03-28-2019, 09:18 AM
If they are small, you can just pull them up by the roots and hang them upside down so that the roots dry out.
However, if they are already trees, you cannot kill them using only mechanical means - girdling is not always 100% effective. You can drill a downward pointing hole in the bottom with a large bit and then inject herbicide into the hole. Or you can hand girdle and then re-girdle with the herbicide. Or you can cut and immediately treat the cut end with the herbicide. I do not like spraying, because the I don't want to breathe in aerosole droplets. Roundup doesn't work. Ortho poison ivy killer does.
When you cut without following up with herbicide all you are doing is pruning to encourage bushiness. That's obviously not at all what you want to accomplish.
However, if they are already trees, you cannot kill them using only mechanical means - girdling is not always 100% effective. You can drill a downward pointing hole in the bottom with a large bit and then inject herbicide into the hole. Or you can hand girdle and then re-girdle with the herbicide. Or you can cut and immediately treat the cut end with the herbicide. I do not like spraying, because the I don't want to breathe in aerosole droplets. Roundup doesn't work. Ortho poison ivy killer does.
When you cut without following up with herbicide all you are doing is pruning to encourage bushiness. That's obviously not at all what you want to accomplish.