Girdle tree on public street?

goz83

Is this OK?

Have a tree outside my house, which has grown into what looks like a mushroom cloud. It is around 25 feet tall and the branches extend out over the garden wall. It's not a bother during the months when there are no leaves, but as soon as the leaves grow, the sap will destroy any car parked under the tree within 20 minutes. Left overnight and you're opening the door with gloves and the car is covered in thousands of little green insects, dead and alive. The paint on the wall needs refreshing every year, as it ages rapidly in the vicinity of the tree. The birds love this tree and so leave their fair share of acid shoite all over the place, especially when flying from the house roof to the tree. The yellow jacket wasps have taken a shine to the tree in the last couple of years too and it gets worse every year. The path outside the house is also starting to crack and lift from the size of the tree, but this won't be a problem for another year, or two.

I know it's not a first world problem, but it bugs the crap out of me. Am I allowed to girdle this tree (cut a ring of bark off it) to prevent it from growing further and preventing leaf growth? Nobody seems to know the answer. I would cut it down, but that would be drastic, even though the fire wood could come in handy

Anyone know the answer, in non-typical AH humour?

bodice ripper

Its a ****ing tree.

kneemos

Nature...blaugh.

conorh91

Contact your Local Authority and explain the situation. It's their responsibility.

Valetta

No is the answer.

It's not your tree.

goz83

conorh91 wrote: »

Contact your Local Authority and explain the situation. It's their responsibility.

Do you have any idea what they might do? At best, I figured they might prune it, but that won't solve the problem and will only alleviate it for a little while.

goz83

bodice ripper wrote: »

Its a ****ing tree.

I am pleased you got that from the post. I was wondering if i was being vaguely mysterious.

goz83

Valetta wrote: »

No is the answer.

It's not your tree.

The grass outside is not mine either, but nobody has an issue with it being cut. I'm not proposing felling the tree.

Valetta

goz83 wrote: »

The grass outside is not mine either, but nobody has an issue with it being cut. I'm not proposing felling the tree.

Will "girdling" it not kill it?

My name is URL

Valetta wrote: »

Will "girdling" it not kill it?

It does, and dying / dead branches can fall as a result.. which might be a bit dangerous on a public road!

I very much doubt that it's okay to do it.

baaba maal

Valetta wrote: »

Will "girdling" it not kill it?

Yes- it will.

You could approach the LA and ask them to remove it and replace it with a more suitable tree. As a matter of interest, are there other trees the same on your road (or different types for that matter?).

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Basically you are asking can you kill a tree on the street. No, you can't. Contact the council. If pruning won't solve the issue then they might, legally, remove it and replace it with something more suitable.

conorh91

goz83 wrote: »

Do you have any idea what they might do? At best, I figured they might prune it, but that won't solve the problem and will only alleviate it for a little while.

No idea I'm afraid. But killing the tree yourself could result in a prosecution for criminal damage.

You should seek the consent of the Local Authority at the very least. They might agree to your girding the tree yourself if you explain the problem.

biko

Yeah, I had a similar problem at a place I used to live. I just didn't park under the tree. Win-win.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

conorh91 wrote: »

No idea I'm afraid. But killing the tree yourself could result in a prosecution for criminal damage.

You should seek the consent of the Local Authority at the very least. They might agree to your girding the tree yourself if you explain the problem.

If the council agree that the tree is a problem they will remove it but will certainly not agree to the OP girding it, as this is a potentially dangerous thing to do. They won't even let the OP cut it down himself.

goz83

Thanks guys. Helpful replies. Though I won't hold my breath for a reply from the council.

JONJO THE MISER

Dont mind the treehugger's, grab a chainsaw.

goz83

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Dont mind the treehugger's, grab a chainsaw.

:pac:

conorh91

Jemma Wooden Banknote wrote: »

If the council agree that the tree is a problem they will remove it but will certainly not agree to the OP girding it, as this is a potentially dangerous thing to do.

Is it truly dangerous?

I thought girdling was something you could do with a chisel and hammer, just like a horse might girdle a tree by chewing on it.

catallus

Is nobody going to defend this tree?

If you cut it down then the little birdies will have no place to sit!

OP is worse than Hitler!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

conorh91 wrote: »

Is it truly dangerous?

I thought girdling was something you could do with a chisel and hammer, just like a horse might girdle a tree by chewing on it.

:rolleyes: The tree slowly dies. Limbs will fall - potentially hitting people or cars.

HeidiHeidi

catallus wrote: »

Is nobody going to defend this tree?

If you cut it down then the little birdies will have no place to sHít!

OP is worse than Hitler!

FYP

kneemos

This the idea?

bodice ripper

goz83 wrote: »

I am pleased you got that from the post. I was wondering if i was being vaguely mysterious.

I wasn't sure you knew, you seem to mistake it for a major inconvenience.

JuliusCaesar

I only came here to find out what a Girdle Tree was.

goz83

kneemos wrote: »

This the idea?

Thats the idea alright. Seen it done on a few youtube vids and it takes 12-18 months to have any real impact. I would suspect that the council might only do something if the tree became a real danger, but I will try them anyway and see what their policy is in such a situation.

goz83

bodice ripper wrote: »

I wasn't sure you knew, you seem to mistake it for a major inconvenience.

What type of inconvenience would you call it, if your car was covered in tree glue and thousands of insects, with at least a half a dozen large bird sh!ts each morning for most of the year? Oh and what kind of inconvenience might you cosider a nest of bees not 20 feet from your front door through half the year? When you can't let your children out to play in the front garden because of the bloody bees, would you consider that to be an acceptable inconvenience???

looking_around

goz83 wrote: »

What type of inconvenience would you call it, if your car was covered in tree glue and thousands of insects, with at least a half a dozen large bird sh!ts each morning for most of the year? Oh and what kind of inconvenience might you cosider a nest of bees not 20 feet from your front door through half the year? When you can't let your children out to play in the front garden because of the bloody bees, would you consider that to be an acceptable inconvenience???

Use a car cover,

they're just bees, if there's a hive, I'm sure that can be dealt with without out killing the tree.

My name is URL

goz83 wrote: »

When you can't let your children out to play in the front garden because of the bloody bees, would you consider that to be an acceptable inconvenience???

You can't let your kids out to play because of the bees drawn to one single tree?

Jaysus.. you wouldn't last a day in the country

bodice ripper

goz83 wrote: »

What type of inconvenience would you call it, if your car was covered in tree glue and thousands of insects, with at least a half a dozen large bird sh!ts each morning for most of the year? Oh and what kind of inconvenience might you cosider a nest of bees not 20 feet from your front door through half the year? When you can't let your children out to play in the front garden because of the bloody bees, would you consider that to be an acceptable inconvenience???

Well, above all else, I would be shocked to discover that I had kids.

All of the rest either is currently happening to me, or has in the past. Never crossed my mind to kill the trees.

fleet_admiral

Build a man cave

catallus

I'm presuming it wouldn't be possible to live in the tree?

One can only dream....

goz83

looking_around wrote: »

Use a car cover,

they're just bees, if there's a hive, I'm sure that can be dealt with without out killing the tree.

Covering the car every time I parked it there would drive me nuts. I would quicker dowse the tree in diesel and allow a stray spark do the job. The cover would be full of insects, though the car might be spared. Still prefer to stop the leaves growing. The other trees on the road are small by comparison and there are dozens on the road. Only a couple of others give somilar issue, but nowhere near the same amount of crap comes off them, due to their smaller size. I have parked under them before.

My name is URL wrote: »

You can't let your kids out to play because of the bees drawn to one single tree?

Jaysus.. you wouldn't last a day in the country

On certain days in the year, it wouldn't be safe to let my toddlers in the garden, because there can be a frenzy of mad bees, all out for blood.

The bees should be in the country and stay out of the city. :P

fleet_admiral wrote: »

Build a man cave

Ah yes. I have one already. Filled with kegs of guinness and easy women all year long.

catallus wrote: »

I'm presuming it wouldn't be possible to live in the tree?

One can only dream....

Maybe Tarzan could. But i'm too fat to climb trees.

Packrat

Years ago, my uncle had a similar problem with a tree in ESB property overhanging his garden. He drilled a few holes at a downward angle into it at night and fed it weed killer (brushwood killer) for a few weeks. It died, and the ESB were obliged to take it down. They had previously refused to do anything with it. Of course they suspected him, but would've had to have caught him in the act.
Just don't keep the brushwood killer in your own house, store it at a friend's place and just bring what you need each time in a little bottle.

looking_around

goz83 wrote: »

Covering the car every time I parked it there would drive me nuts. I would quicker dowse the tree in diesel and allow a stray spark do the job. The cover would be full of insects, though the car might be spared. Still prefer to stop the leaves growing. The other trees on the road are small by comparison and there are dozens on the road. Only a couple of others give somilar issue, but nowhere near the same amount of crap comes off them, due to their smaller size. I have parked under them before.

So you want to kill a tree, simply because it's a bit of hassle?
Just go park under those other trees then.

On certain days in the year, it wouldn't be safe to let my toddlers in the garden, because there can be a frenzy of mad bees, all out for blood.

Oh my poor toddlers, can't play in the garden on certain DAYS. Seriously. :rolleyes:
Keep them in on those days then, the toddlers will survive.

Teyla Emmagan

Sounds like a sycamore. I have one outside my house too. It drips sap all over my car, is home to a million flies and ****ty birds, keeps the house in shadow and every autumn releases a million leaves for me to pick up. But it's the only tree on the street so I put up with it.

I seriously doubt yours has bees in it tho OP. And if it does just find a local bee keeper and he will gladly take them.

Just suck it up, cities need trees.

Micky Dolenz

Wood you knot just leaf it alone?

I'll see myself out.

whisky_galore

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

I only came here to find out what a Girdle Tree was.

Thought it was a tree with ladies' underwear hanging off it.

sbsquarepants

Have you considered simply not parking under the tree? Realistically what could the diameter of this devil tree be? I'm sure you could walk the extra distance in a couple of seconds.

miezekatze

Are there more trees like this in your estate or is it the only one? If there are more, join forces with your neighbours. I would get on to the council about it, although they don't seem to be interested in most cases. All those people just saying park somewhere else wouldn't be saying this if it was outside their own house. There's a tree like that outside my OH's parents house, every time we visit them (once a week), my car is completely covered in a lovely mix of sticky sap, dead insects and bird sh*t after just an hour or two. There are too many trees like that on their street to not park within their vicinity. IMO these trees are not suitable for housing estates and the council should take care of the issue and replace them with something more suitable.

minotour

I reckon you had your mind made up regardless. Your crowd source experiment has given you the necessary feedback to move ahead.

Id say its come out as most are against it but thats what you would expect on a matter like this......my advice, get on with it, try not to over-think it, but id say you have failed on that already.

Acedia.

Killing the tree will lower the value of your home. Concrete jungle versus leafy suburb?

A tree surgeon could coppice the tree. You'd lose the disadvantages but retain most of the advantages of having the tree there.

goz83

looking_around wrote: »

So you want to kill a tree, simply because it's a bit of hassle?
Just go park under those other trees then.



Oh my poor toddlers, can't play in the garden on certain DAYS. Seriously. :rolleyes:
Keep them in on those days then, the toddlers will survive.

I had given up hope, but alas, the one condescending ass arrived in the end. A bit of hassle is a serious understatement. And you mustn't have kids. If you do, it's obviously the OH that does all the minding.

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Sounds like a sycamore. I have one outside my house too. It drips sap all over my car, is home to a million flies and ****ty birds, keeps the house in shadow and every autumn releases a million leaves for me to pick up. But it's the only tree on the street so I put up with it.

I seriously doubt yours has bees in it tho OP. And if it does just find a local bee keeper and he will gladly take them.

Just suck it up, cities need trees.

Yep, it's a Sycomore (helicopter tree :P). It has has thise yellowmjacket wasps in it the past couple of years. This year, it was a right nuisance.

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Have you considered simply not parking under the tree? Realistically what could the diameter of this devil tree be? I'm sure you could walk the extra distance in a couple of seconds.

If at all possible, I park anywhere within about a 20 metre vicinity. Most spaces are taken as it's a road with plenty of cars. So yes, I have considered this and do so when I can.

miezekatze wrote: »

Are there more trees like this in your estate or is it the only one? If there are more, join forces with your neighbours. I would get on to the council about it, although they don't seem to be interested in most cases. All those people just saying park somewhere else wouldn't be saying this if it was outside their own house. There's a tree like that outside my OH's parents house, every time we visit them (once a week), my car is completely covered in a lovely mix of sticky sap, dead insects and bird sh*t after just an hour or two. There are too many trees like that on their street to not park within their vicinity. IMO these trees are not suitable for housing estates and the council should take care of the issue and replace them with something more suitable.

Most of the houses have a tree outside. The odd house has a street light. Only a couple of other trees come close to being as big and messy as the one outside my house. Some of the trees are quite small and are not magnets for insects and birds.

minotour wrote: »

I reckon you had your mind made up regardless. Your crowd source experiment has given you the necessary feedback to move ahead.

Id say its come out as most are against it but thats what you would expect on a matter like this......my advice, get on with it, try not to over-think it, but id say you have failed on that already.

What are you on about? If I had my mind made up, I wouldn't be asking questions here. I don't need approval from strangers on forums. Sent an email to council today and will wait for reply.

Most people would be against it because they don't have the same problem. But, like I said, I am not looking for approval.

Acedia. wrote: »

Killing the tree will lower the value of your home. Concrete jungle versus leafy suburb?

A tree surgeon could coppice the tree. You'd lose the disadvantages but retain most of the advantages of having the tree there.

If I were to kill it (and I haven't decided to do that), I would seek to replace it with a more suitable species of tree that wouldn't become such a nuisance.

Though I might consider a tree surgeon too.