I Have Determined A Sawzall....

[vampyregirl]

Is a girls' best friend!!

I have roots damaging my fence from the tree from hell behind me. I started excavating around the roots today. Got the sawzall running and zipped through most of the smaller stuff. Saved the big kahuna for tomorrow! The main root has to be a good 10 inches in diameter!!!

I have hated that tree since I moved in 11 years ago. It's dirty (drops seedlings everywhere), grows into the wires (affecting my phone service) and ugly as all get out!!! It's a hackberry tree. I have tried shocking it by cutting off all kinds of limbs and fed it Roundup---it's still alive!!! The neighbor behind me (it's partially in her yard anyway) had her kids put copper nails into it quite a few years ago. Sigh......

Every root that I did cut today, I tried to take a chunk of the root out--not just sever it. Then I fed it some more Roundup. Any other suggestions???? Short of cutting it down, that is..... It's half in the neighbors' yard behind me (and she wants it gone!!!), and half in the rental properties' yard next door to her.

[BentGamer]

Contact a tree service in your area. Have them cut it down and grind the stump out with a stump grinder.

[boborgera]

If you both want it down, Use a chainsaw, won't take more than a few minutes.
Then rent a stump grinder from Home Depot.

[mowin]

The tree will have to come down if u kill it, so why wait?? Take it down now..If the tree is growing up through the phone/power wires, hire a pro to take it down.

[Fly boy]

**cough**cough**gas**cough**cough**



I had** 5 Box elder bug trees in my yard, and the neighbor has a giant one(4 trees 1 base). I got tired of the bugs and found the only way out was to cut them down. I waited till spring so it would have no leaves, but be warmer out. You can do it yourself with a chainsaw, just start by cutting all the main limbs off till you have the center trunk. Then... TIMBER!!!!

Then cut it up and burn it!


Or post an ad on craigslist.... Free firewood - you cut it and take it away.

[Bob Denman]

"The Tree that Wouldn't Die"
Sounds like one of those cheap Sci-Fi movies that'll play late on a Saturday night...
I must be missing something... Why don't you want to take it down? Is it because of the "joint custody" that it enjoys?
Keep hitting the roots with your Sawzall; that'll put a kink in its shorts!
Good luck and let us know what it takes to remove this pest...

[boborgera]

If i lived near you i would cut that tree down for you in a few minutes, Every Spring i cut down 20 or 25 dead standing oak trees, drag them out with a loader, quarter them , Then when we have a work day at the club [May] i just sit back and watch the members split it all.

[vampyregirl]

I would love to cut it down!!!! But it's not in my yard...... Just the roots are..... The actual tree itself is in the 2 neighbors' yards behind me. I've gotten rid of all the branches that hung onto my property.

I've made a good "dent" in the roots!! Got 2 huge chunks out yesterday--along with smaller stuff!! They came with a cut finger on one hand and a blister on the other!!! I'm going to have to get a new tree saw blade too. Bent mine all up hitting the debris and other roots!!

The upper part is growing into the power lines again. I just may have to tell the electric company that they are rubbing on the wires and causing sparks again!!! I did that a couple years ago and they were out within 3 days giving it a haircut!!! A little fibbing gets the job done!!!

[Bob Denman]

Tell them that the sparks have ignited the marijuana crop growing in the yard...
Perhaps the extra attention will help the owner of the property to understand the situation.

[vampyregirl]

Tell them that the sparks have ignited the marijuana crop growing in the yard...
Perhaps the extra attention will help the owner of the property to understand the situation.

That's a good one!!

I'm thinking more along the lines of copper sulfate myself..... Nothing grows in that corner of my yard anyway because of that tree!! I'm going to do some research before I buy any, though. Got 2 four-leggers at my house! Don't want to make them sick.....

[Bob Denman]

Copper sulphate can be pretty mean... We once watched an entire Lake full of trout die off because of a dispute between a couple of neighbors...
One of them dumped a bunch of it in there and that ended up getting the cops and lawyers involved and it was a real mess!

[boborgera]

That's a good one!!

I'm thinking more along the lines of copper sulfate myself..... Nothing grows in that corner of my yard anyway because of that tree!! I'm going to do some research before I buy any, though. Got 2 four-leggers at my house! Don't want to make them sick.....

If you do use copper sulfate, [please don't] Make absolutely sure there aren't any wells or water nearby.
To kill trees you don't put it on the ground [roots].

[vampyregirl]

So, I didn't have time to post earlier, but I did some research on the copper sulfate. PASS!!!! That stuff can be nasty!!!!

I'm going to try something tried and true: ROCK SALT!!!! Got plenty of that left over after our mild winter, so I don't have to spend any $$$$!!!! I figure it's worth a shot! I've already fed the damn thing enough roundup to choke a moose so.... We'll see.....

I still have to get the rest of the offending root out from under my fence......

[Bob Denman]

Gee... This might end up needing about three gallons of fuel, a lighter and a late-night walk around the neighborhood.
WHAT AM I SAYING?? It's a JOKE!

[vampyregirl]

Gee... This might end up needing about three gallons of fuel, a lighter and a late-night walk around the neighborhood.
WHAT AM I SAYING?? It's a JOKE!

I can't do that!!! I work for 911!!!! Although....... I have been known to set off fireworks in my time.... Besides, 1 gallon would do the trick.....

Nah! Got the main offending root out this afternoon!!! I did put rock salt in to prohibit the growth of that root any further. Cut out chunks of the other roots so they didn't start in on the fence too! Now I can run the mower back that way without hitting the root and taking another chunk out of the blade!!

Since the biggest root seemed to be the main one, it may end up choking the tree out..... But from what I dug into, I kinda doubt it!! It was just a maze of roots!! Could barely get the shovel in the ground!!

[Bob Denman]

Let's face; we're living in THEIR world, and they'll always find a way to frustrate us. I've got a thornbush growing down by the stream that borders my yard, and I've been trying to kill it for almost 30 years now...
Good Luck and let us know when the miserable things starts turning brown!

Gee... You work for 911; Put em on hold when they finally have to call you about it...

[vampyregirl]

Let's face; we're living in THEIR world, and they'll always find a way to frustrate us. I've got a thornbush growing down by the stream that borders my yard, and I've been trying to kill it for almost 30 years now...
Good Luck and let us know when the miserable things starts turning brown!

Gee... You work for 911; Put em on hold when they finally have to call you about it...

I'm surprised they haven't called their landlord about it yet!! This past fall a huge limb came down and made a huge dent in the roof of the brand new shed that the landlord put NEXT to the tree!! No, it wasn't from anything I did! The limb was from much higher up than my extension ladder can get to!!

Growing up, we had a rose bush in the yard. My parents cut it down and removed the roots. They dumped rock salt in the hole, just in case. Damn thing grew back!! It took them years to finally kill it off....

[exwinger]

If the tree really does have limbs growing into the power lines the power company will def come out and trim it and probably be more than happy to totally remove the problem tree , saves them money in the end , at least in my case they did.