site.

Below are some pic of the criminals. Thanks for all the input.

topofmountain · #12 05/01/15, 11:45 PM

Man I have 2.4 acres in Arizona full of Prickly Pear cactus. Every year I go down & pick several hundred pounds & take them to Farmers Markets & sell the pears. Have you checked prices on pear juice, jam, etc.

RonTgottagoat · #13 05/02/15, 12:00 AM

I know y'all are talking about using the fruit part but the pads can be peeled and cut I to strips and sautéed like green beans. I bet you could pickle them as well maybe with some kind of chile to kick it up. You mentioned being retired, it would seem a farmers mkt @ $5-6 a quart you could turn that nusaince into some cash flow. I'm from Louisiana and my wife still laughs that when driving through Texas I was liking the cactus so much that I jumped from the truck scrambled up a rocky hill to get a piece of that cactus (bear in mind I was very much a city boy) grabbed a piece twisting it from the plant thereby transforming my right hand into a porcupine. Lol she was nice enough to pull all of the stickers out of my hand with a tweazer I bet it took an hour to get em all Dats love

RonTgottagoat · #14 05/02/15, 12:03 AM

In my earlier post I referred to myself as a city boy but since then I've lived in the country for almost 18 years and learned many lessons the hard way but I learned em

TexasRed · #15 05/02/15, 01:09 AM

Wow you guys, I hadn't thought about selling them in one form or another. Very interesting idea! I have seen the petals in the produce section at a grocery store in the past - without spines though. How on earth do you handle them without being poked to death?

I will do some research on that avenue. I have so much of it, that could be like winning the lottery. LOL (The pics don't really show how bad it is IRL). Thanks for presenting me with another option.

I have also been researching insects that might kill them, but that too may be a slow process. Has anyone ever tried to smother them -- something similar to killing weeds in the garden? What do you think - could it work?

Appreciate all the replies.

ETA: RonTgottagoat - Sorry about your cactus picking injuries. That must have been very painful. I am currently a city girl, but spent plenty of time on this land growing up. I am certain I have MUCH to learn about living in the country! I imagine some will be the hard way for me too.

Bearfootfarm · #16 05/02/15, 09:23 AM

Quote:

After spraying (or digging), how long before they can be burned?

I'd throw them on a brushpile and burn them ASAP
Even if they are not consumed, heating them above 212* will burst the cells and kill them so they won't root again

fordy · #17 05/02/15, 10:05 AM

..............Tx Red , after viewing your pics I'd purchase a used Cat 953 Trac loader ! You need some serious pushing power for the size of your cactus infestation . You can find a used Cat trac loader , cheaper , than a 90-100 Hp , 4Wheel Dr. tractor . It'll handle all of the small mesquite tree's along with the cactus . Native pasture grasses will thrive when the cactus isn't sucking all the surface moisture out of the ground . , fordy

whiterock · #18 05/02/15, 10:06 AM

Looks like some piles of mesquite and PP are in order to burn. If you pile the pp big enough most of it will rot or dry out. I have been told, but don't know for sure, that it will make good compost or work well in a compost pile if chopped up. Lots of moisture in those pads. Those things are heavy with water, especially after the recent rains.

The tunas are ripe when they turn purple and twist off thepad easily, then burn the little stickers off and cut and boil for juice to make jelly. Takes time but sure is good stuff. The pads are daid on a flat surface and the thorns sliced off with a knife held flat along the pad. A pass over a gas flame will burn off the stickers. They are good and just the right size to lay on a taco, chopped in eggs and such. Do a search on how to prep and cook. They can cause some stomach distress if not done right or consumed in too large a quantity. They are sold in the Mex food section as nopales. Think i have a pint jar in the fridge now.

If you catch the mesquite beans at the right stage, you can make mesquite jelly. That is some good stuff too. Just have to beat the bugs and molds to the beans. Some places the locals use a hammer mill to make mesquite flour from the beans. Supposed to be really good for diabetics.

TexasRed · #19 05/02/15, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordy

..............Tx Red , after viewing your pics I'd purchase a used Cat 953 Trac loader! You need some serious pushing power for the size of your cactus infestation . You can find a used Cat trac loader , cheaper , than a 90-100 Hp , 4Wheel Dr. tractor . It'll handle all of the small mesquite tree's along with the cactus . Native pasture grasses will thrive when the cactus isn't sucking all the surface moisture out of the ground . , fordy

Thank fordy, that's what I'm thinking as well. The worst infestation of these is probably covering 100 acres or more. The rest of the property could be cleaned up more easily.

Bearfootfarm - 212 degrees. Excellent tip! I only want to do this the right way, too much to deal with to make mistakes and have to do it over.

Whiterock - thanks for the very informative reply. Since I'm new to this, I appreciate the in depth explination. You made me realize the dead mesquite would provide the fuel needed to burn those pp to death! Pictures are truly worth a thousand words. LOL

I'm very intrigued about selling various pp products (and mesquite). We have been trying to think of a way to generate some extra income down the road. We need to deal with the mass crop first, then I can see the vile plants with a new prospective.

Question: Since I'm out in the country, will I need a permit for burning? I realize this may vary from county to county, but I'm a newbie at all this. Any other burning tips, I certainly don't want to burn down the entire ranch.

empofuniv · #20 05/02/15, 01:15 PM

Years ago I would watch a Mexican g'ma across the street. She would have a basket of pp pads. She'd grab a pad w long handled BBQ tongs, give it some scrapes w a long bladed butcher knife to get off the long thorns and then use a small propane blow torch running it over the pad a time or two and into the other basket it would go. She sure had it down to a science and was very quick at it. I don't know what she used the finished product for.