Need to kill a tree

Does anyone have a good way to kill a tree quickly, and not have it be obvious? I have a tree in font of my house, by the curb that is pretty much dead. I've called the town several times to have it removed but the inspector won't mark it to be removed unless it does not bloom at all. I just had my windshield cracked from a branch that broke off in a storm. Now there are only 4 branches left with a total of about 20 leaves on it and the town still wont take it down. It's a tall tree, about 30ft and I'm afraid it may fall down on it's own and cause even more damage. Any advise?

 

Hi Tony,

So sorry to hear this. Trees tend to die slowly and often they look fine when they are not. If you were to inject any chemicals into the tree they could be detected and you could be billed for the removal of the tree.

Did you take pictures of the limb and the windshield? Do you have a copy of the bill to replace the windshield? If so, I would call the inspector's supervisor and ask what else is needed to have the tree taken down.

Another option is to have a paper trail. Read through this and print out what pertains to your situation. That, along with any pictures and receipts for damages, sent to a supervisor should get you some results.
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/ho...haz/ht_haz.htm
http://www.forestpathology.org/hazard.html

You might also find some helpful info here.
http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/hazardtrees.html

If none of that is helpful, you may need to have a certified arborist look at the tree and diagnose what is wrong with the tree and what can be expected to happen. When you call a certified arborist, ask if they are certified to do diagnostics and get proof. Explain why you need the consult.

Everyone has someone to answer to. Find how to appeal the process you've been through as you are concerned that someone will be harmed when the tree fails and falls.

I'd love to know the resolution of this. Good luck!
Newt

 

Thanks for the links. They were helpful, and the tree I have has almost all the signs that the articles say to look for. I have pictures of the branches that have fallen off, my windshield and the receipt. I also called the towns attorney's office to file a claim and have the town pay for my windshield. All they have done so far is taken my information and tell me that someone will get back to me and that there are certain guidelines they have to follow. It's an obvious safety issue. I'll keep you posted on what happens.

 

Might be worth the hundred bucks or so it would cost to have an attorney send the city a letter in flowery legalese threatening legal action. At the very least I would make sure I had copies of every bit of correspondence and I wouldn't do any of it via telephone - no paper trail.

 

Tony, you are very welcome! Thanks for the update. I have often found that a call to my congressionl representative does wonders. That might just be enough to make those guidelines come to life when they drag their feet.

I'd love to read your updates.
Newt

 

the way i have found to kill the roots and all is drill a whole inside the core grab a funnel and pour some rock salt in it

 

If all esle fails I'll try the rock salt.

Thanks

 

Poor tree.

You could just hire someone to trim it up to the main branches, getting rid of old dead branches to make the tree stronger.

 

I'm afraid any arborist worth his/her salt (pun intended) would easily be able to find the cause of death of a tree
Would make an interesting headline............."Man arrested for the murder of a city tree"!

 

Try calling the local Forrestry Department. Around here the diagnostic service is free. Maybe they can "condem" the tree and give you some ammo for the city.
Do you have to have the cities permission to remove this tree or do you just not want the expense of removal?

 

With no disrespect meant, removing dead wood from a tree won't make it stronger. It will help loosen the load on a tree and help to prevent dead wood falling on people, pets and structures.

Newt

 

Thanks guys for all your responses. We finally got the tree removed and I didn't have to kill the tree any further. The town came by and still gave me a hard time about removing the tree until two of my neighbors called the town for me. They complained that their child almost got hit in the head by a dead branch that fell off the tree and demanded that something be done before one of the children on the block gets hurt. Three days later the town removed the tree.

 

Ahhhh can't believe no one came up with the injury angle! The town could care less about a little property damage, but a Personal Injury lawsuit is a whole different matter.

Oh...I see newt said that in the first post.....

 

Tony, that's wonderful news! So often the wheels that run the system don't move until AFTER someone gets hurt. I'm glad your neighbors were able to help the process along.

Thanks so much for the update.
Newt