# Organic tree killing solutions??



## TreeSurfer (Feb 21, 2016)

Is there anyway to kill a tree using organic or at least non roundup approaches??


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## JeffGu (Feb 21, 2016)

Yes, ring/girdle the tree and wait for it to die. You can see a video HERE that shows how to do it.


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## Pelorus (Feb 21, 2016)

Cook it with a giant magnifying glass.


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## ATH (Feb 21, 2016)

What kind of tree? It matters...


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## JeffGu (Feb 21, 2016)

Yes... if it is a really good firewood species, the ONLY way to kill it is to cut it down, cut it up, split the wood, load it all in a trailer and drop it off at my house. Trust me, nothing else will work on locust, oak, maple, hickory, beech and assorted other species. Call me if you need directions.


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## bikemike (Feb 21, 2016)

TreeSurfer said:


> Is there anyway to kill a tree using organic or at least non roundup approaches??


Copper nails


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## ATH (Feb 22, 2016)

JeffGu said:


> Yes... if it is a really good firewood species, the ONLY way to kill it is to cut it down, cut it up, split the wood, load it all in a trailer and drop it off at my house. Trust me, nothing else will work on locust, oak, maple, hickory, beech and assorted other species. Call me if you need directions.


Yeah...but if it is Ailanthus, cutting it down just spawned 127 new stems suckering from the roots and you have firewood with about the same attraction as burning cow patties.


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## ATH (Feb 22, 2016)

bikemike said:


> Copper nails


not so much...doesn't work (unless you simply girdle the tree with nails, but then you could do it a lot cheaper than could have been done with all that copper).


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## bikemike (Feb 22, 2016)

I still like the answer of cut it down


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## rtsims (Feb 25, 2016)

Let the local hack "prune" it!


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## BC WetCoast (Feb 25, 2016)

Goats


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## JRoland (Mar 1, 2016)

ATH said:


> not so much...doesn't work (unless you simply girdle the tree with nails, but then you could do it a lot cheaper than could have been done with all that copper).


I've heard galvanized nails work, forming a reaction due to zinc in them. I haven't tried it though and don't know the specifics.


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## windthrown (Mar 1, 2016)

rtsims said:


> Let the local hack "prune" it!



Or the Messicans.


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## windthrown (Mar 1, 2016)

JRoland said:


> I've heard galvanized nails work, forming a reaction due to zinc in them. I haven't tried it though and don't know the specifics.



Sorry, that will not work. We used to bang galvanized nails into trees that were zinc deficient to improve their health (seriously).

In reply to the OP, girdling is the best way to kill a tree or bush. Cut to under the cambium layer in a ring about an inch wide and the roots will be starved of nutrients and croak. Then the top will croak. The you can cut it down. This also works to prevent maples, Tree of Heaven, and cottonwood from shooting like mad from the stumps and roots.


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## windthrown (Mar 1, 2016)

BC WetCoast said:


> Goats



They only work up to about 6 feet unless they can knock the limbs down. My trees had a 'goat hair cut' about 6 feet off the ground in Southern Oregon. They will also typically girdle them though, digging out the bark to get to the cambium, or rubbing their horns on the bark or just ramming the trees. Sheep will do the same thing.


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## ATH (Mar 1, 2016)

Agree galvanized nails will not work. Every see hunting stands nailed into trees?

Girdling without herbicide is a very bad idea on Tree of Heaven (ailanthus) around here. Maybe it behaves differently in the northwest. I have also seen a number of silver maple, buckeye, box elder, cottonwood, and a few honey locust with good double girdles that grow over those. However, if you were to hit a second year if you see that happening, you would finish it off quickly.


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## windthrown (Mar 2, 2016)

I have girdled cottonwood, maples/box elders and walnuts here with 100% effective kill rates. Get below the cambium and they cannot grow more phloam (inner bark) to feed the roots. I have done in a lot of trees in California that way as well. I have some birch trees here that have been girdled by some type of bugs and now they are dying. I think it is bark beetles. I have several pines here that are dead now from bark beetles that I am cutting down now. They eat the cambium layer and the trees croak in the summer heat. 

When I was managing a 100+ acre tree stand in Southern Oregon we used a "hack and squirt" method to kill several types of invasive vegetation, including gorse, scotch broom, English hawthorn, and holly. You take a swipe at a tree stump at a downward angle, and then spray the wound with Garlon (triclopyr*) *herbicide. I also used Crossbow for that, which is a blend of triclopyr and 2,4-D. But the OP asked for a non toxic method...


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## Creeker (Mar 2, 2016)

Chainsaw, use vegetable oil if it makes you feel good ....


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## Ferguson system (Mar 2, 2016)

You can use vinegar to replace roundup.


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## ATH (Mar 2, 2016)

Vinegar has a lower LD50 number than roundup (meaning it is more toxic to humans...). It is not labeled to kill trees. It doesn't work particularly well. But it is organic.

You could also dump lots of salt around the tree. Having many people and dogs pee on it would also kill it. Both would be "organic".

Girdling is a great way to kill most trees, depending on species...and apparently location.


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## flushcut (Mar 2, 2016)

An axe or crosscut saw seem to be pretty organic once you take out the refining of the steel.


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## BC WetCoast (Mar 4, 2016)

Light a fire at the base of the tree. Keep it burning long enough and the tree will fall over. As organic an idea as they come.


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## QuickSilver (Mar 5, 2016)

Use a product called "Remedy" in a 20/80 mix (20% Remedy and 80% diesel) and make sure to buy a dyed spray indicator to add to the mixture so you can see where you have sprayed. Typically I see results in 4-5 months. Not very fast but very effective. The larger the tree, the longer it takes. Anything under 3-4" or underbrush is wiped out within 4 months.


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## derwoodii (Mar 5, 2016)

hot boiling water can will kill path yard weeds tho unlikely you can apply this to trees



http://weedcontrolfreaks.com/2014/06/salt-vinegar-and-glyphosate/

I’ve been asked quite a few times over the last several years about a “homemade” herbicide recipe that is floating around the web. Many of you have probably seen it posted to Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest, or on your favorite home gardening site. One of my favorite descriptions calls it a “magical, natural, weed killing potion.” The recipe is largely the same regardless of the source. There are a pretty wide variety of claims about its safety, effectiveness, and “naturalness” depending on the website. One site even says it is “an alternative to chemical weed killers.” [_Spoiler: it contains chemicals._]


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## JeffGu (Mar 5, 2016)




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## ATH (Mar 5, 2016)

derwoodii said:


> hot boiling water can will kill path yard weeds tho unlikely you can apply this to trees
> 
> http://weedcontrolfreaks.com/2014/06/salt-vinegar-and-glyphosate/
> 
> I’ve been asked quite a few times over the last several years about a “homemade” herbicide recipe that is floating around the web. Many of you have probably seen it posted to Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest, or on your favorite home gardening site. One of my favorite descriptions calls it a “magical, natural, weed killing potion.” The recipe is largely the same regardless of the source. There are a pretty wide variety of claims about its safety, effectiveness, and “naturalness” depending on the website. One site even says it is “an alternative to chemical weed killers.” [_Spoiler: it contains chemicals._]


Yeah...just because you use it in your kitchen, doesn't make it "not a chemical". Pretty funny how clueless people can be about what is "poison" and what is "safe". You know, glyphosate was formulated to be a soap. Wonder if they kept it as a soap and not labeled it as an herbicide, if the same people would be talking about how it is a wonderful "natural" week killer


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