Oak tree infestation in my back yard?

Question

In my back yard, there's a 10 feet by 30 feet block that is infested with oak tree seedlings. I've mowed them over several times while mowing the lawn, but they keep coming back.

I've never had this problem in the last 10 years of living here (St. Louis, MO).

Is there any way to get rid of them other than to try and pull out the seedlings? Poison, keep mowing, etc?

Answer 1

I had the same problem, . Mine are all gone. I have a huge oak tree in my yard and several maples I had saplings from both. I had thousands. Like me, as long as you have a seeding tree in your yard will have seedlings they were just more noticeable this year.

Just keep mowing them

Answer 2

Call a local nursery/landscaper and see if they would like the seedlings? If not, ask what they suggest to rid them from your yard. Oak trees are slow growers and are worth big $ when mature.

P.S. You could place an ad in the paper to give them away. People who have  open land will plant trees to prevent errosion and give back to " Go Green". It also adds value to your property.

Answer 3

Are you sure it's an oak tree, It sounds re like a pine tree problem and the only way to stop them is to remove them completely ...root ball n all

Answer 4

I live about 70 miles south of you, Farmington, Mo.  Are you sure it's a oak tree?   The reason I ask is you don't say anything about acorns hitting and ruining the blades on the mower...and acorns is what makes the seedlings.  Soft maple on the other hand grow prolifically from the little whirlie birds that fall.  

Maple tree seeds

http://www.flickr.com/photos/orodreth_99...

Oak tree seeds/acorns

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahayes/1506...

What ever they are as long as the tree is producing it's seeds

they will continue to grow and the best you can hope for is keeping them mowed down.

That is probably the best option in order to keep the tree.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

Heads up! Those are not oak tree seedlings! Those are poison oak! Can give you a rash if you handle them! I know I had the same problem for many years too.

But did you happen to notice they never get much bigger than 3 feet? Thats the give away! The other way I know they are not regular oak seedlings is that if  you ran over them with a lawn mower once or twice they would die for good. That poison oak is nearly impossible to get rid of because they have remarkable roots under the ground nearly impossible to dig up-  but finally (after years of trying) I figured out a way to get rid of them here it is:.....

Poison ivy killer. Get the stuff you are suppose to dilute in a spray tank. Get a pair of those black industrial gloves because it can cause damage to your nevous system and your skin! Herbicides are extremely toxic and nasty but this is one of those instances I  would use that stuff. Wear goggles too. Get a paint brush (or two) the cheapest brush you can find.  Get a box of black garbage bags and a roll of string or twine or large wire ties.

  You have to paint the full length of the poison oak with the herbicide at full strength- undiluted. You should wear full length clothing so none gets on your skin. Make sure you wear the rubber gloves and goggles. I recommend splurging on the proper gloves for this. Ask a garden center to recommend the right pair for handling this herbicide. ( I would not trust kitchen latex gloves for this because it may be too porous and you may have  a false sense of security (only to find out you were being exposed to the herbicide for hours after taking the gloves off) . Pour about a half cup at a time in a large mouth glass jar (like a peanut butter or a pickle jar).

Once you apply the nasty herbicide take a black plastic bag and put it over the poison oak. And tie it off at the ground level. It will take about 2 months to kill them. The black plastic bag act as a barrier to block out the sun light and also keeps the poison on the poison oak for the two months so rain won't wash it off. You essentially are suffocating the plant. Another good reason for using the bag is that it keeps the poison out of the environment and it won't harm birds and small animals.

Poison oak is nasty nasty and the plant you are seeing is what is called a sucker that is coming above ground but its all a part of the same extensive plant. You need to apply herbicide to all of the seedlings. You may want to use something like round up or  gallup 360 and spray each one. But when you spray you are getting 50% on the surronding grass and soil. My method is more precise and caustic to the plant.

Regardless which you use make sure you cover them with the plastic bag as this will allow the herbicide to penetrate the plant for at least 30 days and the rain won't wash it off. This is a must!