Every year I laboriously cut Dow maple saplings in my privet hedge. Is there a good way to get rid of them once and for all? I 'm reluctant to use Roundup.

Instead of waiting until they grow tall enough to need cut... get them a lot earlier when they are only a few inches tall.

It's a LOT easier then and by that height they are easy to identify, and they pull out without any real effort.. That's what I do.

No other way... anything else will kill or harm the hedges.

This is one reason I always hated privet. Too much work. I don't even want anything I have to clip. Give me a hedgerow of lilacs or something free form. Plus the flowers, and the scent... I wish I could afford a whole hedge of blueberries!