hello
I live in west central IL. almost across the river from Hannibal, I know what you mean about the trees i have them everywhere. when they are in my flower beds I wrap a plastic bag around the tree and spray some roundup for hard to kill brush, using the plastic to keep it from my plants. news paper would work to making a kind of funnel with the top open to spray the plant. once they are over a certain size there is no way to pull them out.
I hope this helps
michelle

When I use Roundup to get rid of things, I don't spray it, I paint it on the leaves with a paint brush. I have different sizes of brushes to use...just depends on how large the plant is. I do this on the grass I want to get rid of too. They say you should spray on a calm day, but it seems like there's always too much of a breeze when I can get out and get rid of these things. I've also used a roller brush on large lawn areas. This really works great and you don't have to worry about the good plants around the ones you want to get rid of. On larger plants, like small trees, it usually takes more than one application. I also get the Roundup that is concentrated. This way I can make is stronger for the larger things I want to get rid of.
Good luck Noelle!

Kat