# Forum Home Renovation Landscaping, Gardening & Outdoors  How To Kill a Tree Successfully?

## Metal Head

Hi, 
I just checked the archives but could find a relavent thread :Frown: . 
I have been told the best way to kill a tree is drilling holes into a root (or more if possible) and fill them up with "round up". Has anyone here used this method successfully or not? 
Or maybe you have found a full proof method of killing them efficiently & quickly? 
Cheers
Metal Head

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## abitfishy

If you really want it to die, a better bet is 'Tree and Blackberry killer' which is available in a concentrate in a small glass jar from your nursery. We tried glyphosate on problem weeds (that were actually suckers thrown up from the roots of a lopped tree) and it took years - eventually it was suggested we use the tree and blackberry one - one application we never had another sucker. I think the reason is that the tree one is better on 'woody' weeds (or trees, of course)  :Smilie:

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## Border boy

G'day metal head,
had an experience similar to the above post, lopped tree (liquidambar) throwing up suckers from roots. we had painted the lopped stump with diluted roundup. I drilled a heap of holes in the exposed roots & filled them with neat roundup & no more suckers
Good luck!

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## Vernonv

We had a stump of a stringybark tree that kept sprouting. In the end I let it sprout leaves and then hit it with my standard weed spray mix of metsulf (metsulfuron I think it's called - good for woody weeds) and glyphosate. Killed it dead very quickly.

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## Terrian

> If you really want it to die, a better bet is 'Tree and Blackberry killer' which is available in a concentrate in a small glass jar from your nursery. )

  I will vouch for Tree & Blackberry Killer, though I always sold it in 2 sizes of tin containers, not glass, 250ml & 500ml. Not cheap, but works a treat, follow the instructions & safety rules, your local garden supplies will most likely have it on the shelf...

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## Terrian

> Hi, 
> I just checked the archives but could find a relavent thread. 
> I have been told the best way to kill a tree is drilling holes into a root (or more if possible) and fill them up with "round up". Has anyone here used this method successfully or not? 
> Or maybe you have found a full proof method of killing them efficiently & quickly? 
> Cheers
> Metal Head

  one tree we wanted dead & removed had a large hole drilled into it, a stick of gelignite inserted and then (from a safe distance) ignited, tree was removed (country victoria, 20+ years ago  :Smilie:

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## kevin pickering

cheapest way is to hammer a few copper nails into trunk .

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## SilentButDeadly

I've always found a chainsaw and a stump grinder the most effective method of applying death to a tree.

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## Vernonv

> I've always found a chainsaw and a stump grinder the most effective method of applying death to a tree.

  The trouble is your neighbout might notice you in his front yard, if your making all that noise!! :Biggrin:

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## glock40sw

> I've always found a chainsaw and a stump grinder the most effective method of applying death to a tree.

  Ah yes..the simple, straight forward approach... :2thumbsup: . Gotta love it... :Biggrin:

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## SilentButDeadly

> The trouble is your neighbout might notice you in his front yard, if your making all that noise!!

  True.  But if you are going to kill something like a tree then at least if you use a chainsaw at least you'd have the courage to own up to it rather than sneaking around in the middle of the night like a common criminal to dispense poison......pricks like that deserved to be ankletapped with a chainsaw  :Annoyed:

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## illcrabmagik

I've often wondered if I dug down on my side of the property to find a neighbours tree root, drilled a hole in that tree root, inserted one end of a plastic tube into that tree root and the other end into a bottle of tree killer above ground, whether the tree would over time suck up the poison like a patient on a hospital drip. 
I don't have a problem with neighbours trees but whenever I see this topic I wonder if that would work,

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## davey1

We got a couple of large trees cut out by professional tree loppers 6 months ago. They said the best way to kill trees was to stand by with a paint brush and paint the top of the stump with a generous coat of glysophate, especially the outter ring of bark, within 30 seconds of the tree being felled. It seems to have worked, all the trees are stone motherless dead.  One was an umbrella tree which are apparently usually very hard to kill.  Just used a cheap bottle of plain wrap glysophate undiluted. 
Hope this helps.

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## abitfishy

> I've often wondered if I dug down on my side of the property to find a neighbours tree root, drilled a hole in that tree root, inserted one end of a plastic tube into that tree root and the other end into a bottle of tree killer above ground, whether the tree would over time suck up the poison like a patient on a hospital drip. 
> I don't have a problem with neighbours trees but whenever I see this topic I wonder if that would work,

  Yes, that would probably work, and.....um, well, _someone I know_ did something similar, although it was only a few small applications, and it did a great job, but only to the part of the tree that was being fed by those particular roots!   :Doh:

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## Metal Head

Firstly, thanks to everyone :2thumbsup:  for there replies even if some were a bit drastic i.e. gelignite. It maybe OK in the countryside but not in suburban Melbourne :Wink: .    

> True. But if you are going to kill something like a tree then at least if you use a chainsaw at least you'd have the courage to own up to it rather than sneaking around in the middle of the night like a common criminal to dispense poison......pricks like that deserved to be ankletapped with a chainsaw

  Secondly, the tree I have in mind is one of my next door neighbours. I had discussed it with the previous one but he wanted nothing to do with it, and given the selfish attitude of the new ones in relation to another problem I don't care. If they cannot listen to reason then it is THEIR problem :Wink: .  Thanks once again to all Metal Head

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## abitfishy

Good on you mate.  :2thumbsup:  Stuff the neighbours, people like you and me that try to do the right thing just get urinated on time and time again.  Sometimes we need to take the lead. :brava:

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## Wildman

If you can get hold of some Tordon/Picloram (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tordon), it will kill anything broadleaf that grows. Unfortunately some beaurocrat decided that it did too good a job and made it a registered chemical. Was originally developed by the US military to use where Agent Orange was not effective enough (Agent White).  I put some on an oleander and it dropped dead (nothing kills those things), ivy etc, no problem. One gotcha though is that it takes a long time to break down and nothing will grow in the soil for 18-24 months afterwards. I discovered the hard way that heavy rain within a few months will wash the chemical around, and subsequently kill all other vegetation nearby as well. I wouldn't let the kids play in the dirt either for that matter......although apparently it is relatively harmless to people..... 
Use with caution but if all else fails, this wont....if you can get some.

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