# how to kill a tree



## toolbelt Tina (May 18, 2009)

I am looking to destroy a few weed trees ( sycamores) non native.
Any suggestions ... I have been told copper nails would do the trick.

The sycamores are competing and winning against the maples. 

I don't feel comfy dropping the trees with a saw. Quotes have been hefty
2-4k.

Thanks


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

How big are the trees ?
If you kill them limbs will start dropping off as they dry out
I had an Oak die...payed about $750 to have it taken down
I ended up with a couple cords of wood to burn


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

toolbelt Tina said:


> I am looking to destroy a few weed trees ( sycamores) non native.
> Any suggestions ... I have been told copper nails would do the trick.
> 
> The sycamores are competing and winning against the maples.
> ...


Peel off the bark all the way around the tree.


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

DrHicks said:


> Peel off the bark all the way around the tree.


This will work if you cut all the way down to the xylem and phloem (interior bark). 

Why do you want to kill the trees?

Why not just remove them?


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## Red Squirrel (Jun 29, 2009)

If you kill it, there's a potential it does fall. Best to make it fall in a controlled situation. Maybe rent a cherry picker and do it that way if you don't feel comfortable doing it in one shot.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Yes, the best way to kill a tree is to remove a ring of bark around the tree, but you will have to check on it off and on because the tree will try to self repair.

The bark is the tree's vascular system. By removing the bark, water cannot get to the leaves. The tree will get stressed out during the hot, dry summer.

I had a tree of heaven in my backyard that a landscaper accidentally backed into with his zero turn, and ripped a huge section of bark off. The tree tried to self repair, and dropped tons of seeds and saplings grew around it, but it eventually died.

It's considered a junk tree.

http://www.whatsnewlaporte.com/2010/02/24/invasive-species-tree-of-heaven-ailanthus-altissima/


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## toolbelt Tina (May 18, 2009)

Scuba_Dave said:


> How big are the trees ?


The trees are about 30- 40 feet tall. Not that old, they grow fast like weeds.


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## toolbelt Tina (May 18, 2009)

*Thanks*



Leah Frances said:


> This will work if you cut all the way down to the xylem and phloem (interior bark).
> 
> Why do you want to kill the trees?
> 
> Why not just remove them?


As I said in my original post, the sycamore trees are sprouting up around the maple trees. In the all important battle for sunlight the maple tree is losing the battle.

I don't feel comfortable dropping the trees myself and the quotes for removal start at $2000. The sloped land makes it difficult. I'd rather allocate that amount of money to some other reno project. 

What kind of time frame would it take to see results?


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

You cannot be serious? Peel the bark and expect the tree to die in some short order fashion? And then think it easier to deal with dead and dry than it was flexible, non flammable and alive. 

And peel the bark with what? Machete? 

If it is a sharp chain saw? Why not cut it down. And not create the fire hazard within the forest you seem to like.

I am not sure where you are. No matter. You cannot kill trees within a forest the way you suggest without risking the other trees. If not fire, disease and insects will move in and hurt the other trees.

If you are copping an attitude. Take them all down.

And if you kill a tree with methods suggested? At the end of the day, don't you still have to cut it out of the way?


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

As sedester says, you are going to have way more problems with the dead sycamores in the future.:yes:

and by the way, pounding ANY type nail into it will not kill it, at least not as long as we are on this planet


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

chrisn said:


> As sedester says, you are going to have way more problems with the dead sycamores in the future.:yes:
> 
> and by the way, pounding ANY type nail into it will not kill it, at least not as long as we are on this planet



Dealing with standing dead trees is a dangerous nightmare.

Sycamores rot quickly and fall or drop branches. (they are called 'widow makers' )

If you are afraid to drop the trees yourself---Ask for a price to get them cut down only---then cut them up your self and do the clean up your self.

The cost of tree removal is high because the time and manpower required to clean up and haul the slash and wood out ----and the truck and dump fees for the trash.

Cut and drop only should not cost much---I would not leave standing dead trees---that's just irresponsible.

NO NAILS!!! You will be creating a danger to any one working on those trees in the future. 

---Mike-----


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

oh'mike said:


> Dealing with standing dead trees is a dangerous nightmare.


This is quite true for any inexperienced person. I use mostly standing dead to heat my home in the winter and believe me, it can be dangerous/deadly if you are not VERY careful and plan out the exact spot you want the tree to fall, avoid trees you do not want injured as the dead one falls, etc. 

DM


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

toolbelt Tina said:


> As I said in my original post, the sycamore trees are sprouting up around the maple trees. In the all important battle for sunlight the maple tree is losing the battle.
> 
> I don't feel comfortable dropping the trees myself and the quotes for removal start at $2000. The sloped land makes it difficult. I'd rather allocate that amount of money to some other reno project.
> 
> What kind of time frame would it take to see results?


YEARS! SERIOUSLY. Why not let the sycamores grow? I've had to remove half a dozen diseased or neglected trees from my property. I can't imagine *choosing* to kill and then removing trees.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

I would say unless your house is on a large property, clear out all shade trees and only grow trees that make sense.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

Leah Frances said:


> YEARS! SERIOUSLY. Why not let the sycamores grow? I've had to remove half a dozen diseased or neglected trees from my property. I can't imagine *choosing* to kill and then removing trees.


Come on Leah. Nice maples the OP claims to have over weedlike sycamore? 
Four hugs from trying me as you try to save any tree, but these things are like weeds where I live, or just South, East and West. Or imagine a bamboo thicket. 

Like many things brought to the US the species of sycamore does not belong. It has no timber value.

Sorry, sharp chainsaw and constant atttention are the only way to keep this controlled.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

All the tree huggers out there shouldn't complain when they lose power during hurricanes or tornadoes when large trees fall on their homes or power lines.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

handy man88 said:


> All the tree huggers out there shouldn't complain when they lose power during hurricanes or tornadoes when large trees fall on their homes or power lines.


:thumbsup: Right on. But I am a quintessential tree hugger. Put myself through school pruning and doing surgery on trees. Sometimes big ones. People forget that tree health is something they should look at every year before a limb takes out whatever slab of meat at the backyard gala being grilled, the hood of the $70K BMW, or the roof over the master bedroom when the tree limb just has had enough.

This post is about nasty sycamores though. It ranks up there with wild honeysuckle, kuzdo and stuff. It was introduced as fast growing plant material for farm windbreaks and so forth. Pollen made its way into real forests.


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## 95025 (Nov 14, 2010)

handy man88 said:


> I would say unless your house is on a large property, clear out all shade trees and only grow trees that make sense.


One of the problems is that we plant _small_ trees too close to our houses and/or property lines. Then suddenly it seems - 25-30 years later - that small tree has become a giant maple tree standing 20 feet from the house, and the branches hang over the roof.

I love trees, and especially love huge old trees. But you're right, they need to be managed when they're on residential property.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

sdsester said:


> :thumbsup: Right on. But I am a quintessential tree hugger. Put myself through school pruning and doing surgery on trees. Sometimes big ones. People forget that tree health is something they should look at every year before a limb takes out whatever slab of meat at the backyard gala being grilled, the hood of the $70K BMW, or the roof over the master bedroom when the tree limb just has had enough.
> 
> This post is about nasty sycamores though. It ranks up there with wild honeysuckle, kuzdo and stuff. It was introduced as fast growing plant material for farm windbreaks and so forth. Pollen made its way into real forests.


I love trees, but not close to the house.

I would venture to say, and guess, that maybe 95% of homewowners with large shade trees wouldn't even consider having an arborist check on their trees....certainly not on a yearly basis.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

DrHicks said:


> One of the problems is that we plant _small_ trees too close to our houses and/or property lines. Then suddenly it seems - 25-30 years later - that small tree has become a giant maple tree standing 20 feet from the house, and the branches hang over the roof.
> 
> I love trees, and especially love huge old trees. But you're right, they need to be managed when they're on residential property.


Yes, not just the branches, but also those darn roots that get into sewer pipes and raise sidewalks and driveways.


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## Tizzer (Jul 24, 2010)

We had a dead tree fall from high winds back before Christmas. It was in the woods behind the apartment complex. No one gave any thought about it because ..... it was in the woods.
But it fell across the neighbor's yard backed up to those woods. It was just short enough to miss their home but it took down some privacy fence and their outdoor furniture.
It would've been cheaper to just have it downed & hauled away in the first place.

How close are these weed trees to anyone's home/property or the street? What if you kill it and one day it falls into the street or gets hung up in the maples, waiting to fall at any moment.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Tizzer said:


> We had a dead tree fall from high winds back before Christmas. It was in the woods behind the apartment complex. No one gave any thought about it because ..... it was in the woods.
> But it fell across the neighbor's yard backed up to those woods. It was just short enough to miss their home but it took down some privacy fence and their outdoor furniture.
> It would've been cheaper to just have it downed & hauled away in the first place.
> 
> How close are these weed trees to anyone's home/property or the street? What if you kill it and one day it falls into the street or gets hung up in the maples, waiting to fall at any moment.


Ahhh, cheaper.

Their home insurance will take care of the fence/outdoor furniture after deductible. 

Removing the tree would have probably cost a lot more, assuming it was on their property.


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## downunder (Jun 13, 2008)

Is this thread for real?


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

downunder said:


> Is this thread for real?


No, it's simply a figment of my imagination. Or perhaps it's YOUR imagination and I'm just imagining it's mine....?

DM


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## whammytap (Jan 18, 2011)

Just my two cents' worth--

I feel your pain. Tree removal can be VERY expensive, but you really want to have a pro do it. I took out a section of my neighbor's gutter tyring to DIY tree removal, and I was lucky that that was all that happened. Coulda killed someone.

That said--if you are willing to clear the area yourself, as I did when I had some trees removed--it gets much, MUCH cheaper. I had a 45' walnut cut down for $300. The arborist left all the pieces where they fell. If he'd picked up the pieces and disposed of them himself, it would have cost closer to $1000. With the money I saved, I bought a 14" electric chainsaw and cut enough firewood to last us years! Then I took some pictures of the logs that were too big for my saw, posted them on Craigslist, and someone came and took them away for free! One man's trash...

Arborists charge to remove trees they've cut down, but there are lots of less expensive ways to get rid of unwanted wood. So get some estimates on what it would cost to have the trees cut down WITHOUT removal. They should be much lower. Don't forget to get multiple estimates, and make sure you are dealing with an insured professional.

Hope this helps!


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

unfortunatly, sycamore makes crappy firewood, it really is not much good for anything.:no:


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## KeithWhisman (May 17, 2011)

Kill the tree by ripping off some bark and let it die. Have a ******* neighbor come cut it down, offer a lot of beer in return. I say kill it first because it seems the cruelest. The tree would suffer the longest slowly dying. OK I'm evil. But I would do it for beer and hot dogs. Also you pay for the equipment, you can rent a stump cutter at Lowes or Home Depot to get rid of the left over stump. It pays to watch the DIY network and a lifetime of watching This Old House on PBS.


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## toolbelt Tina (May 18, 2009)

Thanks for all the input. Who knew this thread would span two pages.

The property is large enough and the house is far away.There is no concern with neighbors either. The location of the sycamore trees is on a steep sloped section. Dropping the trees may hang up on the maple or other trees.


I appreciate the deep hues or reds and oranges in the fall on the maple trees.
The sycamore trees just drop golf size pods which I find transplanted in my flower beds via the squirrels . 

Thanks again
cheers


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

toolbelt Tina said:


> The sycamore trees just drop golf size pods which I find transplanted in my flower beds via the squirrels .


Oh sure, just brush us off and now mention that you not only had a sycamore problem but them being populated by squirrels? I would have called in an air strike and risked a season worth of heat damage to the maples.


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

sdsester said:


> Oh sure, just brush us off and now mention that you not only had a sycamore problem but them being populated by squirrels? I would have called in an air strike and risked a season worth of heat damage to the maples.


I would just recommend napalm.


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

handy man88 said:


> I would just recommend napalm.


The fire department won't like that. How 'bout some Agent Orange?


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Leah Frances said:


> The fire department won't like that. How 'bout some Agent Orange?


I'm fine with that, as long as her neighbors don't mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agent-orange-dead-deformed-babies.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agent-orange-deformities-vietnam.jpg

Would you use it?


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

handy man88 said:


> I'm fine with that, as long as her neighbors don't mind.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Agent-orange-dead-deformed-babies.jpg
> 
> ...


Of course, no one would use it, that's why it was supposed to be funny. 

Were you serious about the napalm? :whistling2:


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## handy man88 (Jan 23, 2007)

Leah Frances said:


> Of course, no one would use it, that's why it was supposed to be funny.
> 
> Were you serious about the napalm? :whistling2:


I don't think napalm caused birth defects....but it can help eradicate foliage.


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

Amazing what you can find on google. http://www.ehow.com/how_7494579_kill-pecan-trees.html Also, it's amazing what eHow will post. Sheesh, you think someone got paid to write this?


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