How to deal with this ?

[ritagoldman101]

How to deal with this ?

My aunt ( a very old person) has a house in California...

She has had the home over 18 years now.

There are 2 trees whose roots are lifting the concrete pretty high.

How does one deal with this problem ?

She has been told that she needs to get rid of the trees and that there is a "special something" that needs to be applied on the cut trunk ...or something...

Would anyone know what needs to be applied to the cut trunk to permanently kill the trees?

Can anyone suggest a better way to get rid of these 2 trees ?

What do people normally do when the roots of a tree lift the concrete ? How does one rectify such a situation ?

Does one have to remove all the roots or can one just kill the tree from the trunk ?

Thank you all in advance for your input, Rita

[Timothy]

Good day Rita. The "special something" that your looking for would be some type of non-selective herbicide that will translocate through the tree's root system. I use a product called 'crossbow' (triclopyr ester + 2,4-D ester) and I have also used a product called 'finale'(glufosinate-ammonium) with good results. Either way, what ever chemical you choose to use, make sure it's a non-selective herbicide that will translocate (move through the trees' internal system).

There are a few different ways to deal with the tree. The first option is to kill the tree _before_ you have the tree cut down. To do this you would want to take an axe and make cuts into the trunk on a sharp angle about a foot from the ground. Once the axe is in the trunk, you would want to peal the bark back a bit to form an area to hold liquid herbicide. Repeat these cuts all around the base of the tree with the goal being to have _no_ cambium (green inner bark tissue) left connected to the upper reaches of the tree. After this is done, fill these cuts with the herbicide and re-apply as needed untill the tree dies.

The second option would be to have the tree removed first. With the tree gone and the stump exposed, take a drill and a 1/2 inch to 1 inch drill bit or 'paddle bit' and drill deep holes into the top of the stump. Take your non-selective herbicide and fill these holes _half way_. Half way is an important step due to the tree's attempt to expell the herbicide. I plug the holes with wax to prevent this from happening while others rap the stump with plastic bags. Re-application maybe needed.

The thrid way would be to remove the tree and then have the stump removed. This is done with a machine called a stump grinder. This will remove the main reserve of engery of the root system and may do the trick right off. If you have sucker growth from the remaining root system, then you can apply a non-selective herbicide to the new growth. Before you apply herbicide to the new growth, let the suckers get to 12 to 18 inches first. The new growth is using the root systems' engery reserve and you want to deplete it as much as you can before spraying.

Good luck.

[John Crichton]

Personally, I'd forget about herbicide. An appropriately sized chain saw is what you want. Either hire it done or do it yourself if you have the skill. Once you cut the tree down get the stump ground about a foot or so below grade.

After all, if you kill it with herbicide you are still going to have to have the tree cut down (a dead tree is a hazard and most homeowners policies will not pay for damage done by a dead tree left standing). Why not just cut to the chase and do it all in one fell swoop. If there are surface (or near surface) roots that are bursting the concrete get yourself an axe and shovel and cut the roots and pull them out as best as you can (or hire someone to do same).

It's pretty rare to have a tree come back after you grind the stump down. If it does, you can always drill holes and and do the herbicide thing as the other poster suggested. I've even drilled holes and poured diesel fuel or kerosene on a stuborn stump. Never had one come back from that treatment.

[e-mail] wrote:

[Timothy]

Good day John. I am by no means suggesting that Rita leave a dead tree standing in her mother's yard. The whole purpose of the herbicide is to kill off the tree before hand, then cut. There are many trees (willow, cherry,alder...) that will flush with regrowth when cut. It could be easier for Rita to kill the tree off before it's cut rather than to deal with regrowth after the fact (maybe Rita lives some distance away..?).

Btw, 4oz crossbow herbicide, 8oz diesel and 1 gallon water mixed will almost anything. The forest service uses this to kill off weed trees or brush clearing.

[trader4]

Since it sounds like she's going to have to get someone to do this, I agree with John. Just get a tree service to cut it down and grind down the stump. I've done many trees myself, without even grinding the stump, and rarely had a problem with the tree trying to grow back. Even if it does, a simple application of herbicide will fix it.