Someone poisoned 4 pines.......WTF???

[lawnmaniac883]

Ok so after taking down the tree in my last thread, I went to mow the property and towards the end I noticed four pines that were dead, they were fine two weeks ago. Upon further inspection I saw the kill dose, a 1/2'' hole was drilled into the bottom of the trunk and had acid or a tree poison poured inside, all 4 that were dead had this. Now the kicker is that all of these trees just so happen to be close to a neighbors fenceline and he had evidently had a pool enclosure installed and appeared to have spruced up the house a bit.

Obviously the neighbor didnt like the trees needles all over his area so he figured he would poison them all right? Kill them, thats the key?

What now? The local PD will be out there monday but what can they do about it? Nothing is what I think but who knows? I want to kill this ??????? for what he has done, is there any legal recourse here? Who do I call to get this jerk fined? Any suggestions please???

 

[smokechase II]

revenge is best served cold

You need to bring in the mother of all get even 'doers.

The double samara.

Upwind of the pool.

Acre Macrocarpa. Big Leaf Maple.

Bring in about four foot trees, about 600 of them. (Actually, 4 will do it).

These helicopter fruit/seeds will spin and float to help spread the species. Many thousand would be possible with just a few trees and with Big Leaf Maple you get a wonderful two for one deal. Large leaves that say, "Remember me?"
Don't get mad, go beyond even, and destroy his life.

(He drills holes in your trees. Perhaps you drill holes in his pool?)

 

[lawnmaniac883]

I was actually thinking about planting multiple trees along his fenceline, large maples should do the trick. I still am in disbelief though that someone would go through all that over some pine needles. Quick, what drops the most leaves, grows fastest and where do I get 4?

 

[M.D. Vaden]

Make a news story of it.

Don't accuse. Just let the news peole handle the flow of it and the implications.

They will probably knock next door to at least ask for an interview and pry into the neighbors life a little bit.

People like to hear about this kind of vandalism on TV. People love trees and hate tree killers.

Have the news cover it before the trees and holes are removed.

 

[treeseer]

Great advice from MD. This is a church property? Ooooo, media will feast on that story: "Poor parishioners' pockets picked by pine poisoner" Can you please take pictures and post them here? It is not hard.

smokechase, 3 problems with yours:

1. bigleaf maples don't grow in florida

2. Anything else obnoxious can also be poisoned

3. Vengeance is mine, saith the Big Guy

Longterm, look for a compromise, where something can be planted on the border with low litter nuisance.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Just fell the trees and aim the chipper spout at the pool, should fill it in no time

 

[Ekka]

See ..........

Fence line trees!

Nuff said. :greenchainsaw:

 

[treeseer]

See ..........Fence line trees!

Nuff said. :greenchainsaw:

Eric you pool hugger, would you cut down a redwood on a fence line for daring to drop something in your concrete swimming hole?

 

[arboralliance]

WTF indeed...

Paulownia has an awesome root system, sticky seeds that can and do germinate readily and massive leaves and they are the fastest growing hardwood in the world!

http://www.paulowniatrees.com.au/

 

[waldini]

middle of the night spark up chipper and chip them in to his pool

 

[Ekka]

Ha

Didn't take you long. :hmm3grin2orange:

Pics should show us what he's got.

But this is so typical that's all, you saw the pic of the fence line pool and tree I posted.

But I'm not saying it was cool for the dude to go kill them.

Cops cant prove anything, do a lab test and they'll tell you ... "yep, it was glyphosate alright."

But what the cops could do is get a search warrant and seize his tools, find the drill bit, DNA test it for the tree along with matching the hole like a bullet to a gun barrel.

Then you'll have the smoking gun, maybe some finger prints. When the ole bright light in a dark room trick and Dendro verbally pounding this guy into submission you might get a confession.

Then off to court it goes, the perp has to pay lab fees, cop fees, restitution and replant.

So, if the cops are any good at their job they'll play the game when they interview him.

The good cop bad cop routine.

Goes something like this.

Sergeant ..."Mate, you're gonna go down either way, better you spill the beans now or it'll cost you a lot more with additional charges of obstructing justice, perjury and pissing me off!" .... Rookie, "Look mate, Serg is a tough ole bastid copper, just tell me and it'll be a lot easier for you, you dont want to get him wound up, so how did you do it?" opcorn:

 

[smokechase II]

good cop

Is there an official manual on the good arborist, bad arborist routine?

I'd envision it going something like; "Look Mate, let’s make this right, what would your mother think...." Then the bad arborist says, "You scum" and fires up a saw and starts putting in undercuts facing the pool. He doesn't talk much.

Hey, why don't Bigleaf Maples grow in Florida? Just curious. Do they not grow there even as ornamentals, and if so why not?

Thanks

(There are other plants out there with the dreaded double samara)

 

[l2edneck]

Who do I call to get this jerk fined? Any suggestions please???

What city?Call the city and request to speak with there arborist.If its in the county call Clearwater.

 

[lawnmaniac883]

I will try to get some pics in the next two days. It isnt so much the fact that he didnt like the trees as the way he went about killing them. He could have visited the church and requested that the trees be removed at his expense or something. But to kill them and expect the church to pay for their removal is just bullsh!t. They also have a nice lean towards his property too.

Cops here are worthless, I am not expecting much out of them but calling the cities arborist isnt a bad idea....

The stuff I found in the hole was like a thick syrup, lime green in color...

 

[treeseer]

Call the cops pronto and report trespassing and destruction of property. Then hope they have the gumption to look at the green goop and then look in Mr. Pool's shed. A police report is vital to any action.

 

[CaseyForrest]

How about Catulpa? Will those grow in FL? Those seed pods will play heck with his skimmer.

 

[woodchux]

The best revenge would be to change the church marquee to read something like " Poisoned Souls Lead to Poisoned Trees "
Maybe have the whole congregation pray conviction upon the guilty.

 

[Ekka]

The stuff I found in the hole was like a thick syrup, lime green in color...

Flubber? :biggrinbounce2:

Could it be be considered an Act of God?!

 

[Diesel JD]

You should plant some Nyssa Aquatica.....they drop their leaves early in the fall....and thick...better yet soime swamp willows, blow all that pretty cottonball type stuff into his pool. Seriously....I hate the idea of anybody poisoning any trees, let alone opther people's...let alone at a Church...no revenge, especially not from a church, but,....you have to do something, can't just let him get away with it.

 

[VerticalVent]

Bureaucratic Hell

The easiest way to tie him up for several hours... err weeks is to take advantage of the system provided by local government. If he has a fence, find out if he got a permit. If his grass gets over the length specified by local government, usually 8" up here. If he does any work on the property that might require a permit... You see where I am going with this. In short, there are rules. These rules have to be followed, particularly if you are contacting your planning an zoning commission every other day or so... Don't bother with the inspectors call the board members - at home if you can get the number.