BRUSH MANAGEMENT SERVICES:

“Hire-A-Goat”  provides for a natural process of controlling and maintaining brush, fuel loads, and unwanted invasive weeds. Our focus is on thinning over grown, hard to access brush which provides fuel for out of control brush-fires and wildfires. 

In addition to abatement for fire protection, Our Brush Teams are a great resource to remove and eradicate unwanted/noxious weeds from pastures, hillsides, orchards, other farm and ranch land grazing areas needing attention.

Our services include:

• Site Assessments
• Land Management
• Brush & Weed Abatement
• Thinning Fuel-loads
• Recovering Pastures & Grazing areas
• Annual Brush & Weed Management Services

FIRE THREATS:

Brush-fires and wildfires are a serious threat to Californian's property and life. Proper vegetation management will lessen the danger from these fires.  In Southern California, and especially in San Diego County, the brush "demographics" vary depending on the micro-climate where you live.  From dense coastal scrub, chaparral, chemise, sumac, deer weed, manzanita, scrub oak and larger oak and pine trees - they all provide the perfect fuel for brush & wildfires. 

These types of fuel loads provide daunting challenges in preventing and containing fires. Given the height of vegetation, the lower brush can create, "ladder fuels", where vegetation in the form of dry grass, small bushes, brush, and small branches on trees provide fires a "ladder" to the crown, or the tops, of the trees.

 Crown fires are one of the most dangerous types of fires. Once the tree tops are involved, they tend to shoot burning embers long distances. This creates a real challenge for the fire fighters on the ground. By constantly removing these "Ladder Fuels", fires will burn cooler, and give our fire crews a chance to contain them.

BRUSH MANAGEMENT PLAN:

Having an appropriate brush and vegetation management plan is key in preventing property loss.

There are many ways to control your out of control brush growth.  Traditional methods typically involve:

•  Clearing by hand with mechanical devices such as weed-eaters, bushwhackers, chain saws, and/or chippers.

• Burning

• Herbicides

• Larger areas usually involved expensive hand crews and heavy machinery.

Traditional methods are very expensive, time consuming and labor intensive. Not to mention the negative effects these methods have on our environment.

·         Burning - risky, usually requires city permits, and presents logistical problems.

·         Erosion - loss of nutrient fortified top soil, and destroys your soil cap.

·         Herbicides - The lingering chemical effects left in the soil and the problems chemicals bring in terms of handling and storage.

·         Invasive weed problem - excessive over brushing/clearing allows and even encourages evasive weeds such as thistle and mustard to gain control over your soil and choke out the native plant species.

Land and Brush Management with livestock, particularly Goats, is a very cost effective, environmentally friendly alternative to traditional clearing methods. Additional benefits in using goats:

• Goats provide a natural way to clear unwanted brush and weeds.
• Goats are a great follow-up to an area that was cleared by heavy equipment in keeping the brush down and under control.
• Goats will reach places hand crews and machinery can't get to.
• Goats are browsers, meaning they will not, unless left in the area too long, over graze. Thus eliminating erosion and other unwanted effects to the soil.
• Goats remove the underbrush therefore removing the "Ladder Fuels" effect.
• Goats will effectively remove unwanted and invasive weeds allowing for the natural plant species to recover.
• Goats are a great natural resource in recovering grazing and pasture lands that have been over grazed and now inundated by weeds and evasive plants.
• Goats are clean, quiet, and provide the best, if not only, true green alternative to brush management.
• Goats don't require breaks, they don’t call in sick, they don’t gossip when they should be working, nor do they require workman's compensation insurance!  Maybe best of all, they are a great form of entertainment!

A proper Brush and Land Management plan is the key to protecting property and lives. Our brush clearing and management services provide a natural alternative with which to protect your family, your home, and your property.

For free estimates and assessments please call us at 760-896-4847 or email at  Brad@hire-a-goat.com