The Best Way to Kill a Water Oak Tree

Kill the water oak and give yourself a break from raking.

Water oak trees are one of the most common tree species in North America. But although abundant, they have little to offer in the way of ornamental value. And mature water oak trees produce prolific amounts of acorns. They litter the ground, stain concrete and brick and attract squirrels and other nut predators. Consequently they are often found growing where they are not wanted.

Things You'll Need

• Axe
• Hatchet
• Glyphosate herbicide
• Paintbrush
• Cup

Instructions

1. Cut down small to medium-sized water oak trees with an axe. Juveniles around and under 10 feet tall are easily felled with an axe. But mature water oak trees may reach 60 feet in height. Trees like these are best felled by professional tree services. You can kill them in the mean time with a girdle. Take a small hatchet and cut a roughly 1 1/2-inch thick chip out of the trunk with a downward chop at a small angle. Take out a second chip below it with an upward chop. Make another set of identical cuts just to the right of the first. Continue removing chips until you create a ring of exposed wood around the trunk of the tree. The ring will interrupt the sap flow and slowly kill the tree.

2. Pour roughly 2 cups of herbicide into a disposable cup. Dip a small paint brush into the cup and paint the stump or girdle ring. Paint as soon as possible after making the cut, within 30 seconds if possible.

3. Watch for any sprouts that emerge from the cut stump or dying tree. Water oaks have a habit of sprouting with their last energy reserves. Cut these sprouts off at their base then cut the stumps left behind with the same herbicide you used on the tree.

4. Rake up any acorns from the yard. Bag them and discard.

Tips & Warnings

• The best time to kill water oaks is in spring or summer when the tree is actively growing and before it drops acorns in fall.

References

• Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet; Controlling Undesirable Trees, Shrubs, and Vines in Your Woodland; Randall B. Heiligmann
• Flora of North America: Quercus Nigra
• University of Florida IFAS Extension; Quercus Nigra: Water Oak; Edward F. Gilman, et al.
• Missouri Department of Conservation; Oak Stump Sprouting in Mature Bottomland Forests at Duck Creek Conservation Area; John Kabrick, et al.