herbicide vandalism - what chemical was used?

[Linma]

Hello,
I have a flowering gum tree, about 50 years old. Neighbor uphill moved in 15 years ago (the tree was already 30+ft high) and has topped the tree to 1/3 its height, and then few years later sheared off all the new growth.

in other words, he has attempted to kill the tree twice in the past. he has even requested the city planning commision to order me to remove the tree. (the city attorney and the director said no. he has no right to demand such things, and the tree is city-protected size, so even the homeowner's options are limited when it comes to trimming it)

recently he (allegedly) started to spray the tree with some sort of herbicide. the trunk was sprayed. the chemical has a distinct oily smell.. similar to oil paint smell, with hint of sweet smell to it. I hired a consulting arborist and he confirmed that the tree has been sprayed by some soft of phytotoxin. about 1/3 of the canopy is currently doing well (it even flowered!), but the other 2/3 is brown and dessicated. My arborist has recommended a wait and see approach to see how much of the tree will recover.

rolling forward, the neighbor has since dug a trench 2ft from the base of the tree about 15ft long, 3-4ft wide, 4-5ft deep, exposed a large root and has drilled 6-7 holes in it (and claimed to the police he may have hit it with a pickaxe. if so, he has tremendous aim and control since there's no gouge marks). I periodically smell the same oily smell in my yard, so i suspect he's pouring the same herbicide on the roots.

both incidences the police was called. they labeled it as felony vandalism, but without an eyewitness to the actual spraying or pouring, they won't press any charges.

rolling forward another couple of months, I recognized the same oily smell and investigated. a sapling that I had planted 5 months earlier was drenched in oily liquid, almost dripping. Security camera only shows the neighbor doing SOMETHING in the area, but couldn't catch him red-handed. Police wants to know what the poison is, but is unwilling to do the work (funding limit, and no person was maimed or killed). Again, can only take report, but no arrest.

So, I inquired the local herbicide testing firm, and it's very pricy if you don't know what it might be. quote I'm getting is $400 PER CHEMICAL tested. so if I know what it might be, it's $400. but if I don't and they start shot-gun approach, $400 multiplies. So I was hoping someone on this forum knows or has an idea what the chemical might be, so I can narrow down the field:

1. oily smell. similar to oil paint. It's not quite rancid-smell, but smells like an "old oil" with some sweetness to the scent. I smelled the bottle of concentrated RoundUp and Brush-be-gone, and it doesn't smell like that. (then again, they are not oil-based solution, I don't think)
2. the liquid that dripped off the leaf is clear, and not viscous--when I touched the leaf with a vinyl glove, it was clear. water-like consistency perhaps a bit more viscous like the lamp oil.
3. liquid does not evaporate after 6+ hours on the tree and its semi-glossy leaves
4. when I washed it off with water hose, the water turned a bit milky and frothed at the base of the tree before it soaked into the soil.
5. chemical is strong enough to severely damage/kill a mature flowering gum (Corymbia ficifolia), with 8-12in diameter trunks (it's a multi-trunk tree). and when the toxin's effect manifsted, it only took days for the canopy to turn brown and die off.
6. chemical also hit a nearby cotoneaster shrubs, and the leaves that were hit turned brown and died quickly. som branches died back, but most survived if it was partial spray onto foliage and twigs. one that got a full brunt of the spray died. small california bay laurel sapling also got sprayed, and that one died (amazing. I didn't think any herbicide could kill that weed tree!). It also hit california coast live oak sprout. leaves turned brown where the spray hit, btu otherwise the sprout seems to survive.
7. arborist took great interest in the leaf group that got hit by the blast. it had some striation pattern parallel along the veins. He said that was significant.

any help, pointer is appreciated...

 

[derwoodii]

My guess is a contact herbicide

They all stink and all will kill your tree if left and not flushed wash away within a few hours & this remedy has low chance as he is applying by canopy and via root.
Sourcing the chemical type brand may not help much as you then have to prove he was perp even with his motive and opportunity LEO more often need to catch tree vandals red handed as the effort to prosecute overwhelms your finances the legal systems and more often fails to reach courts.

Pictures of the tree will help us further but my thinking is cast a hex or voodoo doll your neighbor while look to replant this winter as the poisoned tree sounds lost

 

[Raintree]

This should be a case for DEP, give them a call.

 

[Sagetown]

Set up a game camera, and catch him in the act.

 

[treeseer]

Consulting arborists who 'wait and see' often overlook simple acts of arboriculture.

If you have him on camera trespassing, and the cops won't charge him, go over their heads!

Pics will help a lot. Maybe a pruning option will keep your asset and their view. Have you considered building an electric fence with barbed wire?

 

[Linma]

what chemicals are contact poisons?

How does DEP (dept of env protection?) get involved?

The tree was the same height when the neighbor moved in (recovered after he topped the tree in 1/3 height 14 years ago and sheared all the new growth off 10 years ago). He also had two 50+ft pine trees in the yard flanking my tree (on the other side of the fence). Recently he killed it by shearing all the limbs off (without permit, as those were protected tree size), and then claiming that "it died" and had it removed. Now he wants us to remove our tree.

he illegally gained view by hacking my tree down first..and then shearing all the new growth second (without our permission. at the time I didn't know my legal rights, and didn't want to make the situation worse, so just cried ourselves to sleep). Then he started to harass us with a phone call and home visit that it's our "obligation and responsibility to keep his view clear by law" which is totally false. i checked with the city attorney, and there is no view rights. We trim our tree every 4-6yrs, so wrote a letter to him to not touch our tree as we will prune it according to our arborist's recommendations. We've been trying to restore the canopy after it's been topped twice, under arborist care. and it was doing very well until this recent poisoning/trenching.

the tree is 50 years old. it predates my life and our occupancy (and certainly his). the previous owner and we had a very cordial relationship. he asks "next time when you trim, we'd appreciate if you could trim off the top a bit." and we obliged... when we trimmed our tree (usually few months to a year depending on the season), we would strategically trim to reduce height. This guy wants the tree cut in HIS timeline, HIS way immediately... usually comes in the form of "my tree cutter is here today. i want to cut your tree." and we say no, because his way is to top the tree in half or worse. So no. we're not going to let him touch it for obvious reasons. it's really painful every arborist who comes starts lecturing ME for disfiguring the tree so horribly.. and I have to explain that WE didn't do it! the current tree is a bit tall, but due to the drought it's been water-stressed, so we opted to wait until a good rain season before we prune (beetle attack is common around here).

the most recent poisoning a sapling. about 12ft high. it's going to take 15-20 years before it even encroaches on his view, besides there's a huge incense cedar and monterey pine further downhill (not mine) that is blocking the same view (not to mention we have to put a tree there to block the view of their monstrosity house because they cut their pine tree down that was acting as a privacy screen). That little sapling will only eventually block their view to our back stairway and the other big trees! the properties in the area is surrounded by 40+ft oaks (except theirs since they hacked all the trees down). the uphill house has the BASEMENT FOUNDATION about 15ft above from our yard level, 25ft from the tree (45% slope). It's a three-story house (including basement) with the floor level of the lower living level about 25ft above our yard level, upper level another 8-9 feet above that. Tree just blocks his ability to look straight down into our yard, house and property. It also shields their windows from direct view into our yard as well as our windows. he can see straight across no problem. He just wants to see straight down. into our yard. their lowest window is about 15ft ABOVE our ROOF!

Also our 8-10ft cotoneasters are suffering due to these herbicides.

 

[sac-climber]

Go to your local landscape supply and take a wiff of Garlon. He probably mixed it with diesel fuel, that's an old fashion way to make herbicides penetrate bark.

BTW, whats your location?

 

[Linma]

Here's the photo of the 50-ft pine tree they killed last year by topping and shearing all the limbs off, and our flowering gum to the right of it when it was still healthy.


the second photo is a close-up of our dying tree after the neighbor removed the dead trees flanking our tree, and our tree after herbicide has been applied (it has since recovered a bit, until they started digging the roots and doing more damage). the shrubs flanking the gum tree are cotoneasters and callistemons (about 10-12ft tall). the photo looks up so the height impact is a bit deceptive (the first photo shows the height more in perspective better)


but you can see that the tree just prevents the neighbor from looking down into our yard and our roof. their view is waaaay over our roof, not down into our roof!

 

[Linma]

Consulting arborists who 'wait and see' often overlook simple acts of arboriculture.

If you have him on camera trespassing, and the cops won't charge him, go over their heads!

Pics will help a lot. Maybe a pruning option will keep your asset and their view. Have you considered building an electric fence with barbed wire?

Arborist said to spray it down with water a lot, and water it a lot to try to save the tree... and it was sort of working... I guess we're waiting to see which trunks/limbs are beyond rejuvination and need to be removed, but wanted to give it a chance to recover first. I grew up with this tree. it attracts wildlife, and when it flowers it is gorgeous. and my 6yr old daughter is distressed when the tree started to die (she loves collecting the seed pods and playing with it, and also watch the bees swarm when it's in bloom). I haven't told her what happened only that the tree is sick, and the tree doctor is trying to save it... so she looks at it periodically and happily reporting that the tree had flowered and "that's a good sign, right?". and now this...

and she was so happy when we planted a new tree and been charting its progress.. if that one dies I don't know what to tell her...

 

[srb08]

Spray his house with Napalm..............and light it.
If the tree is in your yard how is he getting away with topping it and spraying it.
The guy needs his ass kicked.

 

[moojpg2]

Wireless security camera from wal-mart? Call a lawyer? Civil Lawsuit? Call to the city attorney? Get a temporary restraining order against the guy and file a lawsuit. Take lots of photos of what he's done, been doing, get security camera footage, lock a game camera to the fence with a cable, etc.

 

[moojpg2]

Worse comes to worse id cut the damn thing down in a thunderstorm so it goes through his bedroom window, cut the stump and the base of the tree off to hide the evidence and call it a lightning strike.

 

[MCW]

Hi.
I was asked to come here by another member as I'm a Senior Horticultural Agronomist with a major agricultural company and was previously a consultant. Interestingly I'm currently involved with a "chemical trespass" lawsuit in a vineyard from phenoxy drift as we speak. In this case tissue testing showed 2,4-D.
I agree with sac climber above in thinking that the person has mixed a herbicide (possibly triclopyr) with diesel. All Phenoxy chemistry stinks - Triclopyr is in this group. Diesel actually helps in lowering the smell which is why you can smell something "oily". None of the chemistry you'd use for killing trees leaves an oily residue which also suggests he's added something like diesel or kerosene.
Chemical residue testing is extremely expensive but unfortunately is the only thing you can do to identify a particular chemical group or molecule.
The one positive here is that he's used a contact type herbicide. If he'd laced the ground with high rates of a Sulfonyl Urea or something like Bromacil it would be permanent bye byes for the tree.
If the tree hadn't died from a foliar application of herbicide within a month then there is always hope - Eucalypts can be both weak or tough as nails depending on how well the chemical has been applied or what chemical was used.
About the only think you can do to help the tree is try to promote more vigorous growth and try to get the tree to simply "grow out of it". Domestic products vary compared to what we use commercially but anything that contains growth promotants such as auxins and cytokinins will help. Kelp based products (eg: Seasol) will be beneficial and can be either foliar or ground applied. Another good product that we use a lot of is Stoller Folizyme.
Luckily eucalypts have very waxy leaf cuticles and foliar applications of herbicides in an attempt to kill them is rarely 100% effective on larger trees without the right penetrants being added. Trunk applied chemical through drilled holes though can be effective so this may not be over yet. Good luck and try to get a test for the active as this is critical information in how to move forward in saving this tree.

On another note flowering is not always a sign of a healthy tree. In can also be a response to stress. Is the side of the tree that is still alive and flowering on the far side away from his property? Considering this tree is protected this needs to be taken further legally by either Council or another local group.

 

[MCW]

I just realised you're from the US so I'm assuming a "Sweet Gum" is actually a Eucalypt? Apologies if it's not but most of what I've said still applies.

 

[Wazzu]

How is this person getting on your property long enough to do all of this work??? You need a dog and a phone to call the police. Don't any of the other neighbors notice a stranger in your yard running a chainsaw or hauling tools in and out?

 

[ft. churchill]

Make him pound sand. I'd plant a whole row of Lombardy poplars well inside of your property line.

 

[moojpg2]

That or norway maples.

 

[isaacvent]

If the tree dies, remove it and put up a windmill. Let him try to poison that!

 

[derwoodii]

plant a row of american flags let him try deface that

 

[CR888]

Before l read MCW's post l was thinking DIESEL!! Looks like diesel, smells like diesel, white milky appearence when washed with water (diesel). I think some folk from the ages have this idea that you don't need to buy specific chemicals for specific purposes when one has a can of diesel in the
shed. He probabaly also thinks it won't be detected and if it is it would be harder to prove 'intent to kill' as diesel is not a pesticide but will still do the job. A few things about this story seem fishy from the outset but l hope you sort out the problem.