The hack and squirt is a great way of getting rid of unwanted vegetation in our forests, wether the vegetation is an invasive or native species.
It is a means of applying chemical on the target spices of vegetation without affecting the non target spices of vegetation. All you need as equipment is a way to make a good hack into a tree and this can be by use of a machete or hatchet and a spray bottle which can be bought from any input shop.
Herbicide application
The other equipments needed include the personal protective equipment and this includes eye protection equipment, rubber gloves, long sleeved shirt and pants and closed shoes.
When doing a hack and squirt application, it is important to know the size of trees you are dealing with. The typical recommendation is to make one hack for every inch of diameter of the tree.
The other thing to keep in mind is that you need the distance between hacks to be not greater than one inch in diameter ie the wood that has not been chopped should be less than 1 inch in diameter.
If a tree is between 2 and 3 inches in diameter then it needs at least 3 hacks to ensure there is not a more than 1 inch distance between the hacks.
When making the hacks, chop into the tree at a 45 degree angle to ensure that you penetrate through the cambium layer and just into the wood. Rotate the hatchet just enough to open the wound and apply the chemical using a spray bottle.
