# live oak killer?



## Mary jo Reddick (Sep 13, 2001)

We had a beautiful live oak tree that was apprx. 60 yrs. old with a 10 ft base. We recently hired a lawn care company to spray our yard for weeds and chinch bugs. Whithin 2 weeks after they spayed our tree was completly dead!! Could it have been something they used that killed our tree? Thanks in advance for your comments!


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## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 13, 2001)

You need to find a consulting arborist to determin this. It is possible but probibility is questionable if the company was applying at leagal rates.


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## Treeman14 (Sep 13, 2001)

I would say its a good possibility they killed your tree, but an inspection by a certified, UN-BIASED, arborist is definitely needed. The lawn services in my area usually hire kids with little or no training to simply "weed-n-feed". Who knows what they may have applied to your lawn.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 14, 2001)

Even with turflon esther it would take a hot mix to kill a large tree. I worked for a lawn service for a few years and would see alot of herbicide damage. But only mortality in small trees and shrubs.

The one case was a chaineese elm that had just had it's roots mowed by the home owner. The best we could figure is that we inadvertantly did a frill application.


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## monkeypuzzle (Sep 15, 2001)

I have seen the damage a reputable lawn service has done to a really nice yard.The damage WAS caused by inexperience,nothing more.One day the lawn was green and healthy,a week later brown,they burned the whole darn yard and had to pay lots of $$ to repair.They do NO more spraying.


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## treeclimber165 (Sep 15, 2001)

Atrazine (weed control for St Augustine grass) CAN hurt an oak tree, but I doubt it can kill a mature tree in 2 weeks unless your whole lawn looks like it was hit with napalm. I agree with JPS and Brett, have a certified arborist look at it. You can find all the certified arborists in your area (by zip code) at http://www2.champaign.isa-arbor.com/


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## KevinM (Sep 15, 2001)

Certified Arborculture is base entry level for arborists you need a consultant who is experienced in this area. I have dealt with Live Oak trees for over 10 years and I have seen them die but never died this quick. There could be other symptoms why this tree did die such as is the tree newly transplanted which could case transplant shock is just one of many problems it could have. You could search for a consulting arborist in the Orlando area at :asca-consultants.org.


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## Treeman14 (Sep 15, 2001)

With all due respect, Kevin, I seriously doubt that a 10 ft. diameter live oak was recently transplanted. What's up with you and certified arborists, anyway? Did you fail the test, or what? When I got certified, there was a 3 year minimum experience requirement. I don't know any certified arborists who are "entry level". I do know a few who are, shall we say, less than professional, but that happens in all trades. If you see a certified arborist doing poor pruning, notify the ISA. I'm sure they would welcome your comments.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Sep 16, 2001)

At least Kevin and I agree on an ASCA registered consulting arborist.

I have not taken my CA exam yet, but applaud those that do. It is a mesure of minimum knowledge, but it is comprehensive. Damning all of them is like damning all lawn companies because a few properties have been torched. Yes there are good lawn companies out there too.


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## WillClimb (Oct 15, 2001)

Mary Jo - 
Are you sure that the tree is dead? I recently heard from someone in my area that they had a lawn treatment, and within two weeks their live oak lost all of its leaves. Then, next year everything came back like nothing had happened. 
Obviously, anything that removes all of the foliage from a huge tree like that cannot be good for it, but unless you see the bark falling off of your live oak, dont count it as a "dead oak" yet. OK, sorry for the humor in such a time of need 

Will


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