I have been told that to kill a tree I have to drill a hole 6" deep and
1"diameter into the trunk near the base and fill it with copper sulfate and then seal the hole with a wooden plug.Can any one advise me if this is true?
Peter
Who's tree is it?
Best regards, Bob
Well, it's not mine, and discretion is in order. The wooden plug will cleverly disguise the hole. Do you think the copper sulfate will zap it?
You better have a very good reason to go around killing other people's trees. Don't expect any advice until you clarify this. I would also like to know why you are killing a tree.
Sherw> Well, it's not mine, and discretion is in order.
I thought so.
Regards, Bob
sherwindu writes in article dated Wed, 17 Aug 2005 23:28:23 -0500:
No that won't do, you will need some nitro-glycerin-soaked cardboard, and a lit cigarette.
--Spud Demon spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net
Well the thing is lifting the pavement and its roots are crawling into my drains and blocking them.
Also it is sucking all the water from the subsoil under the house and cracks are appearing in the walls.
I want to get rid of it before something catastrophic happens!
Then talk to the owner of the tree.
If something catastrophic happens that they could have prevented, they may have liability. That liability is their incentive to deal with the problem.
The consequences of committing a criminal act should be your incentive to not vandalize someone else's property. Also, if something catastrophic happens because you killed the tree, guess who the liability shifts to.
I suggest you talk to a lawyer, you may find you have legal recourse under the laws where you're at. If you get caught destroying somebody elses property, you'll find yourself talking to a lawyer anyway.
Bill
(1) Talk to the owner of the tree and see if you can settle the issue amicably. Explain your problem and propose solutions and you might get agreement or even assistance. Even if you are not on good terms with your neighbor, you should let him/her know what you are planning. Rude surprises generate rude surprises pointed the other way.
(2) If that doesn't work, check with a lawyer as to what you can do. I suspect (disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, and I don't even know what state you're in, or for that matter, whether you're even in the same country I am) that you would be within your rights to excavate around your pipes and slab to cut roots that are invasive, as long as your excavation is on your property and as long as you don't damage the tree to the extent that it becomes a hazard. Trees can withstand a fair amount of root pruning, although if all the roots are removed on one side of the tree, it could be subject to falling over in a strong wind, creating a hazard to property nearby.
(3) If you don't know basics about trees, consult a professional arborist. Your initial suggestion is not likely to be kept hidden, since the dead tree will be taken down and cut up.
Bill wrote:
Hey Peter. I am prolly one of the least PC folks you will meet here so I am going to offer some advice. It's just a tree and another can be replanted in it's place. We yank out shrubs, flowers and all sorts of other plants when they become a problem, a tree can be replaced too.
First, a little history. The last house we owned had an enormous Ash tree in the front yard, the whole neighborhood had HUGE ash trees. This tree, big and beautiful as it was, was lifted and my driveway several inches and ruined it. It had roots running into my yard so that the grass would not grow and it had cracked the brick borders around my flower beds as it headed for my foundation. It also had (as did they all) mistletoe and a disease that caused it to drop loads of messy leaves every time there was the slightest rain. It was like autumn all year round.
My point is, I feel your pain. I considered killing this tree too. It was "owned" by the city.
Since it was on the south side of the house I decided that there must be another solution because it was the only buffer between our house and that hot summer sun. I called the city and they had a program where they would come and cut the roots with a trenching kind of tool. It cut about two inches wide, and severed the roots to stop them from doing any more damage. It was a mess in the lawn, but nothing that didn't heal up fairly quickly. I had it done a couple of times while we owned the house and it did help.
In your case, I don't know if it is a solution or not but it's hard as hell to kill a tree. We cut one down completely and it took about two years for it to stop sending up suckers. It was Oak and too ahrd to drill and put stuff into to kill it. You may try consulting an arborist about the roots on your property and if it's a neighbor's tree see if they will share the cost of the maintenance. If it's the city, do some stealthy research on it, if they will do nothing then I'm on your side, find a way to kill it. Just don't get caught.
Kate
-> I have been told that to kill a tree I have to drill a hole 6" deep and
-> 1"diameter into the trunk near the base and fill it with copper sulfate and
-> then seal the hole with a wooden plug.
->
-> Can any one advise me if this is true?
->
-> Peter
You could pray for a lightning strike. Or go to misc.legal.moderated, give full details (including your location), and see if you have any legal way of dealing with the damage.
If you water the foundation, the subsoil will not dry out and you will not have a problem. If you trench near your house and install a root barrier, you will not have a problem. If you replace the porous drain pipe with correctly installed PVC, you will not have a problem.
If your trespass onto your neighbor's property and kill his tree, you will have a problem (or so I would hope).
Grow up and take responsibility for these issues instead of sneaking around breaking laws to avoid dealing with the real issues.
KA friend of mine told me that his father strung copper wires through weeping bed tile to stop willow roots from entering and claimed that it worked. As far as drilling a tree with copper sulfate; only the first layer under the bark is living tissue. So drilling into the tree would serve no purpose.
Like a dead tree falling on your house?
Thanks. But I am surprised by many of the other posts which are less than sympathetic to my weighty problem about this errant tree.
We all know the old saying that "a good neighbour is a dead neighbour" (which explains the high value of land adjacent to cemeteries) and so ANY solution short of confronting the next-door people is the one to take.
I am SO tired of this tree; its leaves blow under the kitchen door, it makes my small back yard gloomy, and in the early morning at about 4am birds sit in it and wake me up with their incessant chirping and twittering - and they crap all over my pavers. In autumn all its slimy leaves litter and clog everything!
I'm going to address the very person of this tree and poison it with every means at my disposal, copper sulfate, thorium nitrate, thallium phosphate, sulfuric acid, chromium nitrate, and in the dead of night - before the birds arrive I'll drench it with roundup!
This tree will end up glowing in the dark!
I think there are lawyers lurking in this ng.
And after all that, you will move out and leave the next tenant wondering why there are no nice trees around to shade his house, protect it from winter winds, and generally give a interesting landscape to an otherwise drab backyard. You could move to a high rise building where there are no trees around to harbor bird life. I will take birds any day to barking dogs.
Sherwin D.
"Peter Jason" expounded:
Nah, just lots of troll-detectors.
-> Hey Peter.
-> I am prolly one of the least PC folks you will meet here so I am going to
-> offer some advice.
-> It's just a tree and another can be replanted in it's place. We yank out
-> shrubs, flowers and all sorts of other plants when they become a problem, a
-> tree can be replaced too.
->
-> First, a little history.
-> The last house we owned had an enormous Ash tree in the front yard, the
-> whole neighborhood had HUGE ash trees.
-> This tree, big and beautiful as it was, was lifted and my driveway several
-> inches and ruined it. It had roots running into my yard so that the grass
-> would not grow and it had cracked the brick borders around my flower beds as
-> it headed for my foundation. It also had (as did they all) mistletoe and a
-> disease that caused it to drop loads of messy leaves every time there was
-> the slightest rain. It was like autumn all year round.
->
-> My point is, I feel your pain. I considered killing this tree too. It was
-> "owned" by the city.
->
-> Since it was on the south side of the house I decided that there must be
-> another solution because it was the only buffer between our house and that
-> hot summer sun.
-> I called the city and they had a program where they would come and cut the
-> roots with a trenching kind of tool. It cut about two inches wide, and
-> severed the roots to stop them from doing any more damage. It was a mess in
-> the lawn, but nothing that didn't heal up fairly quickly.
-> I had it done a couple of times while we owned the house and it did help.
->
-> In your case, I don't know if it is a solution or not but it's hard as hell
-> to kill a tree. We cut one down completely and it took about two years for
-> it to stop sending up suckers. It was Oak and too ahrd to drill and put
-> stuff into to kill it. You may try consulting an arborist about the roots on
-> your property and if it's a neighbor's tree see if they will share the cost
-> of the maintenance. If it's the city, do some stealthy research on it, if
-> they will do nothing then I'm on your side, find a way to kill it. Just
-> don't get caught.
->
-> Kate
Many years ago someone tried to kill the "historic treaty oak" in Austin, TX. He was nearly successful. Maybe you could do some research and find out what he used!!
Peter,
Usually, talking to a neighbor about the fact that his tree is damaging or threatening your property is a futile effort. Most neighbors are inconsiderate morons who don't give a damn if their tree, pets or kids are making your life miserable. Generally, talking with them only draws attention to you and you then become the first suspect when something happens to the tree.
Trust me, I spent the first couple of decades as a homeowner attempting to make very rare and very tactful request to neighbors. It usually just doesn't work. I should have learned more quickly that I'm not going to get any compromise from morons who put a compost pile at the property line 8 feet from my deck, who let their dog bark for 9 hours a day & 5 days per week, or who let their pets run free every day.
I got my wakeup call about 20 years ago when a next-door neighbor sprayed a general herbicide on parts of his lawn and the chemical leeched over to my side of the property and killed a lot of grass, my organic vegetable garden, well established grape vines and my raspberry plants. His response? "Hey, I didn't spray anything on your side of the property. What happens underground isn't my problem."
Personally, I'd appreciate any knowledge-based legal advise on solving problems such as yours. I have removed my large trees to alleviate a number of problems (clogged gutters, clogged drain tile, pressure on basement walls, poor lawn due to water competition, etc.) But I am still stuck with neighbors trees presenting the same problems for me. Morons grow big trees very close to the property line, ignoring the impact upon folks such as you and me.
Friendly talks with my neighbors are futile - they'll "permit" light pruning of limbs on my side of the property (at my expense, of course). In general, they will "permit" pruning of about 10% of the limbs and none of the roots on my property. All I get from my neighbors is large limbs falling on my property and on my roofs during every heavy storm, in addition to the clogged drains, poor grass, heaved concrete, etc.
Rent a trencher. Dig a trench around the perimeter of your property to cut every root entering your property. Drill 1/2" holes in the largest root stubs and fill with Ortho Roundup. Repeat once a week for 4 weeks.
Copper salts are very harmful to living plants, but Roundup is much, much better. Be certain to buy the largest container of Roundup with the highest concentration of the active ingredient. I believe that this is 41% concentration and it costs about $40 for a quart or so of the product. Apply at full strength. Be patient.
You can also drill large holes in the roots, drive copper pipes into the holes and fill the pipes with copper salts. Still, Roundup is more effective.
Of course, don't do this if it is illegal in your community. :)
Remember, once you have a friendly & futile talk with your neighbors, you can no longer be covert. They will now suspect you if anything happens to their precious trees (or pets, etc.).
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