How much does it cost to remove honeysuckle in Southern Illinois?
Published ranges for machine clearing of brush like honeysuckle run about $1,000 to $2,750 per acre downstate. That bracket covers light to medium ground. A statewide cost guide puts forestry mulching at $1,275 to $2,250 per acre. An Ohio honeysuckle contractor publishes $1,500 to $5,000 per acre for the same kind of clearing. Cutting and treating stumps by hand is published far lower, at $150 to $300 per acre. It also takes far longer.
Those are published market ranges, not our rate card. Blackburn Land Service does not post prices anywhere. Every honeysuckle stand sits on different ground, so we price a job after we see it.
What do published honeysuckle removal prices look like?
Price splits by method first, then by density. Herbicide work is priced by the acre and the sprayer. Machine work is priced by the acre or the day, because a machine burns hours and fuel.
The table pulls figures from state guides, a regional landowner guide and contractor rate cards. Use it to size a budget before you call about honeysuckle removal in Southern Illinois.
| Scenario | Published range | Source type |
|---|---|---|
| Cut stumps and treat by hand, half acre to 5 acres | $150 to $300 per acre | Regional landowner guide |
| Foliar spray, light to medium stands | $50 to $400 per acre | Regional landowner guide |
| Mist spraying a moderately dense stand | $200 to $300 per acre | Regional landowner guide |
| Mowing or shredding mature honeysuckle, over 5 acres | $500 to $600 per acre | Regional landowner guide |
| Aerial spray, 150 acres or more | $60 to $250 per acre | Regional landowner guide |
| Cutting and treating stumps by ground crew or mulcher | $200 to $400 per acre | Illinois state agency article |
| Forestry mulching in Illinois | $1,275 to $2,250 per acre | State cost guide |
| Forestry mulching downstate, medium brush | $1,750 to $2,750 per acre | Downstate contractor rate card |
| Machine honeysuckle clearing, Cincinnati market | $1,500 to $5,000 per acre | Out of state contractor rate card |
| Equipment and labor in Illinois, per day | $2,800 to $4,200 | State cost guide |
The spread is wide for a plain reason. Landowner guides price your own labor plus chemical. Contractor rate cards price a tracked machine, fuel, insurance and the trip to your ground.
What does machine work cost per acre in Southern Illinois?
A downstate rate card splits the work into three brackets. Open brush with scattered saplings runs $1,000 to $1,750 per acre. That is 2 to 4 hours per acre. Mixed brush and small trees up to about 6 inches run $1,750 to $2,750 per acre. Figure 4 to 8 hours per acre. Thick brush with 6 to 12 inch stems and steeper slopes runs $2,750 and up. That bracket takes 6 to 12 hours per acre.
Most honeysuckle ground in the Shawnee Hills lands in that middle bracket. Old fence lines, field edges and woodland understory carry high stem counts at small stem sizes. That is the shape of job our honeysuckle removal service is built around.
Forestry mulching grinds the brush where it stands. The chips stay on the ground, so the material never leaves your property. Stumps are cut down to grade and left in place.
What moves the number up or down?
Density moves it more than anything else. A wall of mature honeysuckle takes more passes than scattered plants under a canopy.
Stem size comes next. A mulching head handles brush, vines, saplings and small trees. Two inch stems go fast, and 8 inch stems do not.
Acreage spreads the trip cost. Published guides show minimums near $400 to $1,000, often written as a 3 to 4 hour minimum. Mobilization is commonly billed at $1 to $5 per mile.
Slope and access change the hours per acre. Creek banks, wet bottoms, rock and tight tree lines all slow a machine down. Fence lines are usually priced as a run rather than an acre. That is why brush clearing quotes read a little differently.
Follow-up is the last piece of the number. Cutting the stand is one cost. Keeping the honeysuckle down is another.
Will honeysuckle grow back if you cut it down?
Yes, unless the stumps get treated. An Ohio State fact sheet says cutting a shrub at the base causes prolific sprouting. It also adds stem count. Missouri Department of Conservation guidance says the whole root must come out or resprouting will occur. Illinois Extension says taking stems off with a saw or loppers triggers vigorous growth.
A regional landowner guide is blunter about machines. Mowing or shredding alone does not control bush honeysuckle unless it is repeated through the season and across years. That guide’s path is to shred the stand first. Then wait for new sprouts to reach a foot tall. Spray those sprouts in a later growing season.
We mulch. We do not spray, and we do not treat cut stumps. Treating stumps or regrowth is a separate step you handle or hire a licensed applicator for. Price that follow-up before you compare clearing quotes.
What is the best way to get rid of bush honeysuckle?
It depends on how much of it you have. Young plants are shallow rooted and pull by hand, which suits a patch under half an acre. Cut stump treatment fits half an acre to 5 acres, at a published $150 to $300 per acre.
Foliar spray works on light to medium stands under about 6 feet, at $50 to $400 per acre. Aerial spray is the cheapest per acre at $60 to $250. Contractors generally need 150 acres or more before they will fly it.
Machine mulching is the fit for acreage that has already gone to thicket. It opens the ground in a day or two instead of a season. It also puts the stand in a state where a later herbicide pass is workable.
Why is fall a good window for honeysuckle work?
Bush honeysuckle leafs out first in spring and drops its leaves last in fall. Ohio State notes the leaves stay green and active into mid or late October, after most natives go dormant. A green stand in bare woods is easy to find and easy to map.
A regional landowner guide recommends taking your honeysuckle inventory from late October into early November for that reason. Firmer ground helps as well. The same guide advises running heavy equipment when soil is frozen or not wet. That limits rutting and compaction.
Fall also lines up with the hunting calendar. Illinois archery deer season opens October 1, 2026, per IDNR. Lanes and access trails cut ahead of the season fall under hunting property improvement work.
Can you get help paying for honeysuckle control?
Sometimes. One regional landowner guide lists federal EQIP incentive payments of $33 to $276 per acre, scaled to infestation level. It also warns that cost share carries a maintenance obligation of about 10 years. Follow-up treatments run every 1 to 2 years.
Illinois runs its own programs through IDNR, including the Illinois Forestry Development Act cost share program. Rules and payment rates change year to year. Check with your county NRCS office or an IDNR district forester before you build a budget around them.
What will your honeysuckle acre actually cost?
No table prices real ground. The number turns on density, stem size, slope, access and how far the machine has to travel. Published ranges get you close enough to plan.
Blackburn Land Service is based in Cobden. We cover Jackson, Union and Williamson counties, plus nearby parts of Johnson and Saline. Estimates are free and small jobs are welcome. Call or text (618) 697-5190 with your county, your acreage and what the ground looks like now.