How to Kill Blackberry Bushes and Not Trees

Place the gloves on, along with the shirt and shoes. The blackberry cane thorns are very sharp and plentiful and can quickly scar up unprotected body areas.

Cut the blackberry canes down with a large knife, or other cutting tool if you want them removed immediately. This removes them but does not kill them, as the canes will grow again when spring comes. If you to kill the canes without removing them until later then all you have to do is create slashes, cuts or scrapes in the sides of the canes to allow entry points for the herbicide. Be careful about allowing the cutting instruments to come close to nearby trees as you do not want to open a wound in any tree bark.

Spray the cut areas of the canes with herbicides, covering all open areas with the chemicals. If the canes were cut to the ground then spray the point where they were cut off. Keep the nozzle as close to the canes as possible so that the herbicide does not drift in the wind and hurt other plants. As long as the nearby trees are past a few years old, with no cuts or scrapes on the bark the herbicide will not harm them. Keep the herbicide away from any green areas of the tree such as leaves or young branches.

Remove the canes after they die from the herbicide or leave them alone to slowly decompose into the soil.

Repeat the slashing and spraying the next spring if any new canes return. Blackberry is persistent and it may take several years to remove it completely.