Oak wilt trenching in my pasture?

[MissIntent]

Does anyone have experience with trenching to prevent the spread of oak wilt? We recently (yesterday) learned some of our trees have oak wilt, and it looks like one of the suggested solutions is 4’ deep trenching to prevent oak wilt from spreading. The proposed trenching would be through my pasture though, and I’m concerned about this creating a long-term hazard to my horses.

Does anyone have any experience with oak wilt trenching? The woman we talked to made it sound like it backfills as it’s cut and won’t be a hazard to the horses, but she was not a horse person.

[3PonyFarm]

My understanding is that the trench is approximately 4’ deep and about 8” wide. The one I saw being used looked like a giant circular saw blade. While it may refill, I believe you have a reason to be concerned that the trench could pose a hazard as I would think the soil would be softer there at least for a while.

Is it possible to temporarily fence the trench area off until it settles or maybe use a roller on the area to see if that helps?

Good luck, I hope you find a good solution.

[Where_sMyWhite]

I don’t know where you are but here is an article from the Michigan State University Extension on Oak wilt disease. Be mindful of how you handle the infected wood if you take any trees down to avoid spreading the disease any more than need me.

I would agree if you pursue the trenching option that even if the equipment replaces the soil, it will be softer than the surrounding soil until it firms up.

If you are in Michigan, I would contact the office in the Forest Biomass Innovation Center near Escanaba.

If you are not in Michigan, you might want to contact your County Extension office to see if oak wilt is a known problem in your state and do they want to know or do anything.

Sounds nasty

[Tarlo_Farm]

It IS nasty. The trenching is usually done with something that is more like a knife. It does got 4’ deep, but the point is to sever any roots that may be grafting onto the roots of nearby oak trees, since the infection can spread through the root zone and these oaks tend to graft underground. You or the operator of the machine can run tire tracks over the narrow slice to help pack it down, but it should be a very narrow line through your pasture.

[Where_sMyWhite]

Got pointed to an additional link that has a nice explanation of how the fungus kills the tree so quickly as well as prevention, control, mitigation, management of trees removed, etc.

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/foresthealth/oakwilt

[MissIntent]

So it’ll be safe to turnout on it? I could stick t posts and hot wire in the trench spot to discourage the horses from walking on it. I’m scared of them running like idiots, as they do, and breaking a leg.

[Ghazzu]

Take the opportunity to build a cross country ditch obstacle?

[Tarlo_Farm]

If they use a knife, yes. If they trench it, mark the trench. Even drizzling powdered lime along it to create a visual should be enough.

[Jarpur]

When this was done in my area, an enormous rocksaw was used to make the cut (a great big piece of heavy equipment). I didn’t walk the cut, but from its appearance as I drove by, I wouldn’t compare it to a trench like that done to run plumbing or electrical lines. It was more of a slit in the ground with some rocky soil (frequently found around here) brought up to the surface.

I googled a couple of the businesses that do this type of oak wilt remedial work regionally, and the trench cut for this purpose was described as four inches wide, and five feet deep. The cut areas I saw pretty quickly returned to a normal appearance, and I’d have trouble picking them out now.

We had an electrical and plumbing trench dug done when we built our barn, much wider than a rocksaw oak wilt cut; filling it in was no problem (used our local smallish rocks and soil, tamped it down). The horses have been turned out in that area for years without incident. Therefore, if oak wilt trenching was necessary on our place, we’d walk the cut, stomp on it as we go, see if it needs any back-fill, and decide how soon we could turn the horses out.

Best wishes that it works to control the oak wilt.