Is there a way to remove or kill mistletoe in large trees?

Question

I have two very large trees that are just being taken over with mistletoe. Any help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Mistletoe is a parasite. It lives off trees by stealing some of the water and nutrients that would normally nourish the tree. Controlling mistletoe is a hard thing to do, because it attaches itself to the tree's vascular system, the part which carries water and nutrients to all of the tree. If you simply break off the mistletoe, it'll just grow back. To remove mistletoe permanently you have to remove the chunk of branch that it's attached to. Paint the cut with some sort of paint or pruning sealant to prevent any diseases or wood rotting organisms from entering the the cut area. If mistletoe is on small limbs, you can cut the limb about a foot before the spot where the mistletoe is growing from. And again, you need to seal the cut.

Mistletoe is spread by birds, which carry the seeds on their beaks after eating the white berries of the mistletoe. When they wipe their beaks off on the tree or branches, the seed is deposited and will start to grow when the conditions are right.. Cutting out the mistletoe is the only way to control it. There are chemicals that will kill it, however, these same chemicals will also harm the tree itself, so it's not recommended... Hope this answers your question. Good luck!

Answer 2

Does Mistletoe Kill Trees

Answer 3

Mistletoe invades the tree and actually puts 18 inch long roots in the branch below where it sprouts. You can rid the tree of mistletoe in one of two ways. The first is to cut the infested branch at least 18 inches below the lowest mistletoe. The other one is to look for 2-4-D foam intended for mistletoe. We've used this treatment on two Modesto Ash trees and it killed the mistletoe without killing the tree. However, this stuff is hard to find and the major companies don't carry it. We found it at Yardbirds.

Answer 4

The short answer is, probably not. I have a couple of oaks that have dozens of mistletoe plants high up in the branches. Short of having someone climb up and cut them out (and I don't know that they wouldn't grow back) I don't think there is an option. I do know that a heavy infestation will eventually kill a tree but it takes years and the infestation needs to be very heavy.

Answer 5

ONCE MISTLETOE IS ESTABLISHED IT GROWS INTO THE LIMB. TO REMOVE IT PERMANENTLY YOU MUST CUT THE LIMB OFF 18 INCHES BACK FROM THE MISTLETOE GROWTH. THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO TEMPORARILY REMOVE IT BUT IT WILL GROW BACK. THE FIRST IS HAVE SOME ONE CLIMB THE TREE AND TEAR IT OFF. THE SECOND IS TO CHEMICALY SPRAY IT WITH FLOREL FRUIT ELIMATOR.

Answer 6

dont know where you live but some good advice dont touch it with bare hands .and if you would like to make some money off of this wait till christmas find someone to go up the tree for you and cut as much as you can a little twig can bring as much as 5.00 in tennessee and the price goes up if you have this much and can get it cut out ,a twig is about 6 inches long and the size of a match take it to flea markets and sell it at christmas but it is poision DONT TOUCH WITH BARE HANDS but you have some money growing there