Get some herbicide with the active ingredient triclopyr. Lily-Miller's "Blackberry & Brush Killer" is one product.

When you cut the whips/trees, immediately paint the cut surface of the stub with the weedkiller. Generally used full strength for that purpose, but read the label to make certain.

Beyond that, it may still take several years to stop regrowth. All depends upon how extensive the root systems are.

Anything used near water needs to be kept out of it. Glyphosate, for instance has been found in a recognizable condition 1 mile downstream from application sites.

Sounds like you need a beaver :)

Or goats.

Meant to say a temperate jungle. :)

Maybe that should have been "intemperate".

Our neighbour cut alders and cottonwood down along the lakeshore. He has donkeys and sheep but they are not keeping the shoots down. It is a real mess and the lakeshore is now unreachable on foot.

actually, of all the suggestions, the goat seems most appealing. We have a neighbor who might be willing to loan out his goat for a few weeks each summer. I won't use the herbicide recommended here, since the pond is full of crayfish, frogs, and goldfish. Plus we pump the water every August to irrigate a large berry patch. And swim in it all summer long.

What about latex paint?

Didn't quite grok your comment, grrrnthumb, about alders and willows somehow being sacrosanct by virtue of being native. And therefore...it's more natural to let the trees wreck this pond we dug, by shading the surface, degrading the dam, and drawing down the water table at least 3 feet each summer? To be honest, your "solution" sounds a bit too suburban to this quasi-farmer working a 6 acre homestead. Plus, I already have a very healthy alder bottom on another part of the property, and take 3-5 trees a year for firewood.

The paint-on application is safe to use near water.

Spraying isn't.

Goats certainly seem to think they are appealing.

Or would that be app-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-aling?

No I wouldn't call alders sacrosanct, but yes native waters would be, when we're talking about chemical herbicides. But letting alders grow is natural, yes, especially compared to an artificial "dug" pond and a man-made dam. You're trying to bend nature to your will in the classic pioneer style, and I'm all for it if you want to do it the honest way & do the work. I'm just against shortcuts with lasting harm to our surroundings. :)
- Tom

Direct application of herbicide to cut surfaces should not get any herbicide in the water. Spraying would. 'Blackberry and brush killer' is very effective.

But if you have access to a goat - try it! goats are shrub browsers after all, and often used for brush control. The goats we had when I was a kid certainly killed more than their share of our trees. They're desert-makers.

You may find you have a beaver move in on its own, in time. they can certainly do a number on riparian alders and willows.

There's an article in the NY Times about herbicide, that strongly suggests that the stuff is actually much more dangerous at lower levels than the industry has been willing to declare. Read it at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/us/23water.html?hp

That article is about atrazine, which is not related to the products being discussed in this thread nor is it approved for aquatic use.

Herbicides vary greatly in their environmental and medical toxicity and in their characteristics such as persistence, solubility and so on.

What about Crossbow? Can it be painted on straight from the can? I'd like to try it on my blackberries -- cut the canes to ground-level and paint the cut end. The label says to mix the Crossbow with either diesel or kerosene, not water, for that purpose. I don't want to use those carriers. Does anybody know if straight or mixed with water will work?

Please -- no spraying anywhere near water.

Crossbow is triclopyr ester(as opposed to the amine form of triclopyr in the brush killer mentioned earlier) and 2,4-D. While there are better surfactants for the environment than those carriers, such as methylated seed oil, Crossbow is not a good choice near water compared to glyphosate or the amine form of triclopyr.

From the makers of "Dances With Wolves": "Swims With Crayfish."

Yikes, somehow I picture Beluga and kin cavorting in the ol' swimmin' hole au naturel. I'm not a guy but the idea of splashing about with anything dangling over the claws of scuttling crawfish makes me wince. Codpiece, anyone?

Squeamishly,

Rain

>dangling over the claws of scuttling crawfishResulting in the combined new production Dances with Crayfish.

...not to be confused with the NC-17 version, "Castrating with Crayfish."

Shameless,

Rain

I'm trying to decide between buying a house that has 2 acres of land with no alders (but the house badly needs updating, has a 30 year boiler and is not energy efficient at all) or a house on an acre of land that is 2/3 covered with alders (but the utilities are 1/3 as much). I love to garden, and I would be able to get a goat/cow/alpaca at either property. What do you think I should do?

What condition is the second house in?