I needed to chop down and kill over 15 trees at one of my rental properties. Here are some of the best ways for how to kill a tree. Here is a great resource for how to kill a tree.
How To Kill A Tree Fast
- First, mix round up concentrate with water in a spray bottle. Mix half Roundup, half water.
- Cut your tree down. I just bought the Rancher 460 and I love it. Check out my Rancher 460 Review video. Make sure you wear safety goggles and gloves. I tried to be cool and not wear safety glasses at first but I couldn’t really see with all the wood chips flying in my face.This tree is growing right up through my fence so I am cutting off both trunks.
- You can see there is a darker inner ring and a lighter outer ring. Drill holes in the lighter outer ring. That is where the tree is living and transfers all its liquids. I am using a 3/8’s inch drill bit. Drill holes all around the stump.
- Now fill the holes with roundup. This should kill the tree pretty fast. Once your tree is dead you can remove the stump by burning it digging out the roots. Learn more about how to remove a tree stump.
5 Best Ways For How To Kill A Tree
Chemicals To Use
The main chemicals used for killing trees are Epson Salt, Hi-Yield Kill-Zall and Roundup which have the same active ingredient, and Fertilome Brush & Stump Killer which is used for killing trees by spraying the leaves.
#1 Hack and Squirt
This is a super fast way to kill smaller trees. You simply use a hatchet to cut into the bark and spray with 50/50 roundup concentrate. This is a good method if you have a lot of small trees you need to thin out of a forest. It’s not very practical if you live in the city unless you don’t mind a dying tree in your yard for several months.
#2 Tree Girdling
You could be old school and use an antique hand saw or just use a generator and reciprocating saw. Cut a 1” slice out of the bark and first layer of the tree all the way around. Then chop it out with a hatchet. This will cut off the water supply to the tree and it will die. I would only use this method if you live in the boonies are wanting to harvest the tree later for firewood once it is dead and dry.
#3 How To Kill A Tree With Roundup
This is the best way to kill a tree in your yard. Cut your tree down with a chainsaw. I love my 460 Rancher. Watch my Rancher 460 review video. In the lighter outer ring of the tree drill holes and then fill the holes with 50/50 Roundup. Killing the tree like this will kill the tree stump and all the roots completely. Just cutting down most trees isn’t enough for them to die. This will avert any shoots coming up from the stump or roots.
#4 How To Kill Tree With Salt
This works well especially if you don’t like using chemicals. It works much the same as using roundup. First, cut the tree down and then drill holes all the way around in the lighter outer ring of the tree. Fill the holes with Epson salts. This should kill the tree. This is also a good way to remove tree stumps. Learn how in my how to remove a tree stump video.
#5 Kill Tree By Spraying Leaves
I always have a bunch of little trees popping up in my yard like weeds. Using Fertilome Brush & Stump Killer works well these. Mix 4 to 8 ounces into 1 gallon of water. Screw the top on and pump and Shake to mix well. Spray the leaves thoroughly. You can see that I have a bunch of trees that I can quickly kill this way.