The neighbor's on both sides of me have silver maples that I think are doomed. My silver maple is covered with new leaves, and just a few pods. Their trees are probably 90% pods. Last year their trees had loads of pods, but nothing like this year. I know the one neighbor's tree is infested with carpenter ants, to the point where there is a hole at the base with the tell-tale "sawdust" coming out. There is also an old scar near the base that has a small hole in it as well. When I knock on it, it sounds hollow. The neighbor on the other side probably has them as well, but I'm not sure to what extent. (I know they've already done damage to the walls and ceiling in her house.) However, the real problem may have started about 2 years ago when we had a severe drought. That would have been bad enough, but my one neighbor's tree has the driveway on one side (about 4 feet away), her house on another side (~5 feet away). My other neighbor has her tree about 4 feet from her house. My tree is about 3 feet from the driveway. The difference is, during the drought, I punched holes in the yard about 2 feet deep using a long-handled screw driver. I did this about 12-14 feet from the base of the tree. Then I set out a soaker hose, 1-2x/week, and let it run about ~4 hrs. I told my neighbors I would rather have dead grass instead of a dead tree.
My question is--are these trees doomed? And when should I start worrying about them falling on my house/car? These trees are about 40 yrs old, and fairly close to houses, power lines, etc.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Both neighbors are older women (70 & 83), and they won't pay for an expert to evaluate their trees.
Thanks
My question is--are these trees doomed? And when should I start worrying about them falling on my house/car? These trees are about 40 yrs old, and fairly close to houses, power lines, etc.
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Both neighbors are older women (70 & 83), and they won't pay for an expert to evaluate their trees.
Thanks
