One of the core training field trips was about removing invasives. That was my first experience with an Extractigator for pulling small trees/bushes. I ordered one to use for my yard and my daughter’s yard too. It works great for shallow rooted maples and burning bush – and it breaks deeper rooted small trees at ground level (hackberry and mulberry, for example). I am hoping to get more of the forsythia I want to kill pulled in the next few weeks.

The tool has a gripper that can handle stems up to 2 inches and then the lever provides a lot more ‘pull’ to get the plant out of the ground with roots!

During the field trip we were attacking bush honeysuckle. I recently found a bush honeysuckle in my yard that has been hiding under my holly trees; my first attempt did not go well because the plant is growing in an area that is rocks over landscaping cloth. I’ll have to dig around the base a bit to get a better hold on it. It may be that the roots are in the landscaping cloth which means that I’ll have to cut the cloth around the plant to get the plant out!

We are already planning a round of ‘pulling’ at my daughter’s house after our Thanksgiving lunch!