to poison the roots of a huge tree overgrowing on my property?

[spegal]

OK so I won't actually do it, but this tree is so fucking big, neighbour likes it but I think its anti social.

I get the branches growing on my side chopped but that just makes it look ugly.

If I decided to just weedkiller everything in that corner of my garden and happened to infect the roots on my side and kill it, would i legally be in the wrong?

I say that as someone who loves trees and the birdsong they bring, but if it's that big it's threatening the foundations etc it's got to go.

I sympathise. We have an enormous (council owned) tree next to our house. It cuts out the light, the foundations run right by the sewerage system and there is the threat of subsidence.

The council cut back a few branches but refuse to cut back the tree till the house is actually subsiding.

I spend a lot of time mentally plotting against the tree.

Unfortunately you do not have a right to light so cannot insist a tree is cut down, but since this us a leylandii then you may be able to insist it is cropped to an acceptable height.

I have about seven lleylandii in my (council) garden. I hate them, but haven't the funds to get them removed:(

I have 2 seriously enormous trees on my property. In fact, they are on the boundary but the deeds state that they are 'mine'. They are old, huge (in height, spread and girth) and protected by TPO. I am very limited by what I can do them.

I like the privacy and maturity the afford but they are also very messy (they drop things at all points of the year), unpredictable (a 40ft bough came off it last year - luckily on my side and didn't do much damage) and cost a lot in maintenance and upkeep. If I could, I'd replace with a smaller native. That said, I would worry about root shrinkage and subsidence /drain damage to my property and those of my neighbours if my trees were to be taken down.

Be careful as surely if you kill the tree it could fall an cause damage - definitely investigate you legal rights - if the 6foot rule is correct then it sounds like you have recourse.

I actually have some sympathy as my DPs have a similar leylandii issue with an idiot neighbour who thought it was a good idea about 6 years ago (and a beautiful collection of about 12 mature fruit trees that they have nurtured for the 35 years they have lived in the house, for the benefit of the bio-sanctimonious). The answer has been copper nails and salt in cuts in the roots. Fortunately(or not) the thing had already killed everything within a 10 foot radius so no wider damage to the ground.

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Here is a photo of a lovely leylandii .

Oh dear, I often wonder what the neighbours think of my willow tree which is so big it goes into next-door-but-one's garden.

I've had it looked at and it's no danger to the house. It's far down the garden, and the garden is on a slope. The willow has been here longer than the houses.

We have a big leylandii hedge. I hate it but like the privacy it affords. And it was here when we bought the house. I suspect it was put in when some of the land at the back of the house was sold off an a small development of six bungalows were built.

One neighbour has asked us to have it cut back and we did so - both in height and the overhanging bit on his side. Other neighbours have it cut back on their side every year which we only discovered when our dogs started barking at someone the other side of the hedge. We had a lot of the height taken off this year.

I would love to get rid but it would be a huge and expensive job and it would take a long time to get the privacy back with a native species. I think the only way we could do it would be to put a fence in first.

It's just not true leylandi offer nothing to the wildlife either. I have one at the bottom of my garden which is big and was here before I bought the house. I don't particularly like it but it's got loads of birds in it.

This spring the birds nesting in it were a woodpigeon, blackbirds, green finches, wrens, robins and thrushes.

There's also loads of moths in it that come out at night if I put my garden light on. These keep a pair of bats busy (not sure where they roost).

Much as I'd like to cut the bloody thing down or at least half its height I would feel guilty about making all those birds homeless.

[cider] I don't know if you are able to maintain the hedge yourself or whether you are paying someone to do it for you but it may be worthwhile to bite the bullet and replace the hedge with either a fence or a slow growing decent sized alternative hedging plant. It might well save you money in the long run.

I would feel really guilty if I was the cause of my nieghbours having to pay out loads of money (hundreds of pounds??) every year to maintain 'my' hedge.

There is no disputing that leylandii can make great hedges as long as they are kept in check.

Perhaps you could offer to help your nieghbours do the work

I wouldn't buy a house if the neighbour had a leylandii hedge even if it was perfectly maintained, I would be worried about what might happen in the future.

Banjo - that's actually up the hill from my folks. The chaps has been complained about for years. However now he's www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-11211538 had to cut them down, it really does make a difference!

You have my sympathy, my neighbours have a collection of large trees (leylandii I think). I cut back the bits that overhang my garden but they are still way higher than our houses and they shade my garden.

I mentioned it when the latest lot moved in but they said they weren't going to trim them as the trees gave them privacy. When we moved here the original neighbours who planted them kept them trimmed which was fine.

There are some really selfish people who do what the fuck they want with no consideration for the impact or has on others.

Banjo - we have a half acre garden and it's all along the back and alone one side so it would be a huge job. DH does some of the maintenance and we have started using the guy our neighbours were using for their side. We would end up with much more garden if we did it but it's a big think!

And as someone else said there is a lot of birds n it and I'm sure some other wildlife.

leylandii are horrible horrible things. don't deserve to be called trees imo.

they should cut it down and plant something nice like a rowan tree.

Technically speaking you could cut the tree roots that are on the property then spray herbicide on the freshly cut roots to kill it. Or just dig off the top layer of grass around the tree and put salt around it. Remember in old days they used to salt crops to starve their opponents.

It is an asshole thing to do, and could start a neighbor feud.

Choose wisely.

leylandii add something very positive to my garden. They stop me sitting here looking at next doors various scrap cars.

Poor tree! How wants to kill trees? Yabvvvu

If it is that close to your house then there is a risk of it causing subsidence, depending on your soil (clay is susceptible). Your neighbour may be liable for damage caused to your house by the tree. Problem is that once it has got to a certain height chopping it down can also cause problems.

I would suggest having a word with someone at your council to start with. You may Need to get a specialist involved.

Ignore the sanctimonious so and sos on here who like normal on aibu seem to want to be contrary no matter what.

Do you have a lot of time on your hands?!

How close is the tree to your house?

YABVU, trees are beautiful. My fil being a lazy shite gardener used to pour weedkiller around the base of old decidious trees, just left a ring of dead grass around it. The main roots of the tree travel down. The evidence of your crime would be there to be seen by the neighbours as well.

I was all ready to say YABU until you said it was a leylandii. Ring barking works but you'd probably get caught