Blackberry bushes has spread like mad.

At the top part of the back garden there is blackberries that have grown wild along the ground a lot prickly horrid things.That go on for ever there is a lot and we want to get rid. We have started with the cultivator but not good idea just raps itself around the blade.Digging them out will take a long time..Anyone got any ideas...

 

I'm no expert, but this is how I'd approach the situation.

Spray them with a glyhosate based weedkiller. When they look dead, cut them down to about a foot off the ground using a brush cutter. Give it a couple of weeks to see if any new growth happens, if it does, spray it again. When you're confident its dead, cut it to ground level with the brush cutter, then dig the area over with the pick axe. The reason I recommend the the pick as opposed to the other more usual digging tools is just that in my experience, unlike other tools, the pick axe couldn't care less whether there are thick roots down there or not.

 

These have spread along the ground some distance and are not high but have grown long & very thick ..can the same method be used

 

I reckon so, but again I'm no expert

The point of cutting it to about a foot rather than straight to the ground is that if there is a lot of foliage when you spray, it will act as an umbrella protecting any seperate plants underneath. Cutting it to 1ft off the ground leaves any potentially surviving weeds exposed, so you can spray them again. If you cut straight to ground level after the first treatment, then any survivors would just regrow from the base but it would take a bit longer for them to show themselves, thus taking longer before you can be sure they're gone.

 

ok thanks for your reply