I need to kill a tree.

June 3, 2009 11:34 AM

I have a ficus tree in our yard (planted by the previous homeowner) that is growing too fast and the roots have breached the main sewer line on our property. The trunk of the tree is maybe eight inches in diameter, and completely removing the tree is dicey due to terrain and sewer line considerations. I live in Hawaii. Any suggestions?
posted by ldenneau to home & garden (3 comments total)

Have you had a plumber check your service lateral with a camera? That's the only way to know for sure you have root intrusion and not some other kind of blockage. It's likely it's a combination of the two, roots intrude into the lateral, start catching grease and debris until you have a solid blockage.

Root-X works pretty well for insitu root removal. If you're successful at getting the roots out, you could see if there's a plumber that will do a cured in place liner, which would let you keep the tree and not have to worry about the roots. If you're dead set on removing the tree, call an arborist.
posted by electroboy at 1:03 PM on June 3 [2 favorites has favorites]

electroboy, we did have a blockage recently and ran a camera down the line during the repair. We dragged out some pretty hardy roots. Arborist it is. Thanks.
posted by ldenneau at 1:17 PM on June 3

My father (who is not in any way a licensed professional and is not giving you advice. Obviously.) would cut it down at ground level and put stump and root killer on it. I have no idea whether that's actually a good idea, but I'd at least ask your arborist what they intend to do that's not the same thing you could do yourself.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:36 PM on June 3