stump killer

[Fanatical Meat]

I have a non native black locust tree we cut down 2 years ago but it keeps sprouting and it grows very fast. Grinding it is too expensive right now. Can anyone recommend a good reasonably safe herbicide that will kill its roots?
I've seen a couple on Amazon but they are either for heavy brush or a bit more toxic than I'm comfortable with.
The stumps roots extend toward a dogwood tree we like and technically its on my neighbors land and they have a young child. They're ok with me dealing with the stump but I want to be responsible. Burning it out is not an option.

 

[lxskllr]

Dunno if it would work, but I'd try drilling holes in the stump, and filling them with salt.

 

[Blain]

1" - 1 1/2" holes bored 6" deep, filled with rock salt.

 

[paperfist]

Never tried it, but the old timers say copper, like copper nails will kill it.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

To be clear I'm ok with some kind of herbicide but I want to avoid ones that can spread to other areas or the trisodium(?) something(?) that was listed as extremely effective but kids and pets should avoid the area when its wet this includes after rainstorms for 2-3 weeks.

 

[lxskllr]

Salt is virtually free, you have it on your shelf, and is absolutely non toxic, though there may be issues growing stuff in the same spot in the future. I'd do that first, and if it fails, figure something else out.

 

[Elixer]

Salt peter (Potassium nitrate) works, but it does take time.
Drill holes into stump, pour in the potassium nitrate crystals, then in a 20-30 or so weeks it should be rotted. Still a PITA.
Copper nails do speed up the process though.

*edit
**drat, I missed the part where you said you didn't want to burn it. **
So, ignore this part down, I'll leave it for future reference.

If you want to do it faster, and the stump isn't around anything important, you can drill some bigger holes, pour some kerosene into said holes, let that soak in for about a week or so (depending on the weather again, if it is hot, then a week is fine, if it is wet, then it takes longer), then throw some charcoal into those holes, and light it. That does leave roots though.
If that still isn't good enough for you, a farmer told me what he does is basically soak the stump in salt peter first, (around a week) then use kerosene (another week), and finally light that with charcoal... What you have there is basically something that will burn all the way down to the roots. Obviously, this shouldn't be done if anything you want is around the stump, that sucker will burn for a long time, and be hot! He places chicken wire around the stump to prevent anyone from going near it.
The reason it burns underground is, that the potassium nitrate supplies the oxygen for the fire. It also makes the flame color a rather unique color.

 

[DrPizza]

41% glyphosate (round-up). You might be able to find a place that sells the concentrated - try a farm store such as tractor supply. Normally, you put just a tiny bit on the foliage, and it works its way down into the roots where it prevents something or other from happening, which kills the plant. If you're careful and only apply it to the stump, it shouldn't spread to other trees. It becomes relatively harmless, quite quickly in the soil - you could spray it one day, and plant new plants into the ground 2 days later without any harmful effects.

They want several hundred dollars each for our stumps (they're HUGE - the 2nd one is 8 feet across), so what I've been doing getting the stump smoldering, then I prop up an electric leaf blower, blowing directly at where it's smoldering. That's been working great. It's really cool to see a hole three inches wide burn 8" into the ground. For tougher to burn areas, I rake dirt away from the roots, and toss in a few pieces of dry firewood, start it up with the torch (big torch), and keep the blower directed on it. With that blower, it get HOT - I tossed in a bottle the other night to see how quickly it would melt - didn't take long at all. But, as soon as I turn that blower off, the cinders go out within about 5 minutes.

(edit, I should have been more specific - I see you don't want to burn it out, but for other people seeing this thread, it's an option.)

 

[Fanatical Meat]

DrPizza something like this?

Should it be diluted or used out of the bottle directly (but sparingly)?

Our stump was quoted at $400 a couple of years ago. I simply don't want to spend money like that on a stump that is somewhere that we don't use and not on our land.

 

[DrPizza]

From what I've read, for trees, don't dilute it. You'll want to apply it to the inner bark/cambrium area of the tree. So, maybe drill a couple of holes around the circumference of the tree, just barely touching the bark, and pour some glyphosate into them. I'm not sure if this would be true or not, but you'd probably have more success later in the summer/beginning of fall, versus spring/early summer, because stuff is principally migrating upward earlier in the year, but downward in the fall. At least, that makes sense to me, though I don't know how true that is of other plants that the stuff kills (though it sometimes takes 3 or 4 days before the plants start to appear to be dying.)

The label on the bottle of concentrate tells you the concentrations that are ideal for certain species, to help with mixing. Unless I've forgotten, it seems that most of the time, 2% is plenty. Hence, a 3 or 4 gallon of 41% is going to make a heck of a lot of gallons of weed killer for other purposes around your property. It's my favorite stuff! (Mainly because it looks like I'm working hard when I strap the 4 gallon or 5 gallon tank to my back, and walk around looking for bad weeds: thistle and burdock. I hate those two with a passion. Plus, I don't use one of those string weed trimmers - screw that - did that in college and during summers as a job and swore I'd never have a reason to use one on my own property. So, I hit fencelines, around the telephone poles, etc., with the stuff.

 

[Joe C]

I have a non native black locust tree we cut down 2 years ago but it keeps sprouting and it grows very fast. Grinding it is too expensive right now. Can anyone recommend a good reasonably safe herbicide that will kill its roots?
I've seen a couple on Amazon but they are either for heavy brush or a bit more toxic than I'm comfortable with.
The stumps roots extend toward a dogwood tree we like and technically its on my neighbors land and they have a young child. They're ok with me dealing with the stump but I want to be responsible. Burning it out is not an option.

Here is what I have done with success every time;

1. Drill a hole or 2 in any root of the stump, about 1" deep is fine.
2. Pour Roundup Concentrate or similar into the drilled holes. To minimize spillage around the root area, transfer the liquid from the container into a small cup.
3. That's it, in a few days you'll see results.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Thanks guys its a thoroughly evil tree, grows fast like a weed its immune to my area's tree eating bugs, the roots spout new trees and the roots are enormous, plus it has super sharp thorns all over its branches. The thorns have penetrated even the heaviest gloves.

 

[Torn Mind]

Sodium hydroxide in the stump. It turns wood and other living material into mush.

 

[KK]

Spike 80df should kill it.

 

[turtile]

Use Garlon 4 ultra. Place pure concentrate on the trunk after you do a fresh cut around the entire thing. Then dilute it and spray all of the sprouts (it won't kill grass diluted). Spreader sticker can help too.

Keep spraying the sprouts after they grow pretty large.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Garlon is decent but the heat of Tordon will do the job.

Tordon on Amazon.

Did tree work for 20yrs. We shifted from Garlon to Tordon maybe in the mid 2000's. Tordon is what professionals use to clear Tower lines as well as treat cut downs.