Keeping trees in your yard can add shade and beauty to your outdoor landscape. However, the roots of these trees can invade your sewer pipes and cause sewer lines to backup or corrode. The effects of tree roots on your sewer lines can be a financially devastating plumbing bill along with replacing a good part of your landscape. You can make a homemade root killer to prevent major problems.

1

Copper Sulfate

One of the most popular root-killing remedies is found in hardware stores: copper sulphate. This blue crystal is often chosen because it is the active ingredient in many commercial root-killing products. Flushing your system with this substance is an effective way to clean the system of tree roots. However it can corrode pipes over time, making this more costly in the long run. This is a hazardous material and should be used with caution.

  • One of the most popular root-killing remedies is found in hardware stores: copper sulphate.
  • This blue crystal is often chosen because it is the active ingredient in many commercial root-killing products.
2

Saline Solutions

A high-saline solution will kill what it touches and can leave an area of soil barren if not used properly. Proper use is flushing it down your toilet to kill only the roots in the sewer line. To saturate the soil with the solution would be an Improper use, as it could kill the tree and all vegetation around it.

3

Baking Soda and Vinegar

Baking soda and vinegar mixed together can be flushed down the system and poured over the soil above where roots are tangling with pipes. Mix the two items until a paste forms and place that on the ground or flush a solution of two parts vinegar to one part baking soda down the toilet.

4

Persistent Problems

It is best to clear your sewer lines annually. Each of the methods might need to be repeated several times to ensure the root issue is properly dealt with. If your root problem persists, you may wish to consult an expert about eradicating the lines of roots.