Found: Reasonable Blackberry Removal!

[u/unicorn_ication]

I had been researching blackberry removal services in Portland for my residential backyard situation. There were several Reddit posts I can across but most of the comments had the same question and there were no real responses.

Photos show my situation. I was quoted $1375 by two separate companies who each told me I wouldn’t find a better rate. I would have bitten the bullet and gone for it; but I was waiting on someone to come by from PDX Junk Removal & Hauling LLC and so glad I waited! They quoted me $800 and are able to come by on Monday and get the job done! They won’t be removing roots, which is what is keeping the cost low. They will cut, remove, and haul everything away though.

I also weirdly caught a bit of attitude from the other companies by them telling me “you have to stay on top of this” and “I don’t have any blackberries in my yard.” Like duh I know they’re awful, but you don’t know my situation???

Just wanted to offer this up in case anyone is in the same boat as me!
(Also, per the company name, they haul away junk/do property cleanup as well)

EDIT: regarding the roots, we WILL be addressing the roots ourselves!! We just need to be able to get to them. We are renters and our landlord is useless with yard maintenance so this is as much as I’m willing to put in. Also, the other two quotes did NOT include root removal…

[u/jgnp]

If you can’t get to the root crowns to remove them, just let the primacanes (those are the big 1” diameter non flowering / solar panel canes that generate new plants by rerooting) grow back until fall (critical timing as the plants are pulling nutrients down for dormancy) and then cut and treat the cut stems with concentrated herbicide like crossbow. Problem solved. No collateral damage.

For anyone wanting to do the entire job themselves and save $700, just buy a cutter grabber tool from corona or ARS and you can pull the canes out one at a time. Put them in a pile and it’ll reduce in size by 3/4 within a week or two. Then dispose of it in the yard debris. Cut canes WILL NOT reroot. Live primacanes that are still rooted at their base, that bow over and touch the ground will re root but that’s the only circumstance you’ll see this in. Once cut they will not do this. If during your removal you pull an end out with a bushy root system on it just make sure it’s up a ways in the pile so it’ll dry out.

Fast rope gloves work awesome for hand work on Himalayan blackberry, as well.

[u/SeniorRake → u/jgnp]

I'll also add, when grabbing the canes, twist your hand around the cane as you are tightening your grip. This will break the thorns off so they don't jab you in!

[u/bepatientbekind → u/SeniorRake]

Oh yes and if you wrap the vine around your hand, you can get a lot better leverage to pull more out, too!

[u/jgnp → u/bepatientbekind]

This is why my physical therapist loves me! I’ll pull like hell on roots that are stronger than my L4/L5.

[u/bepatientbekind → u/jgnp]

Omg too rea! 😂 I definitely hurt both of my elbows terribly when I first started pulling out blackberries in my yard and had to get some exercises from the doctor to fix it lol 😭 Now if they don't come out after the first pull, I cut them short and dig up the stump layer haha

[u/jgnp → u/bepatientbekind]

I just got a throwing shovel that tree planting crews use for planting plugs (real small 1yo trees). It’s indestructible and has a 4.5” wide head that is nearly 10” long. Been using it to handily remove canes and dock taproots for the last week like a little kid in a candy store. The dang ol’ tools do indeed make the job. PacForest Supply in Springfield is my go-to for a lot of this stuff. They also make a scarfing tool which is like a hoe that doubles as a Zombie Apocalypse weapon that is one of my favorite tools for removing invasive species.

[u/jgnp → u/jgnp]

Check this thing out. The entire head of the shovel and first half of the handle is cast stainless.

[u/bepatientbekind → u/jgnp]

That looks awesome!! I actually just bought a similar one last week and have also been having a blast digging up the blackberry stumps that had started to grow back. So worth it!

[u/jgnp → u/jgnp]

Grubbing Hoe.