One of the essential uses of thorn bushes is that it is a home for birds, and they also reduce trespassers when used as hedges. It is easy to clear and get rid of brushes as you do the occasional land clearing, unlike thorny or pricker bushes. It may look difficult to go about it, but we will provide a workaround to simplify the work.

Some thorny bushes like Japanese barberry, scarlet firethorn, and rose bushes are ornamental, but you may need to remove them at some point. Both the blackberry and raspberry bushes can be cultivated, or they can grow as wild plants covered in sharp barbs. Clearing them can be quite a task because they require special care and attention to keep yourself safe from skin irritation and scratches. 

How to Remove Pricker Bushes Using Herbicides

Pricker bushes might be bothering you because you are afraid of getting injured and but this post will help with different ways to rid your compound of them. It will also depend on the kind of bushes you are removing, whether it is small pricker bushes or large ones. The methods discussed below are methods of removing both small and large thorny bushes in the following order:

Requirements:

1. Bypass pruners
2. Cardboard box
3. Glyphosate or triclopyr herbicide
4. Disposable Paint Brush
5. Personal Protective Equipment(PPE): Gloves, goggles, closed shoes, pants, and a long-sleeved shirt or top.
6. Face mask

Procedure for Thick Pricker Bushes

1. It would be best to put on protective gear that appropriately covers all your flesh: Long pants, a long-sleeved shirt or top, closed shoes, thick gloves, and goggles. 
2. Use a pair of pruning shears to cut the branches off the thorny bushes from the outside, in manageable lengths.
3. Once you are done cutting, pull the cut branches from the bush to a central point like a compost pile or put them on a heap. You can also put them in a cardboard box and avoid using the usual plastic garbage bags as the thorns are likely to tear through them. 
4. Don’t stop clipping and discarding the cut branches until you clear the thorny bush and only prevent when only the stem stubs are left protruding on the ground. 
5. Use a small disposable brush to apply a 25% solution of glyphosate or triclopyr herbicide. The herbicide is drawn through the stems and ultimately kills the plant from the roots up to avoid new growth.
6. Let the stems stay there for a week to die, then pull them out of the ground or cut them. 
7. Put the dead stems in compost or heap and let them decompose.  

Pro-tip – If you don’t want to go through the above procedure, spraying the entire bush with 2- 3% of the herbicide solution will also kill the plant. You can then pull out the branches in a week as the plant will be dead, or if they are large and bushy, you need to clip the components to remove them. Use thick bags, blank paper, or feed bags to dispose of the branches.

How to Clear Small Pricker Bushes

Small still pricker weeds can be removed by uprooting the entire plant using a shovel. Dig up around the thorn bush base, pushing the shovel down into the ground around the plant to apply leverage to uproot it. 

Don’t forget to wear protective gloves as you grab and pull out the small pricker bush from close to the roots and uproot. Burning is the best way to dispose of them and remember, they take a long time to burn but they will eventually burn to ashes. If you don’t have a fire pit, you can put them in a box and dispose of them at a trash dump other than putting them in yard waste.

How to Deal with Welts

Although you PPE when removing thorny bushes, you might get welts in the process. The best way to treat them is by soaking the area in cool or cold water to minimize the swelling. If it is cut, first wash off the cut area, then apply a disinfecting ointment on the cut area to ensure that there will be no infections.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you will have no more problems removing pricker bushes and disposing of them. Also, make sure you take good care of yourself before you embark on the journey of eliminating these thorn bushes. Wear protective gear to keep yourself safe. However, if you get cut or welts in the process, make sure you treat the area immediately to avoid any further infections. 

Also, remember to dispose of the thorn bushes properly to avoid harm and growing back. The brush(es) you use to paint the plant should be disposed of with the uprooted plant or burnt. Immediately you are done with removing these thorn bushes. It would be best if you cleaned up to avoid contaminations from the herbicides. 

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