How to kill a tree stump.

[TBinEye]

I had to cut a tree down in my garden because it was sending shoots up all around, including the neighbours garden. I have been treating it with Timbrel for three weeks now, but the shoots still keep coming up. Anyone have any ideas? The stump is approximately 13" across.

[Count-A-Strong]

Copper nails and engine oil (pored into a hole in the centre of the stump) are traditional methods.

[Hard@it]

Glad you said this Count -A- Strong, just going to start treating stumps, (7 days cut).
Have been told this by others so good to get confirmation.

[carlton23]

Another method is to make saw-cuts approx 2cm deep on top and brush oil mixed with BWK or Creosote if you still have some. It`s not on sale anymore but use it if you`ve got it. Who`s to know. You`ll need to cut back any roots and paint the wounds also.

[bookbinder]

Drill or cut several largish-diameter holes all over the upper surface of the stump. Precision is not required. Fill the holes with Roundup. Cover the stump with a piece of polythene and tie it around the stump with a bit of string (like the paper caps on those posh jars of jam you see in stately home shops). This is to stop rain washing the Roundup off. That usually kills the stump. Depending on size of stump, might need to try it again.

[modeller]

May I extend this question to dead stumps. I have a dead stump about 2m long (6ft) and half a meter 18 inches thick which is not rotting down its still solid after 3 years . Short of sawing it into bits , long tiring job , how can I cause it to break up/down ?

[agardner09]

I'm with bookbinder on this. If you can seal round up in, it works a treat. Alternatively I've used Vitax SBK for years. Either way the trick is to drill or cut deep as you can into the stump and keep the wet out so that the stump killing ingredient can do what it says on the tin. Then when its dead you need to get the water in to rot it away. Or you can dig it out if you need to lose a couple of stone!
As for modeller you need to find someone with a chain saw, chop the stump to ground level then drill or cut to get the moisture in so that the wood rots. At the rate you are going your kids will be wondering what to do with the stump when they are old!