Drone Spraying in Wood County, Texas

Drone spraying prices in Wood County

Drone spraying in Wood County, TX is billed per acre for one pass, application only. You buy the herbicide through your feed store or co-op, and a TDA-licensed operator applies it at label rate.

Service	Typical rate	Notes
Hay field weed control	from $12/acre	bermudagrass and bahiagrass hay
Pasture weed control	from $12/acre	dogfennel, bitterweed, thistles
Smutgrass control	from $14/acre	label-specific products, careful timing
Brush, blackberry & yaupon	from $20/acre	fence rows and pasture edges
Fall armyworm in hay	from $12/acre	fast late-summer response
Fire ant bait spreading	from $10/acre	granular bait by drone

Operators serving Wood County quote about $10–$75 per acre. Several start at $12–$15 per acre, and one lists a 20-acre minimum. Our starting rates sit at the low end of local quotes. Price depends on acres, brush density, terrain, trees, power lines, poultry houses, homes and travel from Quitman or Mineola. Jobs under 10 acres are billed at a 10-acre minimum.

Cattle and hay in the East Texas Piney Woods

Wood County sits on the sandy, rolling edge of the East Texas Piney Woods between Tyler and Sulphur Springs. The USDA 2022 Census counts 1,357 farms on about 193,100 acres, averaging 142 acres, with about 38,200 harvested acres, almost all of it hay. USDA estimates put the county's cattle herd near 45,000 head in 2022, including a few thousand dairy cows. Small cow-calf herds and hay meadows define most farms here.

Target	Why it matters	Best timing
Smutgrass	Low-quality bunchgrass that takes over bahia pastures	Summer, active growth
Dogfennel & bitterweed	Crowd out grass; bitterweed is toxic to livestock	Spring, while small
Blackberry & dewberry	Close in pasture edges	After bloom, full leaf
Yaupon, sweetgum & persimmon sprouts	Invade unmanaged pasture	Summer
Fall armyworm	Can strip a hay field in days	July–October

Bermudagrass and bahiagrass hay

Hay is the county's main crop, grown on sandy soils around Quitman, Winnsboro, Yantis and Alba. East Texas humidity and rainfall grow heavy grass and heavy weeds.

• Spring broadleaf passes before the first cutting.
• Fall armyworm response within a day or two of a call.
• Haying intervals on each label checked so cutting stays on schedule.
• Soft, wet ground after storms treated without ruts.

Smutgrass and weedy bahia pastures

Smutgrass is one of the hardest weeds in East Texas bahiagrass pastures. Cattle avoid it once it matures, and it spreads quickly where pastures are overgrazed. Control takes a label-specific herbicide at the right time and good grazing management afterward. Drones apply evenly across rolling pastures and around trees, ponds and fences.

Brush and pasture edges

Pastures carved out of woodland don't stay open on their own. Blackberry, yaupon, sweetgum, persimmon and pine seedlings move in from fence rows and creek bottoms. Drones work well where tractors can't get close:

• Fence lines and woodland edges treated without heavy equipment.
• Individual-plant passes on scattered sprouts.
• Creek bottoms sprayed or skipped as mapped.

Lake Fork, Lake Quitman and the Sabine

Wood County is lake country. Lake Fork Reservoir reaches into the northwest corner, and Lake Quitman, Lake Holbrook, Lake Hawkins and Lake Winnsboro are county-owned lakes ringed by pastures and homes. The Sabine River forms the southern border. Labels require buffers from water, and drones hold mapped buffers precisely along shorelines, creeks and stock ponds.

Small tracts and ag valuation

Many Wood County properties are 10–80 acre tracts near Mineola, Hawkins and Quitman, owned by retirees and weekend owners from the Dallas and Tyler areas. Many keep land in hay or grazing for agricultural valuation. Drones treat small, fenced pastures in one short visit, and the application record helps document active management.

Fire ants in hay meadows

Imported fire ants build mounds that damage hay equipment and bother livestock. Broadcasting a labeled bait by drone covers a whole meadow quickly, without driving over soft ground. Bait works best in spring and fall when ants are actively foraging.

Spray calendar for Wood County

Months	Typical jobs
February–March	Winter weeds in dormant bermudagrass; thistle rosettes
April–May	Dogfennel, bitterweed and broadleaf weeds in hay; fire ant bait
June–August	Smutgrass; blackberry and brush
July–October	Fall armyworms in hay; weed pass after cutting
September–October	Fire ant bait; fall pasture weeds

Why Wood County landowners use drones

• Rolling, tree-lined pastures that slow tractor sprayers.
• Spot treatment of weed and brush patches.
• Precise buffers around lakes, ponds, creeks and homes.
• Small-tract friendly, with a 10-acre minimum.
• Fast response when armyworms hit hay.

Texas licensing for drone spraying

The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) licenses pesticide applicators. A commercial applicator spraying for hire by drone must pass the general standards exam, the aerial application category and a category matching the work, such as weed control. Landowners spraying their own land by drone need a private applicator license that includes the aerial category.

Federal rules require an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate, a Part 137 agricultural aircraft operator certificate and a Section 44807 exemption for drones over 55 pounds. If a label prohibits aerial application, the product cannot be applied by drone.

How booking works

1. Send the hay field or pasture location, acres and what needs treating.
2. We match you with a TDA-licensed, FAA Part 137-certified operator working in Wood County.
3. You approve the per-acre quote and spray window.
4. The operator maps the property, applies and sends you the application record.

Communities we cover

Quitman, Mineola, Winnsboro, Alba, Yantis, Hawkins, Golden, Coke and Pine Mills, plus ranches along the Hopkins, Franklin, Camp, Upshur, Smith, Van Zandt and Rains county lines.