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I was interested in the Milestone so checked out the active chemical. Aminopyril is an amazingly potent chemical. 1 part per billion affects plant life. It is currently being used pretty widely and liberally as a broadleaf herbicide in the same way Agent Orange used to be as a right of way defoliant. Its sprayed to keep hay fields and pasture land clean and will go through a grazing critters gut and poison the plants the manure is used on. Lots of interesting articles on it. It breaks down in about 3 years in living soils. It is another chemical that we will be running through our bodies as well because its use range is huge. Pretty skimpy info on side effects for us as it has been around for only ten years
Just leave the blade in the tree after you whack it and use it to funnel the Milestone into the cut so none is wasted. If any runs out of the cut you are using too much. Use a small, high quality squirt bottle that does not leak. The fine print on the label dictates a limit on how much of this stuff you should use per acre in a year. Can't remember specifics but it is not much. The stuff is scary. If it was a human toxin, a grain of salt of it could kill several people. Don't get any on you! Safety glasses in event of backsplash is mandatory! Shower after using it. Wash the gloves in soap. But it is the solution to the Albezia problem. My property was totally infested and now, aside from the dead Albezia snags, it is pristine jungle, the way I like it. Took two bottles to clear my 3 acres and the neighbouring absentee owner lots. You have to kill them all or they just reseed and in 5 years you are back to start. It would be nice if the state would mandate mandatory treatment. Huge business opportunity there. Otherwise the absentee lots will endlessly reseed the occupied lots that are controlled.
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You can't fix Samsara.
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I'd be happy to go around using my Milestone to kill all the trees along the 130 on the south side of Pahoa town (going towards Leilani). It's amazing to me that there are STILL so many, in relatively easily accessible spots, that are being allowed to live. I'm sure there are many like me that would happily poison them if we were given the okay by the county or the property owner(s). To kill the tree takes less than one minute - cordless drill, funnel, couple drops of Milestone, done. An entire stretch of the highway could be taken care of in less than a day by a half dozen folks working together.
And I appreciate that many people are concerned about herbicides, but a drop or two of Milestone near the Albizias along the highway is a drop in the bucket compared to oil, gas, and whatever else routinely drips out of all the cars every day along the highway.
Leilani Estates, 2011 to Present
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The aggressive weed trees will grow back from the stump. As the guy with the saw I would a lot rather deal with green living wood at the time of cutting than a large dried out brittle dangerous snaggasaurus. Am thinking the Milestone may work as well treating the stumps after taking the trees are down. I want to try it that way here on a residential property in Alaska that is totally infested with large aspen. The problem being hating putting this chemical into the environment at all.
As I am getting ready to move to my property in Hawaiian Acres I think about how the ground is fractured lava and wonder about the filtering process of groundwater down to the seawater level freshwater aquifer under the island. It is conceivable to me that this Aminopyril chemical in Milestone could slowly over the course of time move into that aquifer without breaking down because its exposure to the acids in living soil would be too brief.
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For many people the cost of paying a "guy with a saw" to remove big albizia is prohibitive, and many of us are stuck with off island owners of neighboring vacant lots that refuse to deal with their trees. Those towering albizia rain seed, random broken branches and fire ants on downwind properties for a pretty long way.
The whole point of poisoning the really big ones it to let them dry out standing and they will break up from the tips inward, until they are just standing stumps. We had two standing stumps over 20 feet tall and 3 feet in diameter go down during Iselle, they both broke up into shreds when they hit the ground, one hit a hog wire fence and didn't break it, the tree just shattered on impact it was so dry and light.
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And I appreciate that many people are concerned about herbicides, but a drop or two of Milestone near the Albizias along the highway is a drop in the bucket compared to oil, gas, and whatever else routinely drips out of all the cars every day along the highway.
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Absolutely!
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quote:
Originally posted by gogould
As I am getting ready to move to my property in Hawaiian Acres I think about how the ground is fractured lava and wonder about the filtering process of groundwater down to the seawater level freshwater aquifer under the island.
The chemical is being absorbed by the tree. That is the whole point, the tree tries to use it for nutrition so it goes up the trunk, up the branches into the leaves. By then, the original chemical has been diluted and broken down into several components with virtually no toxic effects. You are going to be on catchment anyway and too far from any of the major groundwater aquifers to have any effect.
"Aloha also means goodbye. Aloha!"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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"And I appreciate that many people are concerned about herbicides, but a drop or two of Milestone near the Albizias along the highway is a drop in the bucket compared to oil, gas, and whatever else routinely drips out of all the cars every day along the highway."
without at least referencing some sort of data to go on, it seems a bit hasty to be so confidently contrasting any environmental side effects of this Milestone herbicide as "absolutely" "a drop in the bucket" compared to leaking auto fluids. same goes for claims of any unusual dangers associated with the herbicide.
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Anyone can look up Aminopyril for themselves. While I am completely onboard with wiping out the weed trees from Hell it is my personal responsibility to learn about the new age chemical being used. There is lots of things on market and getting on market that are worth taking the time to learn about.
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"...While I am completely onboard with wiping out the weed trees from Hell it is my personal responsibility to learn about the new age chemical being used. There is lots of things on market and getting on market that are worth taking the time to learn about."
agreed.
"...the new age chemical being used."
but now wait a minute, we talking Patchouli?
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