Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
The Best Way to Remove Pricker Bushes
The Best Way to Remove Pricker Bushes. Pricker bushes have thorns or other pointed parts that can get stuck on your clothes or even slice your skin. During a project to permanently remove or transfer these barbed bushes, protect your skin and eyes from the prickly, sharp edges.
Pricker bushes have thorns or other pointed parts that can get stuck on your clothes or even slice your skin. During a project to permanently remove or transfer these barbed bushes, protect your skin and eyes from the prickly, sharp edges.
Things You'll Need
Long-sleeved work shirt
Full-length work pants
Sturdy boots
Work gloves
Hard hat
Safety goggles
Heavy twine
Shovel
Spade
Fresh dirt
Put on a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Work clothes made of thick materials are best when removing pricker bushes. Also, wear protective work boots.
Wear heavy-duty work gloves. Test the gloves to make sure the leaves or thorns of the pricker bushes cannot slice through the material to your skin.
Protect your face and head with a hard hat and safety goggles.
Lift carefully the branches of the pricker bush, and bundle them together. Secure the bundle of branches by wrapping heavy twine around it from bottom to top. This is the best way to confine the pricker bush for easier removal.
Dig with a shovel around the bush. Remove the top layer of soil, until you can see the root system, which will guide the rest of your digging.
Use a shovel to dig a 9- to 14-inch-deep trench around the diameter of the bush. Dig the trench about 12 to 18 inches away from the bush to eliminate most of the root system.
Slice through the exposed roots with a sharp spade.
Push the shovel underneath the root system, and start prying up the bush. You may have to slice through more stubborn roots with the spade. Continue prying until you can lift up the entire bush and remove it from the ground. Use caution around the plant's sharp edges.
Fill the hole left by the bush with new soil.
Tips & Warnings
If your skin gets cut by the pricker bush, clean the wound using rubbing alcohol, apply anti-bacterial ointment and cover with a bandage to prevent infection.
