How to kill a tree undetected?

Hypothetically speaking, let's pretend my neighbor has a huge honey locust right next to my fence and garden, sucking water from and shading my garden, and dropping pods in my garden so I have little locust trees coming up as weeds in my garden.
If that were to happen, what would be the best way for that tree to accidentally die?

cut the branches that hang over fence this is legal in Michigan

Honey locusts are not very desirable in a yard. They have terrible thorns and give very little shade. The best way would be for your neighbor to cut it down or for you to help the neighbor cut it down.

they make good firewood. offer to cut it up for him. after the stump is two or three years old and you routinely cut anything that grows up out of it, cut as level with the ground as you can. bury it in charcoal and light it. will burn several days but stump and all will be gone. fill the hole with a few bucket fulls of dirt

Take a cordless drill with a 1/2 bit, drill down at an angle 4/5 inches, fill with Roundup,use sawdust to plug hole. Never tried it but heard it works great

Tordon RTU works awesome too!

copper sulphate

How about approaching the neighbor and explaining the problem and offer removal of tree and planting a new better variety that will benefit both of you.

Just poor a lot of roundup at the base of the tree. it will kill it, diesel fuel would probably do the same.

Tordon is how we kill out Honey Locust trees in the pasture, but keep in mind that Tordon does translocate through the roots into the soil so more than likely you will have negative effects on other desirable vegetation including your garden.

I would explain the situation to the neighbor and offer to help cut it up, if that doesnt work explain that you are going to remove anything hanging on your side of the property line.

Tordon is how we kill out Honey Locust trees in the pasture, but keep in mind that Tordon does translocate through the roots into the soil so more than likely you will have negative effects on other desirable vegetation including your garden.

I would explain the situation to the neighbor and offer to help cut it up, if that doesnt work explain that you are going to remove anything hanging on your side of the property line.[/quote] tried many things on mine,,,big multipliers....can u be specific? pm if u like.

If you vandalize the neighbor's tree expect karma to have dead tree parts falling on your property for a long time. Talk to the neighbor.

EDIT: New link added.
Here is a link to a recent thread on a similar subject- How to kill a Bradford pear Scroll to top of page.

Spike80 one hand full will do the trick

Talk to the Neighbor ...or move the garden.

A few copper nails will do the job.

Hypothetically speaking, one large beaver or two. And when the job is finished, offer to trap the "nuisance" beavers at a discounted rate.

Talk with your hypothetical neighbor.... If that fails, then unleash the beavers.

OK everyone keeps saying use copper nails. Next question WHERE do you buy copper nails ???????

Whatever happened to just talking with the neighbor about it.

WS

Lol. Get an axe and ninja outfit..or try 2,4,D

Same hear, I hear it works real good.

I have tried copper nails. Never had any luck with them.

Don't do it.....!

Move to the country.

This^^^^^ Geeze, it seems being neighborly is a lost art.

What’s the neighbor say when you talk to him about it, hypothetically?

Was that link a joke LAtrapper? Or just an "oops"?

LAtrapper, although your link doesn't bring up the previous thread, I also remember it. It got pretty much the same recommendations from copper hails to Roundup to talk to the neighbor. Probably posted by the same person but I don't know for sure.

Anyone???????

I thought it was a repost by Gary when I first saw this post. Maybe it is?

Buy a junk truck strong enough to cause mortal damage to tree when backed into. Modify brakes on truck so they don't work well. Back truck up to garden at an unsafe overconfident speed. Brace for impact, call insurance company.

For added effect do it while your garden is planted and doing well so you can show some disappointment with what happened. Or grow a giant pumpkin in the area of the tree so you would have an excuse for bringing a big truck into the area at the end of growing season.

Wait till neighbors leave their house for the day, and Hypothetically.... Jump over the fence & saw the tree down ..


Hypothetically,, that is....

Tannerite

this is a solid idea.

Be sure to offer to get him another tree, like an Ash or something, or fruit tree, and plant it as a replacement. A lil farther off the property line of course. Trees are cheap.

She is a crotchety old gal...won't allow anything that might benefit someone else. She has rhubarb plants, she doesn't use it, but won't let anybody else have any either. Her plants. Her choice. She also has iris growing all over that would benefit by being thinned out but again, she says they're just fine. Ain't nobody gonna get anything of hers.

It was an "oops". New link- How to Kill a Bradford Pear

New link- How to Kill a Bradford Pear

Might not want to open this can of worms but property lines go straight up....so anything over your line (in the air) is your's to do what you want to with.

If you sprayed Roundup on the branches that are on your side of the fence, would that kill the whole tree ?

That was me. Still looking for them "copper" nails

I've seen them, can't remember where....maybe it was at the home depot.

Put some kind of lightning rod on the tree and wait for a good storm

REMEMBER THE OLD ADAGE>
"its easier to ask forgiveness than ask for permission"
Drill that tree with a 3/4" wood bit about a foot long just below the soil in about 6-8 spots and let the chips fall where they may!

It's his property and he has the right to grow whatever the heck he wants to on it. Every bit as much as you have the right to grow the plants in your garden.

If the neighbor likes the tree, you are limited to cutting the branches where they cross your property line.

I have that situation, except they are tall cottonwoods, several of them, not locust. Oh well, my garden gets afternoon sun.

I have 4 honey locust trees in my yard. They drop a lot of branches when it's windy. Hummingbirds really like their blossoms. I would never plant them. They were there when I bought the place.

Was the tree there before you and your garden?

[/quote] That was me. Still looking for them "copper" nails [/quote]

One source of copper nails, 2d to 40d- Copper Nails There are many more places that sell them..

The Roundup trick works on Walnut and Manitoba Maple should work for you.

Sure are pretty, and smell good in the spring.

Be careful with this it is not entirely true everywhere and not in MN for sure. You can legally trim the tree to the property line BUT you cannot cause unreasonable damage to the tree either.

Before you kill someones mature tree think on this, the replacement cost of that tree is likely $30,000 plus dollars, if you get caught and sued you will be crucified in court so dont put your families well being at risk over a tree if you cannot afford to!

Copper nails will do nothing but create a hazard for the poor chap who has to cut it down someday please do not pound a pile of nails into it! Even if you do and owner has a arborist inspect the tree he will see what happened and you will be on the hook for replacement. My advice is to hire a Arborist to trim the tree back over the property line as much as possible. Occasionally someone will ask me how to kill a tree that is causing damage to septic/house but the CITY will not let them remove the tree, in these instances I recommend digging down near the base of a large root, drill a small hole and drip Tordon into it during cool early morning while the tree is up taking water, obviously recover the spot that was drilled with dirt, tree will be dead shortly. Again I do not advise doing that to your neighbors tree!

That will kill the grass in your yard

Talk to your neighbor and let him know what the issue is maybe offer some fresh garden produce heck he might think its a nuisance but doesn't know what to do about it. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. The last thing I would do would be to poison the ground it will be on your side of the fence I will guarantee that.

why am I not surprised that you know how to kill someone's tree. You may be more twisted than I suspected!😀

Well yes, but the tree isn't growing a garden....the dang pods fall on my property and seed my garden with locust trees.

I'mma do that Liberal thing and claim eminent domain because my interest is more important than her interest. It's got to go.
I'll give that goldarn tree an abortion....that should be acceptable to a Liberal.

chainsaw. cut it after he leaves and tell him when he returns that a tree service mistakenly cut it and left and you have no idea who the where....

The easy way, simply buy the neighbors property, cut down the tree, resell the property to someone you can talk to and put a "no tree planting by my garden stipulation" in the buying contract. Easy-peazy.

How to find them "copper" nails.

Tried that......she won't sell. The house sits empty so her daughter can store stuff in it. She could rent it for $600/mo!!!
And I mow her front lawn with my Cub Cadet and shovel her snow....so I'm not being stubborn!

copper nails are really old and hard to find....they are made from wire. get you some 12 gauge and strip it off then cut you some 1 to 2 inch pieces....take your handy dandy cordless drill and find a bit just the right size....imma gonna skip to the part about the nails being just under the bark in the growth layer and lots of them....tree probably wont come back next year...…...theoreticly…….

I agree with Donner. As an arborist I have also been called to evaluate possible tree damage from a neighbor. Fortunately I have never had to go to court and testify but I do know that there are multiple ways of testing the tree for foul Play. I would check with your laws and see what all you can take off and have a professional come out and take care of it. This way if there are any accusations you have documentation that you had a professional company do the work.

Asking forgiveness before permission it's definitely not the way to go with trees as they can be harmed beyond repair.
If they were to get an evaluation done of a tree value you could be looking at a tremendous amount of money.

Copper Nails will do nothing but ruin equipment for the poor guy who is cutting it down, I have been there and it is not fun.

Good info TrapperD81.

Run a trencher down the property line and the roots wi be cut off from the tree. That also removes support from that side of the tree and will cause the tree to fall away from your property if the wind gives it a nudge.

There is a product used a lot in south Texas for mesquite control called Sendero. It is bragged about b/c it is mesquite specific and does not harm oak trees, elm trees, etc. It has been my experience that it is not just mesquite specific, but that it will also smoke honey locust trees. I'm guessing because both are in the bean (Fabaceae) family.

This spring I sprayed one branch of a honey locust shrub (about 8 feet tall) to see what would happen. The one branch turned yellow within a day and lost leaves soon afterward. One month later, the whole shrub was yellow and now it has lost all of its leaves. Next spring will determine for sure if the locust is dead or not, but it has been my experience that this product kills locust trees much more easily than mesquites. The kill also depends if the plant has been shredded or mechanically manipulated in the past. A lot of noxious shrubs are small, but hey have one heckuva root system. The key is to spray the tree when it is actively growing and temperatures are warm, but before the plant starts producing and growing beans. This helps to get the chemical down into the roots.

Wouldnt taking the roots off your side make it want to fall towards your side since its being supported in the neighbors side and now you have disturbed soil on your side as well now.

https://www.amazon.com/copper-nails/s?page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acopper%20nails

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1920

You should pay a real estate law firm to sue her for trespass, damages to your garden and blocking your view- get a court to order removal of the tree and she will pay for that and pay you damages.
If you damage it without a court order she will sue you without a doubt.

from nolo.com
"Deliberately Harming a Tree

In almost every state, a person who intentionally injures someone else's tree is liable to the owner for two or three times the amount of actual monetary loss. These penalties protect tree owners by providing harsh deterrents to would-be loggers."

X2

Thanks, I'm going to use this on some larger cottonwoods on my property.

Just take a couple of 5 gallon buckets of round up and soak it in at the base of the tree. It will kill it real slow like almost like, gee I wonder why that tree is dying.

You gotta move then.

My,my,my,me,me,me. Are you a milinieal?

Get someone to cut the limbs that hang over your property and leave your neighbors property the heck alone.

Buy the property from him and cut the tree down. Otherwise mind your property and let the neighbor mind his.

Calm down girls, it was sarcasm.