Clipping thorns off citrus trees.

[Walt]

Years ago I got tired of being poked by thorns of citrus.  So I used fingernail clippers to cut off all the thorns on one tree.  It died, so I have never done it again.  But its not like that is the only tree that has died for me.  So maybe pruning off thorns wasn't why that tree died.  Has anyone else tried clipping thorns off citrus and what was the result?

[Florian]

I do it all the time with no ill effect. I use normal garden shears, though.

[Millet]

Clipping off the thorns does not harm a citrus tree.

[brian]

I also cut them with no issues

[David Kipps]

Also had no problem cutting them off.  Even just for the fun of it, cleft grafted into a poncirus thorn, and it worked.

[Galatians522]

We had several seedling kumquats when I was a kid. The trunks were about as big as my thumb and very thorny. The tops where the fruit was have minimal thorns. I trimmed all the thorns off the trunks of several and it did no harm. Those trees were much easier to pick.

[70Malibu]

I always clip off (sheers) all the thorns on my big citrus trees so I don't get stabbed with I'm grafting on the trees, never heard of the tree dying due to it. Maybe your tree had some other issues, doubt it was from removing the thorns.

[Walt]

Thank you for all the good news.  I had my doubts that thorn removal had caused the death of the tree, but I wanted to be sure.

[70Malibu]

I just looked at the my fruiting Cocktail (madalo) grapefruit tree, it has a few fruits on it now. That tree has large thorn abot 2-3" when it has new growth. So before I can get to my fruits (12 ft high), I will take my clippers and cut off all the thorns on that branch so I don't get stab with them. These thorns are not little ones, but giant thorns.

[kumin]

I find canine nail clippers to work quite well. I've never seen any harm from the practice.

[Scipio]

Years ago I got tired of being poked by thorns of citrus.

Tired??
Once during a nesting session for a friend, I forgot to prune one unseen long thorn under a big branch and while I was ending to saw it, that passed through my gardening soft gloves and stopped halfway inside a finger nail of mine. My finger took one month to move that scarred part away. That's one of the worst thing of those trees. 

Very old thorn are just like dead wood, most of the time you can remove them with no cut into the live tissue, but if you have seedling that you keep in the pot the best is to cut them when they start to grow in the spring at that stage they are as soft as any sprout and if you use clean cutters there is no harm to the plant... and no harm to you when you will repot that plant in the future.
 

[fruitnut1944]

When small you can pinch them off with your fingernails. The hard part is staying that vigilant. They always seem to get big in no time.

[caladri]

I cut them off whenever I need a pokey tool in the greenhouse, like for unclogging foggers, with no ill effects