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How much salt water to kill a tree?

Neighbor has a tree that shits leaves and gunk all over our back patio and the roots are coming under our fence and fucking up our concrete. I want to start spraying the limbs hanging over our fence with salt water and pour buckets of the stuff down on the roots if necessary. Approx how much salt am I going to need and how long do I need to keep dousing it to see this tree dead? Tree is approx. 20 foot tall and 10 years old.

PeepinGoodArgs ,

What did your neighbor say about it?

LordGimp OP ,

Neighbor said anything on my side of the property line is my problem. So I’m planning on salting my side of the plot. We have decorative gravel with planters and the shit tree keeps dropping sprouts in between our gravel.

Drusas ,

Your neighbor is legally correct, unless the roots are causing significant damage, in which case you can probably get them held liable for repair.

LordGimp OP ,

Which is why I want to salt MY property. I don’t want anything to grow back in that area. I’m sure the tree can do just fine on the other side of the fence.

TheAlbatross ,

Depending where you are, this could open a whole can of legal worms for you. I’d avoid addressing this issue like this and simply talk to your neighbor.

LordGimp OP ,

Did this. Neighbor was emphatic that anything on my side of the property line is my problem to deal with. That’s why I want the salt. The tree overhangs our back patio and drops seedlings everywhere in our decorative gravel. So I want to salt that area to prevent anything growing back and I’d like to mist everything hanging over our property with salt water until it dies. You got any particular tips on salinity for maximum plant toxicity?

Dirk ,
@Dirk@lemmy.ml avatar

Or … you could accept that nature is part of our life as a species and stop being an asshole over your “pRopErTy LinE”.

LordGimp OP ,

Nature is fine. I got my roses out front, the succulents in their planters, jade tree in it’s planter out back, more wildflowers in their planters, etc. Tore out the ivy out back a while ago because it was causing damage to neighbors fences, replaced it with the decorative gravel so I don’t have to weed as much. We even have some redwoods that shit on our yard from the communal area if it storms hard enough. Not an issue.

This invasive shit tree is an issue. It was planted 10+ years ago by the previous owners and ripped out once because they were moving. Some of the roots survived and now it’s back to a full ass tree and the current slumlord of a property owner refuses to pay anything towards maintainence even as it rips up patios and shits sticky sap everywhere. I want everything on my side of the line dead because nobody else gives a shit.

xmunk ,

Some of the roots survived and now it’s back to a full ass tree and the current slumlord of a property owner refuses to pay anything towards maintainence even as it rips up patios and shits sticky sap everywhere. I want everything on my side of the line dead because nobody else gives a shit.

If the owner is truly neglectful you can talk to the city and potentially get the tree removed funded by a lein on their property. If your neighbor is uncooperative there are usually official channels to resolve this through.

If you go the vigilante route you might end up with a serious fine (also, it’s a dick move)

LordGimp OP ,

I don’t think the city can do anything about a condo on private property on unincorporated land. It’d have to be the HOA or county, and I don’t know how I’d even approach the county about it. The HOA is run by 90yo homebodies who don’t care about anything they don’t have to look at. We’ve made multiple complaints about their fences falling down and pulling our fences with them. No response. We bring up the concrete and we’re told it’s a landscaping problem, who ofc point us right back at the hoa.

Drusas ,

Someone's never heard of tree law. If you do go this route, please update us when you get sued.

LordGimp OP ,

I have, which is why I want something that looks relatively innocuous. We live in condos, and the HOA has had arborists out to clean up communal trees and such. We paid them an extra $250 to trim everything up from our fence line and the crazy neighbor screamed we tried to kill her tree. Now I just want to kill the parts of her tree on my property.

sparky ,
@sparky@lemmy.federate.cc avatar

That’s not how it works man, you can’t poison just part of a tree. And it would be pretty suspicious if a healthy tree with no signs of drought or disease just dies.

LordGimp OP ,

That’d be fine, as I’m following their directions exactly. I was told “If it’s on your side of the fence, do whatever you want to it”. So I want to salt the ground on our side to kill any roots under our property and to stop saplings growing in our gravel.

Drusas ,

I hope you realize that you are the bad guy in this scenario.

You have the right to trim limbs that hang over your property, as long as it doesn't damage the health of the tree. That's it. You can't kill part of a tree, just like you can't kill part of a person or part of a cow or whatever else.

Your neighbor is not crazy for wanting the tree to remain healthy. Trees are a good thing for both the environment and for mental health and are important for providing shade in a warming world. Their leaf litter is also important for insects and birds.

Getting so worked up about some leaves that you want to kill somebody else's clearly beloved tree suggests that you are being unreasonable. Invest in a leaf blower or hire someone to deal with the leaves if it's such a big deal to you. Or, better yet, leave them so they can help the local environment.

LordGimp OP ,

It’s not beloved shit. I was there when the last tenant planted the tree. I was also there when they pulled their sapling and took it with them to the next house. This is an overgrown, untended tree that grew back from leftover roots and is causing problems for multiple units. The slumlord that now owns the property bought it on a bank foreclosure after the last owner died and has put ZERO money into maintaining the property. They had NOTHING to do with the tree. The tree is an invasive species in this state. There is no reason to keep the tree except to be an asshole.

Dave ,
@Dave@lemmy.nz avatar

I suggest you check local laws. Tree law is famous for judgements in the hundreds of thousands, so don’t go killing your neighbour’s tree without checking your local laws first.

Where I life, if your tree causes damage to your neighbour’s property then you are responsible for it. Your local laws may be similar, rather than getting yourself a massive financial bill you could instead try to get your neighbour to pay for the damage.

Since they are your neighbour, I’d suggest a conversation with them first about the damage, which they might not know about. Read up on who is liable before the conversation.

0x01 ,

Just collect your tears and pour them over the tree, plenty of salt coming out of you

InvisibleShoe ,
@InvisibleShoe@lemmy.world avatar

You are a fuckwit. Drink the salt water instead and do your neighbour a favour.

Dirk ,
@Dirk@lemmy.ml avatar

The whole neighborhood!

I bet this person is “this person”.

h3mlocke ,

Underrated comment.

PP_BOY_ ,
@PP_BOY_@lemmy.world avatar

Salt water’s a fool’s game, you’ll never kill a grown tree that way. Look into limb girdling

LordGimp OP ,

I don’t want to go on their property. I don’t even want to reach over the fence line. I want to use science and chemistry to murder the shit out of the parts on my side of the fence. As a welder, my first instinct was actually to use fire. However, the officials around where I live are particularly jumpy about starting fires. Its not like I wouldn’t have a running hose in my other hand.

PP_BOY_ ,
@PP_BOY_@lemmy.world avatar

In which case, why not just spray herbicide on the limb? You’d need a constant supply of gallons of saltwater over several days to really stop it

Drusas ,

Don't give him advice, for fuck's sake. He's the bad guy in this scenario.

borf ,

This is breathtakingly dumb

xmunk ,

If it’s causing damage to your property talk to the city - you might be able to cut back some of the root growth extending into your property depending on ordinances…

But, like, don’t be a vigilante asshole - also… have you tried talking to them about it?

LordGimp OP , (edited )

Ofc. The tree has been a problem for years. It was planted by the previous tenants about 10 years ago, and they actually dug up their sapling and took it with them when they moved out. Enough of the roots remained that the tree grew back over the years, e last 5 years or so have taken care of it. Now it’s too big and needs arborist services, but the landlord won’t pay. Our HOA won’t pay. We paid the HOA arborist once to cut the tree over our property line and we were threatened with legal action. We’ve just had another argument the other day and we’re told if it’s over the line, it’s our problem. Thus, I want to kill everything over the line. I want to salt our side of the fence to even saplings can’t take root. It’s already decorative gravel anyways. I just want to know what concentration of salt I need to kill everything on my side and make sure it won’t grow back.

twistypencil ,

Don’t kill a tree you fool

DirigibleProtein ,

Try asking !unethicallifeprotips

Drusas ,

Maybe there are no stupid questions, but there are bad questions.

Siegfried ,

Dont kill a tree. Dont be an asshole.

LordGimp OP ,

I know this tree. I was there when it was planted. I saw the original sapling get pulled out and brought to it’s new home. This is the leftovers uncared for by the current owners and it’s causing damage to my home. At a certain point, you decide to kill the invasive species of tree.

moody ,

Look into the local tree law before you do anything stupid. It could cost you a ton of money, and possibly criminal charges depending on where you live.

Waveform ,

Here’s a story for you: Poisoned trees gave a wealthy couple in Maine a killer ocean view. Residents wonder, at what cost?

TL;DR: it’s not worth it.

SomeAmateur , (edited )

Keep crying and find out. Petty suburban problems.

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