Recomendation for a small tree puller

[TomJoad]

I have all sorts of volunteers growing on my property - privet, fig, walnut, etc. If I cut them off they just grow back,

After looking online I discover that there are four manufacturers that are in common use. They are brushgrubber, extractigator, weed wrench and puller bear.

After seeing it on "Ask This Old House" I had ordered the brushgrabber.

The brushgrubber does not work. All it does is peel of the bark and will not grab the trunk. I am sending it back.

Can someone give be some recommendations on the other manufacturers. I am not talking about large trunks, but up to a maximum of one inch diameter.

Thank you.

[David Hare-Scott]

During the growing season cut them off at ground level and paint the stump immediately with undiluted glyphosate.

David

[Wallace]

I'd be interested to hear what other say. I've had good luck painting with a pretty stiff solution of glyphosate (Roundup).

[Una]

[...]

None of the mentioned puller devices are intended for your application.

Suckers much under 1 inch diameter are too small and soft for any puller device that clamps on the stem. Also, because in past years you cut off suckers, the root mass will be much larger than for an untouched sapling.

I would use a Pulaski or mattock type axe or a pickaxe to grub out the root. Best time to do this is after a heavy rain. Have the axe blades sharpened before you use it; for safety, these axes are sold with dull blades.

For really difficult stumps, especially trees with a tap root, I also use a hand winch and chain.

Una

[raycruzer]

Small suckers may be effectively uprooted by the weed twister made by Ergonica. See tree-of-heaven examples at weedtwister.com . I make these tools!

Ray

[homer]

My weed wrench does a good job on trunks up to 1 inch, the biggest model. However, it is still a lot of work to wrench them from the ground. I wish it had a longer handle.

It does not handle multistemmed bushes very well and it has a tendency to sink into soft ground when prying so I sometimes lay a board on the ground first.

I cleared out a big patch of Buckthorne this spring but there were a few I just could not get. They tended to be the bigger trunks over 1 inch. It isnt that it wouldnt grip and grab, it's that I couldnt pull it from the ground even with all my weight on the lever. I really need to get another person to help.