fig trees need house would you remove them can they damage foundations and stormwater

J

jasonp3

Does someone know alot about fig trees and damage to house. I heard that any tree should be the same distance from the house as its height.
Should i definitely remove fig trees that are next to (within a metre) of house? How far can the roots go? They grow very much each year and I wonder if they can damage the house, foundations, stormwater, fence.

I've also read of them growing back no matter what people did. There are a couple more i've removed from the property last year and poisoned and they grew back again. I've read all sorts of hints
eg drill the roots and put bleach in the holes, or root killer
put copper nails into the roots
mix glyphosate with diesel 50/50 freshly ring bark and stump within 30 seconds paint stump with this mix
put undiluted quality poison straight to outer rings straight after cut and scored
and keep at it.
 
Same question - the fruit tree is fine but the ficus like Moreton Bay Fig and Ficus Benjamina grow massive and you don't want those
 
Are you saying that there are some that are fruit bearing and others that are not and the fruit bearing ones are fine.

Or are you saying that some grow small and some grow very large and so we dont want the ones that grow large. i think they grow and keep growing like maybe 5-7 metres x 5 - 7 metres
 
I would get rid of it immediately,
One way is to cut it down to a comfortable height,have the roundup handy with a paintbrush,immediately after cutting it,paint /soak the roundup on top.

If for some reason it it has roots entwined with other trees,they will also die.
 
Thank you. Well for that matter next door has tall trees also all the way down the side of their house, including a fig tree.My house and their house are close together with a fence between which means all those trees are close to being also all the way down the side of my house.

The house is a 100 years old house and i'm not aware of any damage from any trees, but i'm unsure when these fig trees and neighbours trees sprang up and got bigger and bigger every year. I've owned the home for about 25 years but maybe its only in the last 10 years that all these trees appeared and grow very much bigger every year.

Two fig trees on my land are more accessible. ( one is a pity to chop as we really enjoy the fruit but if its really necesary then i guess we should.

2 others are behind big sheds so we do the best we can to cut and poison them but they arent so easily accessible . We did it last year but are doing it again this year.

I mentioned to the gardener chopping and killing them about the other ideas i'd read about that others had used, eg that copper nails kill them etc, or drilling into them and pouring poison or bleach in the holes,
but he didnt seem so open to trying a few things. He is an experienced gardener so i think he does know what he is doing.

I think despite being painted with the poison immediately they still sprout new shoots so then need to be poisoned again a month or so later.
 
Definately get rid of them. Apart from damage to structures they attract heaps of flying foxes that can make a mess on your house. And in regard to bat c**p if you catch rainwater off your roof into a tank for drinking well to state the obvious ....
 
Thank you

we are getting rid of them

What would we notice as damage to the home as we havent noticed anything yet in 25 years.

we dont have flying foxes nor do we collect stormwater. its damage to the house i'm concerned about.
 
Killing and leaving the stump in invites termites FYI. ANd when they eat the stump out, next maybe the house????

Regards Peter 14.7
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Would you do Termidor treatment after this report?
Replies
12
Views
4K
wylie
W
Ruby
The Player Interview
Replies
0
Views
11K
Ruby
Ruby
Back
Top