Thanks. But I am surprised by many of the other posts which are less than
sympathetic to my weighty problem about this errant tree.

We all know the old saying that "a good neighbour is a dead neighbour"
(which explains the high value of land adjacent to cemeteries) and so ANY
solution short of confronting the next-door people is the one to take.

I am SO tired of this tree; its leaves blow under the kitchen door, it makes
my small back yard gloomy, and in the early morning at about 4am birds sit
in it and wake me up with their incessant chirping and twittering - and they
crap all over my pavers. In autumn all its slimy leaves litter and clog
everything!

I'm going to address the very person of this tree and poison it with every
means at my disposal, copper sulfate, thorium nitrate, thallium phosphate,
sulfuric acid, chromium nitrate, and in the dead of night - before the birds
arrive I'll drench it with roundup!

This tree will end up glowing in the dark!

I think there are lawyers lurking in this ng.



"Suzie-Q" wrote in message
...
In article , "Peter Jason"

wrote:

- I have been told that to kill a tree I have to drill a hole 6" deep and
- 1"diameter into the trunk near the base and fill it with copper sulfate
and
- then seal the hole with a wooden plug.
-
- Can any one advise me if this is true?
-
- Peter


You could pray for a lightning strike. Or go to misc.legal.moderated,
give full details (including your location), and see if you have any
legal way of dealing with the damage.
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

Peter Jason wrote:

Thanks. But I am surprised by many of the other posts which are less than
sympathetic to my weighty problem about this errant tree.

We all know the old saying that "a good neighbour is a dead neighbour"
(which explains the high value of land adjacent to cemeteries) and so ANY
solution short of confronting the next-door people is the one to take.

I am SO tired of this tree; its leaves blow under the kitchen door, it makes
my small back yard gloomy, and in the early morning at about 4am birds sit
in it and wake me up with their incessant chirping and twittering - and they
crap all over my pavers. In autumn all its slimy leaves litter and clog
everything!

I'm going to address the very person of this tree and poison it with every
means at my disposal, copper sulfate, thorium nitrate, thallium phosphate,
sulfuric acid, chromium nitrate, and in the dead of night - before the birds
arrive I'll drench it with roundup!

This tree will end up glowing in the dark!

I think there are lawyers lurking in this ng.

And after all that, you will move out and leave the next tenant wondering
why there are no nice trees around to shade his house, protect it from
winter winds, and generally give a interesting landscape to an otherwise
drab backyard. You could move to a high rise building where there are
no trees around to harbor bird life. I will take birds any day to barking dogs.

Sherwin D.

"Peter Jason" expounded:

I think there are lawyers lurking in this ng.

Nah, just lots of troll-detectors.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

In article et,
"SVTKate" wrote:

- Hey Peter.
- I am prolly one of the least PC folks you will meet here so I am going to
- offer some advice.
- It's just a tree and another can be replanted in it's place. We yank out
- shrubs, flowers and all sorts of other plants when they become a problem, a
- tree can be replaced too.
-
- First, a little history.
- The last house we owned had an enormous Ash tree in the front yard, the
- whole neighborhood had HUGE ash trees.
- This tree, big and beautiful as it was, was lifted and my driveway several
- inches and ruined it. It had roots running into my yard so that the grass
- would not grow and it had cracked the brick borders around my flower beds as
- it headed for my foundation. It also had (as did they all) mistletoe and a
- disease that caused it to drop loads of messy leaves every time there was
- the slightest rain. It was like autumn all year round.
-
- My point is, I feel your pain. I considered killing this tree too. It was
- "owned" by the city.
-
- Since it was on the south side of the house I decided that there must be
- another solution because it was the only buffer between our house and that
- hot summer sun.
- I called the city and they had a program where they would come and cut the
- roots with a trenching kind of tool. It cut about two inches wide, and
- severed the roots to stop them from doing any more damage. It was a mess in
- the lawn, but nothing that didn't heal up fairly quickly.
- I had it done a couple of times while we owned the house and it did help.
-
- In your case, I don't know if it is a solution or not but it's hard as hell
- to kill a tree. We cut one down completely and it took about two years for
- it to stop sending up suckers. It was Oak and too ahrd to drill and put
- stuff into to kill it. You may try consulting an arborist about the roots on
- your property and if it's a neighbor's tree see if they will share the cost
- of the maintenance. If it's the city, do some stealthy research on it, if
- they will do nothing then I'm on your side, find a way to kill it. Just
- don't get caught.
-
- Kate

Many years ago someone tried to kill the "historic treaty
oak" in Austin, TX. He was nearly successful. Maybe you could
do some research and find out what he used!!

--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

I am no troll; all I wanted was a little help to rid me of this tree!


"Ann" wrote in message
...
"Peter Jason" expounded:

I think there are lawyers lurking in this ng.

Nah, just lots of troll-detectors.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

Peter,

Usually, talking to a neighbor about the fact that his tree is
damaging or threatening your property is a futile effort. Most
neighbors are inconsiderate morons who don't give a damn if
their tree, pets or kids are making your life miserable. Generally,
talking with them only draws attention to you and you then
become the first suspect when something happens to the tree.

Trust me, I spent the first couple of decades as a homeowner
attempting to make very rare and very tactful request to neighbors.
It usually just doesn't work. I should have learned more quickly
that I'm not going to get any compromise from morons who put
a compost pile at the property line 8 feet from my deck, who
let their dog bark for 9 hours a day & 5 days per week, or who let
their pets run free every day.

I got my wakeup call about 20 years ago when a next-door neighbor
sprayed a general herbicide on parts of his lawn and the chemical
leeched over to my side of the property and killed a lot of grass,
my organic vegetable garden, well established grape vines and
my raspberry plants. His response? "Hey, I didn't spray anything
on your side of the property. What happens underground isn't my
problem."

Personally, I'd appreciate any knowledge-based legal advise on
solving problems such as yours. I have removed my large trees
to alleviate a number of problems (clogged gutters, clogged drain
tile, pressure on basement walls, poor lawn due to water competition,
etc.) But I am still stuck with neighbors trees presenting the same
problems for me. Morons grow big trees very close to the property
line, ignoring the impact upon folks such as you and me.

Friendly talks with my neighbors are futile - they'll "permit" light pruning
of limbs on my side of the property (at my expense, of course). In
general, they will "permit" pruning of about 10% of the limbs and none
of the roots on my property. All I get from my neighbors is large limbs
falling on my property and on my roofs during every heavy storm, in
addition to the clogged drains, poor grass, heaved concrete, etc.

Rent a trencher. Dig a trench around the perimeter of your property
to cut every root entering your property. Drill 1/2" holes in the largest
root stubs and fill with Ortho Roundup. Repeat once a week for 4 weeks.

Copper salts are very harmful to living plants, but Roundup is much,
much better. Be certain to buy the largest container of Roundup with
the highest concentration of the active ingredient. I believe that this
is 41% concentration and it costs about $40 for a quart or so of the
product. Apply at full strength. Be patient.

You can also drill large holes in the roots, drive copper pipes into
the holes and fill the pipes with copper salts. Still, Roundup is more
effective.

Of course, don't do this if it is illegal in your community.

Remember, once you have a friendly & futile talk with your neighbors,
you can no longer be covert. They will now suspect you if anything
happens to their precious trees (or pets, etc.).

You want to take about morons! Just drive around my neighborhood and count
into the triple digits the number of trees that have been planted directly
below the power lines. And now that they're getting trimmed back (if you
want to call it trimming) by the city to prevent winter-time iced limbs from
taking out the lines - the homeowners are up in arms over the "UGLY" way
that the trees are trimmed. Oh, but lets see! Come winter and their power
goes out because a limb dropped on the line and knocked it down - they yell
the loudest that they are not being taken care of properly by the power
company and are being ignored in the winter.

Kim


"Gideon" wrote in message
...
I should have learned more quickly
that I'm not going to get any compromise from morons who put
a compost pile at the property line 8 feet from my deck,

K, T, E & N wrote:
You want to take about morons! Just drive around my neighborhood and count
into the triple digits the number of trees that have been planted directly
below the power lines. And now that they're getting trimmed back (if you
want to call it trimming) by the city to prevent winter-time iced limbs from
taking out the lines - the homeowners are up in arms over the "UGLY" way
that the trees are trimmed. Oh, but lets see! Come winter and their power
goes out because a limb dropped on the line and knocked it down - they yell
the loudest that they are not being taken care of properly by the power
company and are being ignored in the winter.

Kim


Here, it's the city that plants the big maple and elm trees right under
the power lines.

Bob

O thank you!

This supportive post has steeled my resolve to undertake the death of this
tree and I shall follow your advice to the letter.

I have long been vary of neighbours and have always lived on a corner (you
get one less) and everything I do and don't do is calculated to avoid them.

I have no experience with lawyers in these situations, but the business
world has taught me that once one has entered a dispute with anyone, the
lawyers play cat and mouse with both sides to make as much money as possible
for themselves. Lawyers are useful for setting up contracts etc and
possibly investigating a prospective neighbour to see if he is barking mad,
but they should be assiduously avoided. For example, how high can one build
a boundary fence?

Friends of mine who have become enmeshed in these neighbour-disputes find
themselves in a lengthy war of attrition with endless visits to "tribunals"
of varying sorts where the wheels grind extremely slowly.

And dogs? When I was a boy, the neighbourhood where I lived was notorious
for poisoned pooches. The technique was to get a lump of meat and cut a
slot into which one inserted a quantity of strychnine, thereby guaranteeing
the demise of a barking pest. They are easy to kill.












"Gideon" wrote in message
...
Peter,

Usually, talking to a neighbor about the fact that his tree is
damaging or threatening your property is a futile effort. Most
neighbors are inconsiderate morons who don't give a damn if
their tree, pets or kids are making your life miserable. Generally,
talking with them only draws attention to you and you then
become the first suspect when something happens to the tree.

Trust me, I spent the first couple of decades as a homeowner
attempting to make very rare and very tactful request to neighbors.
It usually just doesn't work. I should have learned more quickly
that I'm not going to get any compromise from morons who put
a compost pile at the property line 8 feet from my deck, who
let their dog bark for 9 hours a day & 5 days per week, or who let
their pets run free every day.

I got my wakeup call about 20 years ago when a next-door neighbor
sprayed a general herbicide on parts of his lawn and the chemical
leeched over to my side of the property and killed a lot of grass,
my organic vegetable garden, well established grape vines and
my raspberry plants. His response? "Hey, I didn't spray anything
on your side of the property. What happens underground isn't my
problem."

Personally, I'd appreciate any knowledge-based legal advise on
solving problems such as yours. I have removed my large trees
to alleviate a number of problems (clogged gutters, clogged drain
tile, pressure on basement walls, poor lawn due to water competition,
etc.) But I am still stuck with neighbors trees presenting the same
problems for me. Morons grow big trees very close to the property
line, ignoring the impact upon folks such as you and me.

Friendly talks with my neighbors are futile - they'll "permit" light
pruning
of limbs on my side of the property (at my expense, of course). In
general, they will "permit" pruning of about 10% of the limbs and none
of the roots on my property. All I get from my neighbors is large limbs
falling on my property and on my roofs during every heavy storm, in
addition to the clogged drains, poor grass, heaved concrete, etc.

Rent a trencher. Dig a trench around the perimeter of your property
to cut every root entering your property. Drill 1/2" holes in the largest
root stubs and fill with Ortho Roundup. Repeat once a week for 4 weeks.

Copper salts are very harmful to living plants, but Roundup is much,
much better. Be certain to buy the largest container of Roundup with
the highest concentration of the active ingredient. I believe that this
is 41% concentration and it costs about $40 for a quart or so of the
product. Apply at full strength. Be patient.

You can also drill large holes in the roots, drive copper pipes into
the holes and fill the pipes with copper salts. Still, Roundup is more
effective.

Of course, don't do this if it is illegal in your community.

Remember, once you have a friendly & futile talk with your neighbors,
you can no longer be covert. They will now suspect you if anything
happens to their precious trees (or pets, etc.).

"Gideon" wrote in message
...
: Peter,
:
: Usually, talking to a neighbor about the fact that his tree is
: damaging or threatening your property is a futile effort. Most
: neighbors are inconsiderate morons who don't give a damn if
: their tree, pets or kids are making your life miserable. Generally,
: talking with them only draws attention to you and you then
: become the first suspect when something happens to the tree.
:
: Trust me, I spent the first couple of decades as a homeowner
: attempting to make very rare and very tactful request to neighbors.
: It usually just doesn't work. I should have learned more quickly
: that I'm not going to get any compromise from morons who put
: a compost pile at the property line 8 feet from my deck, who
: let their dog bark for 9 hours a day & 5 days per week, or who let
: their pets run free every day.
:

Oh my God!
You lived on the OTHER side of the moron that caused me to sell my last
house.. didn't you!
neighbors can be a real pain. That's why I made a point of finding property
this time with room to buffer the neighbors.

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 22:48:14 GMT, "SVTKate"
wrote:

neighbors can be a real pain.

especially when out spraying deisel fuel....





Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets. To plant a pine, one need only own a shovel.
-- Aldo Leopold

You don't want to tip off the neighbor of your intentions, so you dig this huge trench
around your property? This neighbor may be a jerk, but he's not necessarily stupid.
Every village has a Public Works Dept. and/or Building Department. I would inquire
with them if there are any violations of code. You may still be held responsible for
killing this tree, even if you work exclusively from your property. There are specialized tools
that some municipalities have that can be used to cut the roots without digging big trenches. Try
your local government first, before you take any
desperation steps. Also check your local ordinances and regulations to see if you
have any grounds for complaint.

Sherwin D.

Gideon wrote:

Peter,

Usually, talking to a neighbor about the fact that his tree is
damaging or threatening your property is a futile effort. Most
neighbors are inconsiderate morons who don't give a damn if
their tree, pets or kids are making your life miserable. Generally,
talking with them only draws attention to you and you then
become the first suspect when something happens to the tree.

Trust me, I spent the first couple of decades as a homeowner
attempting to make very rare and very tactful request to neighbors.
It usually just doesn't work. I should have learned more quickly
that I'm not going to get any compromise from morons who put
a compost pile at the property line 8 feet from my deck, who
let their dog bark for 9 hours a day & 5 days per week, or who let
their pets run free every day.

I got my wakeup call about 20 years ago when a next-door neighbor
sprayed a general herbicide on parts of his lawn and the chemical
leeched over to my side of the property and killed a lot of grass,
my organic vegetable garden, well established grape vines and
my raspberry plants. His response? "Hey, I didn't spray anything
on your side of the property. What happens underground isn't my
problem."

Personally, I'd appreciate any knowledge-based legal advise on
solving problems such as yours. I have removed my large trees
to alleviate a number of problems (clogged gutters, clogged drain
tile, pressure on basement walls, poor lawn due to water competition,
etc.) But I am still stuck with neighbors trees presenting the same
problems for me. Morons grow big trees very close to the property
line, ignoring the impact upon folks such as you and me.

Friendly talks with my neighbors are futile - they'll "permit" light pruning
of limbs on my side of the property (at my expense, of course). In
general, they will "permit" pruning of about 10% of the limbs and none
of the roots on my property. All I get from my neighbors is large limbs
falling on my property and on my roofs during every heavy storm, in
addition to the clogged drains, poor grass, heaved concrete, etc.

Rent a trencher. Dig a trench around the perimeter of your property
to cut every root entering your property. Drill 1/2" holes in the largest
root stubs and fill with Ortho Roundup. Repeat once a week for 4 weeks.

Copper salts are very harmful to living plants, but Roundup is much,
much better. Be certain to buy the largest container of Roundup with
the highest concentration of the active ingredient. I believe that this
is 41% concentration and it costs about $40 for a quart or so of the
product. Apply at full strength. Be patient.

You can also drill large holes in the roots, drive copper pipes into
the holes and fill the pipes with copper salts. Still, Roundup is more
effective.

Of course, don't do this if it is illegal in your community.

Remember, once you have a friendly & futile talk with your neighbors,
you can no longer be covert. They will now suspect you if anything
happens to their precious trees (or pets, etc.).

Several comments:

1) Drainage trenches for so-called "French drains" are extremely common
and they often include lateral collectors that are extremely close to each
of the two sides of the property in addition to an interceptor/feeder trench
located extremely close to the rear property line. They are not a violation
of code anywhere that I know about and I've failed to notice any SWAT
teams shown on the 11 o'clock news, converging upon some homeowner
with his rented 6" trencher and a few hundred feet of black flexible PVC
drain pipe.

2) I live in a city, not in a village. The only villages I've ever seen have
been in quaint 1940's style movies, generally set in England. But apparently
we are being led to believe that in your village it is illegal to dig a
drainage trench around your property but there is no problem asking the
municipality to drop by and cut the roots of a neighbor's trees?

3) Where did you get your law degree?

Gideon

================

sherwindu wrote in message ...
You don't want to tip off the neighbor of your intentions, so you dig this huge
trench
around your property? This neighbor may be a jerk, but he's not necessarily
stupid.
Every village has a Public Works Dept. and/or Building Department. I would
inquire
with them if there are any violations of code. You may still be held
responsible for
killing this tree, even if you work exclusively from your property. There are
specialized tools
that some municipalities have that can be used to cut the roots without digging
big trenches. Try
your local government first, before you take any
desperation steps. Also check your local ordinances and regulations to see if
you
have any grounds for complaint.

Sherwin D.

Gideon wrote:

Peter,

Usually, talking to a neighbor about the fact that his tree is
damaging or threatening your property is a futile effort. Most
neighbors are inconsiderate morons who don't give a damn if
their tree, pets or kids are making your life miserable. Generally,
talking with them only draws attention to you and you then
become the first suspect when something happens to the tree.

Trust me, I spent the first couple of decades as a homeowner
attempting to make very rare and very tactful request to neighbors.
It usually just doesn't work. I should have learned more quickly
that I'm not going to get any compromise from morons who put
a compost pile at the property line 8 feet from my deck, who
let their dog bark for 9 hours a day & 5 days per week, or who let
their pets run free every day.

I got my wakeup call about 20 years ago when a next-door neighbor
sprayed a general herbicide on parts of his lawn and the chemical
leeched over to my side of the property and killed a lot of grass,
my organic vegetable garden, well established grape vines and
my raspberry plants. His response? "Hey, I didn't spray anything
on your side of the property. What happens underground isn't my
problem."

Personally, I'd appreciate any knowledge-based legal advise on
solving problems such as yours. I have removed my large trees
to alleviate a number of problems (clogged gutters, clogged drain
tile, pressure on basement walls, poor lawn due to water competition,
etc.) But I am still stuck with neighbors trees presenting the same
problems for me. Morons grow big trees very close to the property
line, ignoring the impact upon folks such as you and me.

Friendly talks with my neighbors are futile - they'll "permit" light pruning
of limbs on my side of the property (at my expense, of course). In
general, they will "permit" pruning of about 10% of the limbs and none
of the roots on my property. All I get from my neighbors is large limbs
falling on my property and on my roofs during every heavy storm, in
addition to the clogged drains, poor grass, heaved concrete, etc.

Rent a trencher. Dig a trench around the perimeter of your property
to cut every root entering your property. Drill 1/2" holes in the largest
root stubs and fill with Ortho Roundup. Repeat once a week for 4 weeks.

Copper salts are very harmful to living plants, but Roundup is much,
much better. Be certain to buy the largest container of Roundup with
the highest concentration of the active ingredient. I believe that this
is 41% concentration and it costs about $40 for a quart or so of the
product. Apply at full strength. Be patient.

You can also drill large holes in the roots, drive copper pipes into
the holes and fill the pipes with copper salts. Still, Roundup is more
effective.

Of course, don't do this if it is illegal in your community.

Remember, once you have a friendly & futile talk with your neighbors,
you can no longer be covert. They will now suspect you if anything
happens to their precious trees (or pets, etc.).

In article ,
says...
Several comments:

1) Drainage trenches for so-called "French drains" are extremely common
and they often include lateral collectors that are extremely close to each
of the two sides of the property in addition to an interceptor/feeder trench
located extremely close to the rear property line. They are not a violation
of code anywhere that I know about

Then you are woefully ignorant.


and I've failed to notice any SWAT
teams shown on the 11 o'clock news, converging upon some homeowner
with his rented 6" trencher and a few hundred feet of black flexible PVC
drain pipe.

I suspect, as with most minor crimes, the police don't care unless it
is reported.


2) I live in a city, not in a village.

Hence your ignorance in the matter.

The only villages I've ever seen have
been in quaint 1940's style movies, generally set in England. But apparently
we are being led to believe that in your village it is illegal to dig a
drainage trench around your property

It is here. One of the reasons to get a permit is you get a map
detailing the various utilities that pass under your property so as not
to cut them with your trenching tool.

Maybe he should just go ahead, run his trencher into a gas line. The
resulting explosion should cure his problems.





but there is no problem asking the
municipality to drop by and cut the roots of a neighbor's trees?

Ther're supposed to know where the utilities are buried.


3) Where did you get your law degree?

And your's?


Gideon



snip

Bill

Awww shaddap kid, ya bother me.


"Tom Jaszewski" wrote in message
...
: On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 22:48:14 GMT, "SVTKate"
: wrote:
:
: neighbors can be a real pain.
:
: especially when out spraying deisel fuel....
:
:
:
:
:
: Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets. To plant a
pine, one need only own a shovel.
: -- Aldo Leopold