Someone poisoned 4 pines.......WTF???

[lawnmaniac883]

I will try to get pics tomorrow but here is a general description:

4 trees total were poisoned. 1 was poisoned last year, strangely died right? Poison never crossed my mind. 2 side by side poisoned about 20 or more feet from the actual fenceline, another freestanding tree poisoned approx the same distance from fenceline. Now if the trees were 2 feet away from the fence that is different but come on now! The SOB might as well kill all the trees in the area, several others are close enough to drop needles on his pool enclosure. Pics to follow.

 

[userdude]

Well, the authorities were called and didnt seem all that interested, big surprise right? But anyway, called the city arborist per your guys' advice and he will come make sure the trees were poisoned.

yeah, they're probably laughing about it.
it'd be funny if it was pine beatles the whole time

 

[SRT-Tech]

Get some intense red dye and throw it over into his pool one night. See if he gets it then.

good one!, even better is get several packages of RADIATOR leak tester dye. about 6 oz will dye a swimming pool a brilliant glowing nuclear neon green :rockn:

 

[DeanBrown3D]

Or get roundup and spray it on his lawn!

 

[lawnmaniac883]

Took some pics today but dont have cable to upload them to computer at house. Will try and post them tomorrow.

 

[gitrdun_climbr]

laws are evolving

I'm not lawyer and I haven't independently researched these laws but my ISA prep classes covered a bit on trees and the law. Here in Washington State I believe the laws dictate that the neighbor of the tree owner has the right to cut anything (root or crown) that breaks the plain of their property line, even if it means shaving a tree in half essentially...such laws appear very property friendly whereas some other jurisdictions tend to be more tree friendly requiring more consideration of the tree's health. In addition, the option exists for a homeowner to file with the courts for an injunction declaring a neighbors tree a nuisance tree and ordering it's removal for various reasons (undue falling hazard, roots damaging plumbing pipes, etc.)

Our laws, as explained to me, also dictate that a tree directly on the property line is 'shared property' and neither neighbor can touch the thing without approval from the other. If they can't agree, mediation or court intervention is required.

With all the development and building going on their are an array of laws coming out about view rights though it appears most of these laws vary from city to city and even contractural amongst specific housing communities.

Interesting topic for sure.

 

[lawnmaniac883]

The thing is, the pines arent near his property line, the base is a good 20ft away...

 

[gitrdun_climbr]

Gotcha, sorry to get off the topic a bit. In this case there is absolutely no justification if these trees were poisoned and the culprit (and his agents) should be dealt with harshly IMO. Sounds to me like you may have to do some climbing of a different type...chain of authority. The 'authorities' who didn't seem interested don't have that option as they are employed by the people with tax dollars to do a job whether they are personally interested or not. I would make a big stink with every level of command until someone does take an interest. I also think the suggestion of bringing this to the media was a good one to put some fire under an ass or two.

Has the city arborist come out to take a look yet? Was there a police report filed? Have you taken samples of the agent you suspect to be poison? Did you get lots of good photos? Draft a statement of facts to keep all your dates and events straight? Maybe record a conversation with the neighbor to see if he'll fess up in a fit of anger? I'm not sure how much of your time and energy you want to put into following this up but if you plan to really go for it you have to start establishing such records.

I'm sure you're busy and this stuff is easier said than done but I personally hope you are able to bust this guy if he did this.

You pretty good with a bigshot?

 

[lawnmaniac883]

Pics

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[lawnmaniac883]

pics

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[lawnmaniac883]

The one that shows the trees in proximity to his fence is a bad shot, shoulda gotten closer to fenceline but you can see it isnt like they are over his house or anything...

 

[Canyon Angler]

Or get roundup and spray it on his lawn!

Or 200 lbs of solar salt on a rainy night! :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[xtremetrees]

WTH was I thinking..