Gum Tree

G'day,

Without going into the fine details I have a small gum tree (4-5m high) I need to kill as .. ahem .. discretely as possible. I was going to use the standard drill hole/roundup method but I've heard this can be really obvious as the leaves turn brown instantly and are like a flashing neon advertisement for roundup. Also, if someone wanted to make life hard for you, the council can test the tree for traces of roundup.

What I was thinking was to replace the roundup with some kind of liquid nitrogen fertilizer as I'd heard native plants aren't real keen on nitrogen. What do you think? All suggestions welcome.

Cheers

P.S. Not a tree hating, slash and burn Genghis Khan but the tree is going to cause a lot of damage in the future.

Chain saw it down, gone in a flash, no slow dying to give you away.
You will get fined either way, so do it quickly.

Al :)

Depends.

Someone told me that if you bang copper nails into a tree it gets sick. Never tried it.

If the tree is only 4-5m high, it can't be significant, so can we assume that the tree is not on your land? If so, there aint anything you can do legally, but I can think of a whole lot of suspect ways of getting rid of it :)

Just let your imagination go, you'll think of something :D

Drill hole add poison and pop back in a plug. Chances are no one will notice and fewer will test for roundup. But if its a neighbours think long and hard about creating an enemy next door, in the end it may not be worth the effort if another gets planted in its place.

John.

Thanks for the replies. The tree is actually on my land. Had a long conversation with the council building inspector about it and he agrees the tree is going to cause huge problems one day. He said I wouldn't get authority to remove it as it wasn't causing a problem at the moment, even hinted that if it were to die of natural causes the council wouldn't be too worried. But apparently there are a lot of greenies in this neck of the woods so if someone were to complain or draw the council's attention to it they would have no choice but to investigate. Hence my concern with roundup.

Could get out the chainsaw and cop the fine, but they usually make you plant a replacement also so you're back were you started.

Cheers:)

I have a similar problem (......... but, mine's bigger than yours.:eek: ) and I am about to approach my house insurers hoping to gain the considerable "lobby" power that industry has.
An enquiry a few years ago regarding a neighbour failing to repair a downpipe, which was causing washways near house foundations, had results so quick I almost missed the repair being done.

soth

Ringbark the tree and then complain to the greenies about the rabbits :-)

David

Borrow a young, friendly dog for a week or two, something the size of a mastiff. Chain it to the tree: wrap the chain around the trunk (fairly loosely... we wouldn't wanna hurt the tree now, would we? :rolleyes: ) and padlock it back onto itself. Send the kids out to play with the dog.. Chasey around the tree, for example. :D

Drill at the base of the tree with an auger bit, go deep....real deep
Make a decent dose of ghlyphosate, metsulphuron and pulse, pour into hole/s.
Trounce is a product that is single use, but the pulse adds value as it will stop it re-germinating.
Tell the council that it died from rotted roots ;)

It will work but may need a few applications if the tree is a feisty bugger.
If worst gets to worst, prune it from the ground up with a chainsaw.

Drill some holes and introduce borers , then call council guy and show him the borers

or drill large hole close to the ground, wait for a good storm with thunder and lightning , add correct mix of nitrates and diesel , detonate and claim a lightning strike

or check the council rules and if like ours, get permission to erect a small shed within three meters, trees within 3 meters of an approved building may be removed without council permission.

Maglite,
Before I resort to one of the rabbit/dog+kids/dynamite methods:), how long would it take Trounce to work? And how obvious is it that the tree has been poisoned?

Cheers