How to kill volunteer trees near a house without herbicides
Cutting the tree down to ground level and covering it with a tarp starves the stump of sunlight and prevents new growth without the cost of professional removal. Without these steps, overgrown saplings will continue to press against exterior walls and cross property lines.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
- This comes up 28.2× more often in r/Landscaping than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Digging out the central root ball manuallyDid this help you?
- 2Cutting them back repeatedly over timeDid this help you?
- 3Hiring an arborist or professional removal serviceDid this help you?
- 4Using a tarp to cover the cut stumps until the next seasonDid this help you?
- 5Cutting some limbs at the base to open up the canopyDid this help you?
- 6Removing entire branches at the trunk rather than trimming the endsDid this help you?
- 7Talking to the homeowner about completely removing the plantDid this help you?
- 8Ripping the trees out and replacing them with different plantsDid this help you?
- 9Watching instructional videos on YouTube before attempting to trim themDid this help you?
- 10Prune the tree branches using hand shears and a pole pruner while leaving live foliage.Did this help you?
- 11Living with the yard as-is for a year to see what grows wellDid this help you?
- 12Checking with an arborist or garden center to properly identify the tree varietyDid this help you?
- 13Installing a sun shade from the fence to the house to provide shade for the AC unit without having a tree nearbyDid this help you?
- 14Applying bleach to the treesDid this help you?
- 15Leaving them aloneDid this help you?
- 16Notching out the roof overhang or porch around the treeDid this help you?
- 17Trimming or cutting back overhanging branchesDid this help you?
- 18Consulting a certified arborist for a professional evaluationDid this help you?
- 19Completely removing the tree to protect the house from potential damageDid this help you?
- 20using a ladder and pole sawDid this help you?
- 21renting equipment like a gas chainsawDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My dad planted this oak when he had built the house, prior to putting in the back porch. About 10 years later (1988) he added on the porch in the pictures…not realizing that tree would end up growing so large and now it’s towching the overhang shingles!”source ↗
“It seriously sucked but we had it taken out a few months ago. I miss the shade, but I don’t miss the stress of wondering if the next storm was going to drop it on the house.”source ↗
“That’s part of the reason I posted…well obviously it’s needing something as it’s touching the house…but I’ve started to worry about limbs snapping off or something like you described.”source ↗
“We have this huge corner lot that I’m not sure what to do with. Previous owners planted 5 Bradford pear trees which I have learned are absolutely awful trees. ... Do we cut them down while they are still relatively young/small? Not happy about the trees but at least it is something to fill all the space and we don’t have a huge budget to replace so many trees.”source ↗
“Can somebody identify this extremely overgrown shrub and tell me how short I can cut it?”source ↗
“Can I lop the tops of these off just below the gutter line? Or should I start more conservatively since I've ignored them for 10 years... I'd say they are about 15ft tall and I'd like to take 3-4 feet off.”source ↗
“Is this cypress too close to my house?”source ↗
“Since I have moved in, I have wondered if it is going to be a bridge for snakes and rodents to get into the attic.”source ↗
“I have seen a snake skin on the tree right by the gutter.”source ↗
“It isn’t blocking a window, but it’s so overgrown that it’s crossed the property line.”source ↗
“The branches are touching the house as well.”source ↗
“Really hoping to figure out how to get those higher branches off without them interlocking with the trees behind it.”source ↗
“I just have been thinking about how to successfully take this tree down without it falling onto my house or onto my fence.”source ↗
“My neighbour has planted a heap of these trees on our boundary a few weeks back.”source ↗
“I've been giving them a squirt of bleach every few days. Is there a better approach?”source ↗
“The real crime is them wanting privacy! If these things actually grow I'll need a VPN.”source ↗
“Hello- I need a debate settled. There is a tree that has grown next to our house and also next to our outdoor AC unit. I don’t think it’s wise to have a tree so close to the house or near the unit and am having a tree removal service come out next week.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 13How to kill invasive vines without killing the trees?
- 3How to remove a large tree in a tight space between fences
- 2Should I cut down overgrown foundation bushes?
- 11How to fix sunken ground from decaying tree roots without excavating
- 2How to build a retaining wall over tree roots
- 5Should I remove newly planted trees that everyone hates?