[hrman]

Sometime back, I was told by a local workman in a construction site, that a good way to kill a tree/ plant is to inject sugar syrup into and near the roots. It seems ants will make their way there and while taking the sugar syrup, will also damage the tree roots, causing it to die eventually.
Disclaimer: I have not tried this, not seen it in action anywhere. Iam not sure of the timelines involved as well. But hey, the plus-point with this solution is that its eco friendly(does not involve toxic substances) and easy to administer. Try it and let us know how it went

[W.A.G.7]

Looking at the picture, that is a large tree. It must have grown even more now. Better get rid of it fast, because their roots are very damaging. In search of water they undermine all the structure of the bricks and loosen them. I am a nature lover too, but I think this tree should come down. If your neighbours are fighting with you, then better plant 2-3 trees near your house and remove this one. If you are not superstitious then ignore all the things about peepal trees. They are trees just like any other trees.

Is it possible to use acid to kill the roots completely? I don't know, I am just asking. But before taking a dig at the roots, get a ladder and chop off the growth with the help of a gardener. This will clear up the workplace and you will get an idea if the roots can be just pulled out or if you need to take some drastic measure.

[vina]

You are underestimating the problem - electric shocks are your present worry but the tree will weaken the building gradually and the structural integrity will soon be compromised.

Try to educate your society members that the correct place for the tree is a temple - tell them that the holy tree is being fed sewage water I think that'll make it harder for them to object.

Make a complaint in the fire department - those guys usually are responsible for building safety regulations.


Peepal is renowned to have damn good resistance to all kinds of stuff so herbicide etc. may not work.

[Wolfheart]

Thank you everyone for your sugestions. I think the best way in my current situation is to kill the tree and then worry about the remains. If anyone knows of a safe and sure method to kill this tree please advise. At this point I'm seriously considering glyphosate as it's the safest alternative. Does anyone have any experience with it?

[vina]

Originally Posted by Wolfheart

Thank you everyone for your sugestions. I think the best way in my current situation is to kill the tree and then worry about the remains. If anyone knows of a safe and sure method to kill this tree please advise. At this point I'm seriously considering glyphosate as it's the safest alternative. Does anyone have any experience with it?

your problem is not unique check the links out:

Kill a Tree with Herbicide Control - Tree Herbicide Application and Chemical Control
Herbicides Used to Kill Trees
Avant Yard: Kill a tree with herbicide - DIY Life
Chemical Control for Woody Plants, Stumps and Trees

any good agricultural products shop will be able to advice you on which herbicide to use

[Kamal]

You do have a potentially serious problem & there's no use pussyfooting around it bec of superstitions(If a person belonging to another faith were to just chop off peepal would his future generations also get blasted ?) which are mostly based on mediaeval fears of the unknown.
If you want to do an open & thorough job, just persuade a BMC guy to do the job & give him a bit of a tip for his trouble- he would get any permissions etc that may be reqd.
If you prefer stealth, make cuts around the trunk as near the roots as poss & tie a bag all around filled with common salt, which is death to plants.
Good luck.

[vina]

Originally Posted by Kamal

...
If you prefer stealth, make cuts around the trunk as near the roots as poss & tie a bag all around filled with common salt, which is death to plants.
Good luck.

common salt is also death to his concrete and rebar material - the medicine may turn out to be worse than the disease.

Best is to use a herbicide.

[Autonorm]

You could inject high concentrated dose of an aqueous urea solution. It is easy to find at any garden store and will not be harmful to the environment. You will need to inject it at the roots directly though. In small quantities it will be beneficial to the tree but high concentration will kill the tree in about a day or two. Use about 2kgs in about 500-1000ml water and inject it at the roots.

Please do not use mercury. It is very toxic and will contaminate soil as well as water.

[vina]

Originally Posted by Autonorm

You could inject high concentrated dose of an aqueous urea solution. It is easy to find at any garden store and will not be harmful to the environment. You will need to inject it at the roots directly though. In small quantities it will be beneficial to the tree but high concentration will kill the tree in about a day or two. Use about 2kgs in about 500-1000ml water and inject it at the roots.

Please do not use mercury. It is very toxic and will contaminate soil as well as water.

Can you dissolve 2kg of urea in 1L of water? Perhaps you are suggesting putting it in a paste-like consistency. That is probably anyway required - with an injector any liquid injected will come right out of the hole the injector makes. You need a thick paste to stay in place.

Also mercury is a big NO NO - unless you want to mess with your own brain (and that of your kids too). Plus I'm not sure it is cheap and/or easy to get mercury in the first place.


By the way - herbicides are very common and as I wrote in a post above - many of them should be available from a local agricultural commodities supplier. Try asking him.

[Autonorm]

1.5-2kgs Urea will dissolve in about 1L of water but needs to be done slowly, portionwise. It will not form a paste (if it forms a paste you will not be able to inject it). Usually in labs we warm the solution to make a supersaturated solution. That should do the trick when urea takes a long time to dissolve in water.

[Kamal]

Vinaji, he's not gonna put the salt in the wall!
He makes cut in the bark all around the trunk, peels away the bark a little-couple of inches-stuffs in the salt(we're not talking of tons of the stuff, just a couple of hundred gms at the most, if the trunk is big) , wraps the cuts all around with plastic bags & ties the bags firmly to the trunk with some string.
That will do the trick as well as messing around with dangerous chemicals.

[AWD]

Peepal trees are very resilient & re-grow spontaneously from where cut. About the religious sentiments thing, one can't let a tree/plant damage a building, property or be the cause of electricution.

May be wrong but I've heard pouring slat over a cut peepal tree/plant stops its resurfacing. Try it out.

Mercury idea looks one out of the box but dangers are serious. Mercury enters soil & can deem the water body underneath unfit for consumption spread across kilometers. Its vapours are also injurious. Mercury poisoning is difficult to treat & chelate. Better find some other alternative.

Any solution to finish a Banyan tree?

[Kamal]

Poor Peepal Tree!
So many perspectives on how to drive it into its next reincarnation!

[Wolfheart]

@Kamal: poor Peepal trees have been responsible for bringing down walls and sections of buildings. It breaks my heart to do this but I'm going to take a graft and plant it in an appropriate place before I kill the stem and roots. I'm not doing this out of any superstition or religious beliefs (I'm an Atheist) but for my love of nature and trees.

AWD: I love Banyan trees! But I understand that sometimes you've gotta do these things.

@Everyone; thank you so much for your kind responses.

[vina]

Originally Posted by Kamal

Vinaji, he's not gonna put the salt in the wall!
He makes cut in the bark all around the trunk, peels away the bark a little-couple of inches-stuffs in the salt(we're not talking of tons of the stuff, just a couple of hundred gms at the most, if the trunk is big) , wraps the cuts all around with plastic bags & ties the bags firmly to the trunk with some string.
That will do the trick as well as messing around with dangerous chemicals.

It doesn't matter where he puts the salt- eventually the salt will leach out into the wall and once it does it is a poison.

You can do a little experiment at home - dissolve some two teaspoons of salt in water, put some of it in a SS spoon and then let it dry on the spoon (and leave the spoon for a few days). Even the SS will not save it from rusting away in a few days - rebar is not even SS.