Controlled Burn

[thedford]

Has anyone ever had a controlled burn done on their property? I was thinking of hiring a professional to do it. Any references for Missouri? Would you have it done again? Is is good for the wildlife? Did it help lessen the tick population? Thanks

[sbemt456]

Hum...dont know about MO but in Ky controlled burns can be done by fish and wildlife dept. or forestry. You may want to contact them to see which does that kind of thing in that state. As for the ticks, not sure, they are parasite and need a warm host for heat and blood to survive. So the burn would get some of them I think but not many.
Around in our area if an old abandoned house is on the property some times the local fire depts will burn them for training. Hope this helps a little.

Have a great day!

stella

[jebrown]

thedford
Here in Oklahoma farmers do controlled burns every year. Not sure the reason behind it thoughAll my farming knowledge could be related to yolu in about five minutes or less.
Yes it will kill the ticks, fleas,flies and mosquitos along with any other inhabitants. The problem is that they also live outside of your burn area so the will return eventually.
If you hire someone els to do the controlled burn make sure you know who will be responsible if it gets out of hand. You could wind up being responsible for hundreds to millions of dollars of damage. Hard to say as I don't know what is close to your area.
If you hire soome one and they tell you not to worry about it getting out of hand do not believe them it happens no matter who does it.
Contact the local fire chief and consult with him Chances are you will need a permit from either the city or county to do the burn. The fire chief can help you avoid a lot of headaches.

[Anon001]

Controlled burns are not always needed. Some types of grasses actually require burns.... other types are damaged or killed out by it. Here in this part of the country we wait until the cool season grasses are about 3 inches of growth so as not to damage the crown... but before the warm season grasses start to green up.

We also do burns to control noxious plants.... It helps keep cedars from taking over. The very small cedars and thorny type trees such as hedge and locust are killed and kept at bay. Here people do controlled burns every year. We are waiting now on the cool season grasses to green and grow so that we can do our burn.

The other thing is that the landowner is usually responsible no matter who does the burning. We are required to get a burning permit from the county anytime anything is burned such as pastures, brush piles, etc. In a rural area you may need to call the fire chief if you have one or call the sheriff's department or the county clerk at the courthouse. One of those will surely get you to the person in charge of the burning permits. Also keep in mind that even with a burning permit, you are not released from any liability should the burn get out of control.

[Native87]

We have always burnt feilds off. it is really good for the soil. In Va. we have a burn law that starts Feb. 15 no burnin till after 4pm. always call police to tell them when you burn. you are responsible if it gets out of hand.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Many times the local fire dept will do a controlled burn as a training exercise. It's free because they use it to meet training hour requirements. Most states require so many hours of training per district per year. My husband has been at many controlled burns to log required hours.