Prickly ash often grows all around and mixed in with black locust. They like exactly the same habitat. It look similar, to young black locust, but has much worse thorns.

I hate honey locusts. I have thorns in me from honey locusts that fester up every few years, that have been in me for many years. I cut over 140 honey locusts when I first bought my farm.

Keith

I took out 26 and have 2 x more than that to go. But haven't taken any down in several years.. whan I started i targeted groups I could drop In a pile and burn right there. Most left are further apart and to be honest I got hurt out. Figured they are adding nitrogen into the dirt and have left them alone.

The good: firewood and fence posts. Fast growing. Hardy and grows in poor soil. Will produce trees quickly or where other trees won’t grow.
The bad: provides minimal food and cover for wildlife. Takes place of more beneficial trees. Can turn invasive.

They'll make your wood stove dance...

Ol dad

Their branches make a good boma to keep the lions from eating you if your naked and afraid.

Black locust is a nitrogen-fixer and pioneer species.

Do black locust produce the same seed bean like pods that honey locust do? Deer love honey locust pods

Black locust pods are a LOT smaller (maybe three inches long, or so) and lack the pulp
flesh of honey locust.

I have 41 bee hives between two locust thickets I feel this is one of the best honeys on the market. One of the few woods you can cut and burn the same day.

buried a honey locust up to the two side spines in the top of my forearm one night looking for a gun that a turd killed another turd with. that hurt like a mother.

I bet it was a problem for some time after as well.. man that hurts just thinking about it the way I fester when honey locust get me.

I will add: If you use black locusts as a post they weather a lot better if you peel the bark first. (It comes off pretty easy.)

I saw some people burn/ char the part that goes in the ground is that helpful for longevity or wast of time?

That end charring will help with the ground contact portion of the post...Removed some 75 yr old black locust posts from my brothers farm last spring....Charred ends, and still hard as a rock....No way to drive a fence staple in one...You have to use screws with a pilot hole pre-drilled.

Debark those black locust posts after curing for a year or two, and they will last decades with the natural oils within them.

Black Locust is the best firewood I've ever encountered....Better than Oak, Hickory, etc and throws some serious heat with very little ash & smoke....No need to cover your stacks outdoors, because it's highly rot resistant, and most of the bark seperates when split, even when splitting green.

One warning about the toxicity of black locust is some people are sensitive to handling & burning it....One local man gets sick from it, and there is a fibrous sheath/membrane that surrounds the wood that lies just under the bark that will sicken dogs that chew on it...My german sheppard chewed on some and was lethargic for 2 days, and it can kill them if enough is ingested.

Dry Locust is hard and a real bear to cut, burns very hot, and leaves a LOT of ash, but sure are pretty in the spring when they flower.

Are the seed pods toxic? I remember seeing a bunch around here and not much ate them but corn was readily available.

I'm getting very minimal ash from black locust...Now hickory on the other hand.

Yes, seeds & bark contain the most toxins....Every part of the tree is somewhat toxic.

I wondered, when animals won’t eat easy food it makes a guy wonder if it’s safe.

Locust thorns are a pain in tires and extremities!