Trees are essential to life on earth, and most of the time, we should protect and cultivate them.
However, there are times when it’s necessary to get rid of trees. Examples include:
- invasive trees that grow unchecked and interfere with native trees and plants
- damaged or diseased trees that have become unsightly or dangerous
- trees that pose a threat to buildings, paths, or roadways
- trees growing in undesirable locations
This article shares advice and tips to help you deal with trees that need removal.
Simple Ways To Rid Your Yard Of Unwanted Trees
- Herbicide: You can paint or spray small trees (under 15′ feet high) with herbicide to kill them. Applying herbicide in autumn when the sap flows downward to the roots is most effective.
Tordon RTU is a targeted herbicide formulated for unwanted trees and shrubbery.
For trees larger than 15′ feet, paint the herbicide all the way around the tree’s bark in a 1′ foot wide strip close to the ground.
Another method of herbicide use for larger trees involves drilling holes in the trunk and filling them with herbicide. Place the holes every couple of inches, very near the soil. They should be about 1 ½” inches deep and canted at a 45° degree downward angle.
- Apply herbicide through the soil: You can also drill holes in the soil around the tree’s base and fill them with herbicide. The holes should be a couple of inches deep and spaced about 3″ inches apart.
Be sure to follow all packaging directions closely when using herbicides. Be extra careful not to spray these products on windy days because they may affect unintended victims.
- Girdling: an old-fashioned and effective way to kill a large tree. It was featured in John Steinbeck’s classic novel, East of Eden.
To girdle a tree, you must cut through the bark (using a chainsaw, hammer and chisel, or a hatchet) all the way around the tree, at or below the surface of the soil.
The encircling gash should be between 4″ and 8″ inches wide. This act will cause the tree to be unable to transport nutrients from the roots to the above-ground growth so that the tree will die.
Applying herbicide to the gash will also kill the tree’s roots.
- Slashing: Like girdling, this method involves using an ax to make a series of slashes in the tree’s bark, all the way around its base.
The cuts should be deep enough to go entirely through the exterior bark. Place them every couple of inches.
Adding herbicide to the slashes within 10 minutes of making them will also ensure that the roots die.
- Smothering: If you pile up mulch or earth around a tree, right up next to the bark, the tree will suffocate and die.
- Paving: Encircle a tree very closely with pavement.
- Salting: If you pour salt on the ground thickly, all the way around a tree, it will die. Unfortunately, so will every other bit of vegetation in the area, and the soil will not be usable anymore.
Take Care When Killing Trees
Before you kill a tree, it goes without saying you should have a plan for what to do with it once it’s dead.
Small trees can be cleared away promptly and disposed of like weeds.
More giant trees can be left standing to dry out for a while before cutting them up for firewood.
No matter how or why you kill a tree, be sure to do so carefully. Control any chemicals you may use. Be sure you know how to use your equipment safely, and wear safety goggles, gloves, and other protective gear.
Naturally, you should only kill your own trees. If you have a complaint about someone else’s trees, let them know about it and allow them to deal with it.