How to kill a tree?

[sawdust]

My aunt has a 50 year old tree on her boulevard that has put roots into her sewer. Each year she has to have the line roto rooted. Since the tree is on the boulevard you might expect the town to kick in a bit.. nope. She offered to have the tree removed at her expense... no dice.

So without obviously girdling the tree can it be poisoned? Drill a hole and put something in?

I have never tried to kill a tree with anything but a chainsaw. Ok, shotgun slugs once.

Open to suggestions. Thank you!

sawdust

[pineywoods]

What kind of tree??  for some, drilling a few small holes and squirting them full of roundup will kill the roots and all.

[John Mc]

Is it too big or too obvious to spray the foliage with roundup, if pineywoods idea with the holes doesn't work?

Foliar spray leaves no tell-tale holes, but you've got to cover most, if not all, of the foliage to kill some trees. The downside is, if you are in a public place, people are going to remember seeing someone spray the tree when it dies later.

With the hole drilling & RoundUp (active ingredient = glyphosphate), time of year may be an issue. Up here in Vermont, when I want to kill buckthorn by spraying roundup on the cut stump, it's most effective if I hit it in late summer or early fall. Getting it while the leaves are still green, before the start to turn color and drop off, but while the tree is sending it's energy/nutrient reserves down to the root system for the winter is the best chance of killing the root system and preventing resprouting. I'm not sure if this makes as much of a difference down in your neck of the woods or not. Also - use the highest concentration roundup you can get. The 2% hardware store stuff probably ain't going to cut it. Even the 18% "concentrate" some hardware stores sell may not be enough. Farm supply stores often sell 40 or 50% concentration, which is your best chance of success when injecting it into holes.

Another thought, depending on the species of tree: a mixture of Garlon (Garlon IV ??) and diesel sprayed on the trunk from ground level up to a height equal to several times the diameter of the trunk (8" diameter tree = 24" of spraying) will kill many trees. The bigger the tree, and thicker the bark, the less chance this has of succeeding. Might be worth a try. Leaves little evidence, and easier than spraying the whole tree with roundup. Sometimes the tree will still leaf out the next spring, then die later. If I saw it leaf out, I'd be inclined to hit it again, especially if it was a big, healthy tree to begin with.

[Radar67]

If ya want to be covert about it, go down to the local coop/feed and seed store, get a hypodermic needle (like you use for cattle) and fill it with 2-4-D and round up. Insert needle through or under bark to cambium layer and give it a few shots. That should kill it with no physical traces.  :

[Texas Ranger]

Murder, most foul!!!!!!!! 

[pineywoods]

The holes full of roundup is particularly effective against sweet gum, which is bad to send up root sprouts. Roundup kills the roots. Sweetgum killed in this manner seems to rot faster than normal.

[Polly]

when i was little dad had a bunch of trees ,most to big to cut with crosscut saw , he drilled a hole into the heart of log and filled with salt ,that was before dad had a chainsaw and i was to little to pull my end of the crosscut , he killed every one of the trees : :

[JimMartin9999]

I have heard that driving a copper nail into a tree will kill it. Is this just an old wives´tail?

[nas]

I've heard that too, but I have milled a tree that had copper wire going through it, and it was quite alive when I cut it down.  Now it may make a difference that the tree grew around it rather than the copper being driven into it.

[beenthere]

I know of copper nails killing red pine. Large research project in a stand of prestigous red pine. Trees were fitted with test devices to make measurements over time.
Killed 'em all. Very embarrassing for the tree researcher. 

[Whitman]

It is not a good idea to mix Roundup and a 2,4,d product as they are not compatable!! Hivar and a host of others will get the job done.

[beenthere]

I've read elsewhere that Roundup and 2,4-d are recommended mixed together.

Any info available to help understand it more?

[Banjo picker]

I have mixed them before plenty of times--not saying I was supposed to.l   :D  Tim

[Ron Scott]

I've heard of it being done.

[splitter]

Peal the bark all the way around the tree. Splitter

[sawdust]

Girdling was my first suggestion too. Bit too obvious.
Thanks for all the suggestions, I think I will bring a big hypo from work and try injecting into the cambium.
See if it won't draw down into the roots.

sawdust

[Brian Beauchamp]

Who owns the property that it is on?

[olyman]

from what he said--the city. copper nails!

[clearcut]

Have you considered relining the sewer pipe instead of killing the tree? If the roots can get into the sewer pipe, then sewage can leak from it. Depending on the condition of the sewer, the location and length, the cost of a flexible liner might not be that much. Having a street tree usually increases the value of the homes nearby.

[Brian Beauchamp]

from what he said--the city.

Most cities just have an easement within around 10 feet of a road, which is why I asked.  She may not need their approval necessarily unless they have an ordinance or a part of the easement agreement specifying that they have the final say in the removal or addition of vegetative structure within that area. If it is on someone else's property, it is flat out criminal to kill the tree intentionally. She has every right to have the roots removed, but should talk to an attorney before killing the tree itself without 'approval' from the governing body and/or the landowner to make sure she has the legal right to do so.

[sawdust]

The tree is on the town boulevard.
You need to meet my aunt, actually you probably have! Likely someone just like her. Pitbull in lipstick.
The town maintenance forman will not help pay for the root fixn or allow her to dig up the sewer because it would kill the tree. I gather she eventually called him some rather nasty things.

That leaves assassination. I don't want to try nails, some sawyer might get a surprise. But copper sulphate in solution might do the trick.

[Ron Scott]

Run Roebic Root Killer through the sewer line. Available in most hardware stores.

http://www.accentshopping.com/product.asp?P_ID=149996

[Radar67]

The town maintenance foreman will not help pay for the root fixn or allow her to dig up the sewer because it would kill the tree.

Well, fight fire with fire. As someone else said, if the roots have found their way into the sewer line, sewage is able to leak out. Call the EPA and report the foreman for not fixing the problem.

[Dodgy Loner]

It is not a good idea to mix Roundup and a 2,4,d product as they are not compatable!! Hivar and a host of others will get the job done.

Roundup and 2,4-D are most certainly compatible.  My standard brush-killer is a blend of Roundup (glyphosate) and Crossbow (2,4-D + triclopyr).  I use a 1.5% solution of Roundup (2 oz./gallon) plus 0.5% Crossbow (2/3 oz./gallon).  Works like a charm.

Perhaps you're confused because 2,4-D is a selective broadleaf weed killer that will not harm grasses, whereas Roundup is a non-selective herbicide that is effective against most plants.  If you're trying to kill everything, however, the addition of a small amount of 2,4-D will increase the effectiveness of the Roundup against hard-to-kill weeds.  There is no labeling that prohibits the use of these two chemicals together.

[Banjo picker]

Thanks for the input there DL .  I don't have the schooling you got , but I know it works top knoch.   ;D  Tim