# What a would a sociopath use to kill a tree **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063 "2007-04-21T13:22:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aluminumdisc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@aluminumdisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aluminumdisc)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/21 "2007-04-22T02:39:00Z")
[QUOTE=WoodenTaco] At the risk of looking like an idiot for missing a joke, what do you mean by “ringing” a tree? [/QUOTE] I could be wrong but I think that if you cut a ring around a tree (through the bark and into the wood) all the way around it, it will kill the tree. If it was a large tree you would need a lot of anger and a chainsaw would help. It might get you busted if the tree was not yours. I assume this is what “ringing” a tree is. ---
**Author:** ![Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4af34b/32.png) [@Zany\_Zeolite\_Zipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zany_Zeolite_Zipper)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/22 "2007-04-22T04:17:14Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Copper nails. Drive 9 or 10 in, around the base. [/QUOTE] I wonder if this would work better if you alternated copper and galvanized (zinc) nails. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/23 "2007-04-22T08:18:46Z")
[QUOTE=aluminumdisc] I could be wrong but I think that if you cut a ring around a tree (through the bark and into the wood) all the way around it, it will kill the tree. If it was a large tree you would need a lot of anger and a chainsaw would help. It might get you busted if the tree was not yours. I assume this is what “ringing” a tree is. [/QUOTE] Yes, [that’s right](http://wvgardengate.homestead.com/Construction_Damage_to_Trees.htm). > [@](#): > > When you look at the trunk of a tree, it seems really massive, but most of what you see is dead wood. The only living part of a tree trunk (or branch) is the outermost ring. This is where cell division goes on, which allows a tree to add a ring every year. Some folks call this the sapwood; a technical name for this layer is the “cambium.” Water and minerals move upward in the outermost 1 or 2 rings (for pines and other conifers, 8-12 rings). Sugars, growth regulators, and other materials move downward only in the outermost layer of cells in the outermost ring. > > This is why it is so easy to kill a tree! If you scrape the bark off the tree with heavy machinery, or rub the bark off by using the tree as a pulley, you are damaging the only living tissue on that trunk. We do the same thing by banging into the tree with lawnmowers; even though we haven’t pulled any bark off, we have bruised and damaged the cambium beneath the bark. Even carving your initials into a tree can damage this living layer. There was a tree in the parking lot behind our house, when I was growing up, that shaded our garden. My Mom asked the city to have it trimmed, but they wouldn’t. She was given the run around again and again. One particular Doper then is alleged to have ringed the tree, which was mostly likely to have been done on an early Sunday morning when no one would be about. This alleged event caused the tree to die, and the City did remove it, with no questions asked. Of course, if that were the worst thing the particular Doper did in his life, then he would likely be justified in denying everything, instead of coming across as silly. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/24 "2007-04-22T11:03:19Z")
Sodium Chlorate should do the trick - it is a lot more vicious than straight salt - I don’t know why - it is also highly explosive especially when mixed with sugar When we bought a house we found a couple of barrels of in the garage and used it to kill weeds on the gravel drive. The stuff in the barrels was moist - I think I understand why. A pine tree in the middle took ill and died. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/25 "2007-04-22T20:25:24Z")
Based on my experiences spilling gasoline on the farm when I was a kid, I’d say that was something easily available that would do the trick. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/26 "2007-04-22T20:49:51Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] Almost ten years ago, someone poisoned a historic tree in Austin, Texas called the Treaty Oak. According to Wikipedia, he used an herbicide called Velpar. [/QUOTE] I was just about to say that. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/27 "2007-04-23T03:10:34Z")
[QUOTE=Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor] Copper nails. Drive 9 or 10 in, around the base. [/QUOTE] This is an urban legend. [http://www.gardenworld.co.uk/project-copper.asp](http://www.gardenworld.co.uk/project-copper.asp) See the note at the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/28 "2007-04-23T18:55:48Z")
Some years back, I was sold Pramitol for killing poison ivy. As it turned out, it killed everything but the poison ivy. I was warned, in person and on the label, not to use it for killing weeds in a crushed stone driveway if there were any trees next to the drive. They said it would kill the tree. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/29 "2007-04-23T19:08:25Z")
[QUOTE=FRDE] Sodium Chlorate should do the trick - it is a lot more vicious than straight salt - I don’t know why - it is also highly explosive especially when mixed with sugar [/QUOTE] It’s especially more vicious when mixed with sugar? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/30 "2007-04-23T19:18:13Z")
[QUOTE=aluminumdisc] What would a sociopath use to kill a tree? [/QUOTE] A disregard for floral norms, and indifference to the rights and feelings of said tree. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/31 "2007-04-23T19:22:19Z")
[QUOTE=aluminumdisc] He said that it would kill the tree and anything else that he ever tried to plant there. [/QUOTE] What herbicide would remain in the soil season after season, rain after rain? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/32 "2007-04-23T19:25:55Z")
[QUOTE=aluminumdisc] I could be wrong but I think that if you cut a ring around a tree (through the bark and into the wood) all the way around it, it will kill the tree. [/QUOTE] You’re right. Nutrients flow up the trunk to the branches and leaves via the [phloem,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phloem) which is a thin layer of cells just under the bark. Cut through that – **all the way around** – and it’s like cutting a human’s carotid artery; death is certain. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/33 "2007-04-23T19:26:44Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] A disregard for floral norms, and indifference to the rights and feelings of said tree. [/QUOTE] That sounds like a herbicidal maniac. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/34 "2007-04-23T19:39:04Z")
Of course, a **real** sociopath, with respect for tradition, would use a chainsaw. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/35 "2007-04-23T19:49:04Z")
[QUOTE=aluminumdisc] I could be wrong but I think that if you cut a ring around a tree (through the bark and into the wood) all the way around it, it will kill the tree. If it was a large tree you would need a lot of anger and a chainsaw would help. It might get you busted if the tree was not yours. I assume this is what “ringing” a tree is. [/QUOTE] You can kill a (deciduous) tree more easily than this. I killed several 24"+ diameter maples with a machete while cutting back poison ivy. The machete did cut into the bark fairly deep, but didn’t leave a much of a trace. 6 months later, 3 dead maples, and 1 very sick maple. I certainly didn’t intend to kill the trees, and didn’t ‘ring’ the trees as such. I just hacked off the ivy around the trunk. My point is that you don’t need to use a chainsaw or even do visible damage to a tree, they are far more fragile than I thought. I’m not sure this would work with an evergreen, I’ve seen firs and pines that were pretty hacked up and still healthy. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/36 "2007-04-23T19:57:40Z")
[QUOTE=The Controvert] That sounds like a herbicidal maniac. [/QUOTE] Well, at least he’s only after trees. It’d be much worse if he was killing the corn and wheat and barley crops. 'Cause then he’d be a cereal killer. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/37 "2007-04-24T00:55:27Z")
[QUOTE=Danalan] You can kill a (deciduous) tree more easily than this. I killed several 24"+ diameter maples with a machete while cutting back poison ivy. The machete did cut into the bark fairly deep, but didn’t leave a much of a trace. 6 months later, 3 dead maples, and 1 very sick maple. I certainly didn’t intend to kill the trees, and didn’t ‘ring’ the trees as such. I just hacked off the ivy around the trunk. My point is that you don’t need to use a chainsaw or even do visible damage to a tree, they are far more fragile than I thought. I’m not sure this would work with an evergreen, I’ve seen firs and pines that were pretty hacked up and still healthy. [/QUOTE] It is much easier to kill a maple in this fashion than other types of trees (as you have noticed). I’ll leave the issue of whether poplar, ash and maples have “bark” to any botanists that might be about, but suffice it to say these trees do not have a thick layer of “dead skin” to serve as protection when you’re hacking at vines with a machete. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/38 "2007-04-24T05:07:08Z")
There are any number of commercially available herbicides that will kill a tree. Velpar will do it if poured onto the ground, there are others that are injected into the tree by cutting a slit with a hatchet and spraying the liquid into the cut. (Called the “hack and squirt” method) I do think his threat that “nothing will ever grow there again” was hyperbole. It would not be practical to try to kill a large tree with salt. Why apply 100 or more lbs of salt when a professional landscaper would have a variety of herbicides available to him? And nails in the ground, copper or otherwise? Er, no. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/39 "2007-04-24T06:19:23Z")
[QUOTE=John Carter of Mars] There are any number of commercially available herbicides that will kill a tree. Velpar will do it if poured onto the ground, there are others that are injected into the tree by cutting a slit with a hatchet and spraying the liquid into the cut. (Called the “hack and squirt” method) I do think his threat that “nothing will ever grow there again” was hyperbole. It would not be practical to try to kill a large tree with salt. Why apply 100 or more lbs of salt when a professional landscaper would have a variety of herbicides available to him? [/QUOTE] Oddly, a few months ago some tree surgeons were working on a tree, I asked them what they would use to kill it and they said ‘it’s mainly salt’. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063/40 "2007-04-24T07:21:19Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] I throw a party every year where it is absolutely essential to not run out of beer (especially at 3 in the morning). So, I always get way too much. Several years the turnout has not been so great or consumption has been insufficient so I’ve actually had to dump out over a keg of beer. I’m pretty sure this killed a very nice palm tree in my yard. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] I think you’re mistaken here. [/quote] I think he’s mistaken for a different reason. **Had to dump out over a keg of beer**? I mean the words, they’re all English, but they just don’t add up. Couldn’t you have drank it later, or like, donated it to charity? (e.g. me) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-would-a-sociopath-use-to-kill-a-tree/401063.md?page=3)