Rural Payments and Services

Without aftercare, scrub that has been cleared can regrow into dense, impenetrable scrub within a few years. It is essential, particularly with birch, that there is follow-up treatment to tackle any regrowth.

Grazing management and raising water levels on site can also help to keep regrowth in check, although grazing alone is not often enough to kill scrub. Some breeds are good browsers of scrub – for cattle these are Highlanders and Galloway, for sheep choose Hebridean, Herdwick, Scottish Blackface and Soay. You should introduce stock the year after cutting during late spring / summer and again in the autumn.

Spray scrub regrowth in summer. Spray only on calm days to reduce damage to surrounding vegetation. Weed wiping is preferable to spraying to further reduce damage to surrounding vegetation, but it is only effective with light birch regrowth.

Treat any regrowth from cut stumps with glyphosate. This is best done when the regrowth is higher than the surrounding vegetation but no taller than waist height. The application methods are as described below.

Herbicide can be applied with a pneumatic sprayer, a low volume sprayer or by weed wiping. Most woody species found on bogs are vulnerable to glyphosate. Formulations vary and label recommendations should be followed at all times. Mixing in a water soluble dye will allow you to see where you’ve been.

This option is available for ongoing scrub management, where you have already carried out primary scrub clearance under a previous scheme. You can also apply for this option as part of a scrub control programme when you are proposing to undertake primary treatment.