While trees can be a lovely addition to your yard, there comes a point when they outgrow their welcome.

You might need to remove a tree for several reasons, including the fact that it has grown too large or is too close to your home or road.

Cutting down a tree may be challenging and risky, especially if the tree is too big. If you’re scared to cut down a tree, don’t have funds to hire tree-cutting services, or don’t want others to know about your plans, you should think about subtler ways to destroy a tree without cutting it down.

Some of the ways you can go about it include:

Girdle the tree

A popular way to kill a tree without chopping it down is to gird it. The girdling procedure entails cutting a slot or groove around the tree’s trunk.

The incision will cut off the tree’s nutrient supply by cutting off the sap flow between the roots and the rest of the tree.

You can make that groove with a hatchet, an axe, or a chainsaw. If you want to cut down several trees, a chainsaw is the best tool for the job.

The groove location isn’t critical, so pick a level that you are comfortable with.

While this is the case, ensure the notch goes around the tree’s circumference.

Depending on the size of the tree you are looking to kill, the incision should be roughly 1-1.5 inches deep. A thicker tree will require a deeper cut.

One notch should suffice, but add a second notch a few inches above the first if dealing with a larger tree. Doing this ensures that you cut off as many nutrients as possible.

As you wrap down a tree, you should note that killing a tree by girdling  is a gradual process; the tree may die for months after being girdled.

It is also not the greatest choice for destroying more challenging, notoriously difficult trees. Sometimes, you might need herbicides to speed up the procedure or assist with the more challenging tree species.

Using copper nails

Copper nails are a common home item that you can use to destroy trees.

The copper in the nail will be taken by the tree and transmitted through the various parts of the tree alongside the nutrients that keep it alive. The result is the nail poisoning the tree in the same manner a herbicide would, but without exposing you to dangerous chemicals.

Before you begin, ensure that your nails are made of pure copper and not a copper combination. Then, hammer the nails into the roots or in the base of the trunk, whichever is most accessible to you.

It is critical to place the nails as close to the root as feasible since this will ensure that the copper is taken into the nutrients as soon as possible.

As much as hammering nails into your tree’s trunk needs less physical effort than girdling and does not expose you to hazardous chemicals, using copper nails on your trees necessitates knowledge of your trees that the typical gardener may lack.

As previously said, nail positioning is critical. If the nail is too high up the trunk, the tree will not absorb enough copper to affect the tree.

The amount of copper absorption inside the tree is also affected by the depth of the nail inside the tree.

Also, many trees benefit from trace levels of copper. Copper traces are frequently found in soil, where trees naturally absorb them.

If the tree is not collecting copper from the soil, adding copper nails may have the opposite effect, allowing it to acquire the required nutrients.

For the best results, you should understand the trees you’re working with and the soil they’re growing.

Sometimes, testing your soil before using the copper nails might be wise.

Chemicals

When it comes to killing trees, nothing works better than herbicides. A herbicide works as a poison, infiltrating the tree and killing it.

When applying herbicides to kill a tree, numerous aspects must be considered. The first consideration is the type of herbicide you intend to use.

Herbicides of the growth regulator type are used to restrict plant growth and can damage trees if applied excessively.

Others, such as glyphosate, work by interfering with the synthesis of proteins in the tree and, consequently, killing it.

The chemicals you select are determined by your preferences and the tree species you intend to employ them on.

Once you’ve determined the chemicals to employ, you must pick how to apply the herbicides.

One way to do it is to cut into the bark and spray the herbicide into the cuts. You can make as many incisions as you want, and unlike girdling, they do not have to encircle the tree entirely. The idea is to poison the tree rather than stop the nutrient flow.

Another way to do it is to spray a growth-control herbicide on the tree’s leaves. This strategy is best for removing immature saplings, while fully established trees require a more vital herbicide.

You can also spray a soluble oil herbicide, such as triclopyr ester, on the tree’s bark. The herbicide’s oil solubility allows the chemical to permeate the tree and poison it from within. This method is effective on tiny trees (average diameter of 4 inches) or trees with thin bark.

While utilizing toxic pesticides is the quickest way to kill trees, it is also the riskiest. It would be best to take proper safety precautions to guarantee you are not endangering yourself or others.

To stay safe, wear protective equipment to avoid getting chemicals on your skin, and report any herbicide poisoning to poison control.

Parting shot

These are some ways you can kill a tree if you don’t want it cut down. Before you kill the tree, find an arborist Kensington, and they will advise you on whether it’s a wise move to go ahead with the plan or you should try out something else.