Blackberry removal

[coopers]

So how long do you guys think it would take to remove 6 foot high thick blackberry canes with a 120 excavator? Two to three acres too I should mention. About actually. I had a guy come in wanting to rent something to do that job and I said mow them, he said the terrain was not suitable for a tractor (trying to fight the terrain and mow at the same time) so I mentioned a dozer with a rake but a regular that comes in to rent (works for a local excavation business) said an excavator would be faster? I would think a dozer with a rake but he said excavator. So how long would it take. Day or two?

Blake
WA

[DKinWA]

I'm assuming you're talking either the evergreen or himalayan blackberry that's so common around our part of the state. On rough ground, I also find the excavator is faster. I could probably do 3 or 4 acres in a day with a 4 or 5 foot brush rake, but it really depends on how clean the ground needs to picked.

[coopers]

Huh, okay, thanks for the info. Does having a standard diggin bkt. make it slower or does it matter (with a thumb of coarse, we don't have rakes for our trackhoes)? I know that removing b. berries with a backhoe was a pain in the but, I hated it.

Blake
WA

[DKinWA]

Any bucket will work, but a wider bucket just rakes more ground faster. You could do it with a 12", but it would take a lot longer than a 42" bucket. And yes, the thumb is very important for making the work go quickly.

[coopers]

Do you charge by the hour or by the job?

Blake
WA

[DKinWA]

Hourly and by the job. It depends on the project and customer.

[coopers]

Cool, that's what I thought.

Blake
WA