P.S. I forgot to mention, for this type of situation, make sure you use an appropriate concentration. For instance, premixed (ready-to-use) RoundUp would probably be useless in this application, but, concentrated (18%, or greater) RoundUp should do the job well.

...and in addition to Brandon's advice, do this now or at least before spring. General upward flow of sap during spring/summer makes the cut/treat application less effective, whereas now, the reverse is true.

+oM

Why on Earth would you want to? The area between the fences is an area that you aren't really using, why not leave it to nature? A row of trees and bush can be a nice privacy screen, a sound barrier, and a deterrent to people wondering onto your land. Personally I find most trees more attractive then chain link fences.

Round-up is (by definition) a poison. So, you are thinking of spraying large quantities of poison around the place your children play to deal with an aesthetic issue?

Also...is this even your land? It's on the other side of the fence, some of these trees are probably on your neighbor's land. So, you decided to kill your neighbor's trees?

There are a lot of ways this can go very wrong. Hire a surveyor before you even think about starting this project.

maybe ed has never paid to repair a fence ...

RUp is labeled .. read that: a legal use.. as a stump killer at 100% ... which is a 41% concentration ..

and it is NOT SPRAYED ... it is applied to the cut stump .. using a very expensive applicator like at the link ... perhaps a tablespoon per 6 inch tree applied to the cambian or green layer.. just under the bark ... and with the precise application .. there is no waste.. and no runoff .... in theory.. it should never touch mother earth ....

it can be a nightmare to remove such.. without destroying the fence ... cut it at ground level.. kill it... come back in a few months and snip and drip on any sprouts

and as the wood dries.. it might come out of the fence easier ....

and to top it all off.. its probably the birds.. doing you the favor .... else wise.. who else sits on the tops of fences and poops out seeds ...

ed does have a good idea ... if you and your neighbor can not agree to clean up the mess ... get a survey if there is any question who's property it is ...

around my 5 acres.. 500 feet square ... some of the neighbors, way back when ... put the fence exactly on the line.. others.. 6 inches in their side ... and one.. lol.. two foot onto my property .... [that one actually discovered such.. and removed it ... go figure] ....

if you are talking 2 to 4 inch trees.. literally intertwined into the chainlink ... what a nightmare ... need a pic of that .... not much you can do beyond killing the stump as above.. and cutting away as much as you can.. and leaving the part hanging in the fence.. that has fencing grow into it .... i have one neighbor who allowed that also ... lol ...

if you have any other pruning to do.. a good hand tree saw is a glorious tool ... otherwise.. a sawsall with a TREE BLADE would be brilliant for this.. with the caveat of hitting the wire fence .... [a blade for dry lumber is nearly useless on a live tree] ... the tree blade should be around $8 ... at the hardware .... its the bigger teeth to pull out the wet saw dust.. that is the trick ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

"Why on Earth would you want to?"

Possibly because:
1. A bunch of junk brush growing up around your property can look horrid and make it look like you just don't care.
2. Trees popping up in an area like this may be invasive species and harmful to the environment.
3. When the trees destroy the fence, there will be less protection from things like dogs wondering into your yard.
4. As the brush gets larger and overhangs your property, mowing can be more difficult.
5. The view of an overgrown brushpile may not be as aesthetically pleasing as the unobstructed view.
6. Bums, thieves, or mischievous children might inhabit the grown up area.
7. This list could go on and on and on......

"Round-up is (by definition) a poison. So, you are thinking of spraying large quantities of poison around the place your children play to deal with an aesthetic issue?"

Oh boy, here we go down the rabbit hole! As Ken, said we're not talking about spraying large quantities of anything (you may want to re-read the post), BUT, even if we were, RoundUp is actually MUCH safer than the majority of household cleaning chemicals! When I hear comments like this it makes my eyes roll uncontrollably.

I'd suggest too that often, the words 'poison' and 'toxin' get used interchangeably. They are not the same thing. Yes, to green, photosynthetic plant tissue, Roundup, or rather, glyphosate, the main active ingredient, is indeed poisonous. That is, it can and will kill this plant tissue. But that same chemical, while it may be somewhat toxic to other organisms, is surely not poisonous. I could bathe in Roundup, and besides wasting a lot of money, there would be literally no immediate, acute result. Now, if I did that every day for a year, I may well run into trouble. But what I'm saying is, selectively applied chemicals, used judiciously, can certainly be a part of good and wise landscape management.

If on the other hand, I were to hear of someone indiscriminately spraying their entire yard, on a schedule, "for bugs", I would cringe at the harm being done. Harm to beneficial insects, harm to birds and other wildlife, harm to any pets, and potential of harm to the human occupants. Both examples are pesticide usage, but in one, the careful brushing or dabbing of a concentrated herbicide onto cut surfaces, the other, broadcast spraying of a large area, you have the full gamut from good to bad.

I'd use cut/treat if I had stuff growing in a situation as described. And I would not be "poisoning" anything, except the very trees I was trying to get rid of.

Otherwise Ed, I'm right with you in terms of appreciating vegetation. It's just that OP does indeed want to get these trees out of there, and we're trying to suggest reasonable approaches to doing so.

+oM

Thank you everyone for your responses. These are not seedlings. Some are quite tall already. They are destroying both mine and the neighbors fences. And as Brandon said..there is a bunch of tall grass and junk brush growing in between and it makes me not even want to look at my back yard. We have 2 dogs, so we need the fence to be intact. We trim as much as possible, as you can see in the picture but they are really becoming a nuisance!

Here is another picture.

It looks like there isn't room to get between the fences. It's usually not a good idea to put two fences so close. Can you get back there? If not, you may have to temporarily lift the chain link fence to get to the stump. I guess you could just try to kill what's there and leave it, but it won't look as good.

Yeah, I agree. We have only lived here 5 years..so I don't know whom put what up when..lol I think we may just have to lift up the fence...yay! Fun times ahead! We trim it constantly. Do you think the Round up on the fresh cuts would stop new growth?

Just a question. Can you jack up the fence and cut it off with a Reciprocating Saw in the resulting space under the fence?

Once they are cut off you should be able to control any suckers, that will eventually disappear.

I am not too sure if we can. I can't see why we wouldn't be able to. I am hoping that will work. How would we jack it up?

If you treat it properly with glyphosate or triclopyr, there's a good chance you'll never have another sucker from the plants you treat. If you do, and treat them promptly, you won't have many.

You might be able to just lift of the bottom of the fence if it's not staked down. If it is staked, or is too stiff to easily lift up, you may have to remove some of the ties that hold the fence onto the posts.

One caution though. I've cut things like this around chain link fence plenty of times, but it is a little dangerous (especially with a chainsaw). Be extra careful with any type of power saw around a chain link fence. If you are cutting under the fence, you're going to have to have a very dependable person helping you.

These are the kinds of fences built when one neighbor doesn't talk to the adjoining ones. In rural situations, if the adjoining property has a fence erected, it's common to go talk to them, and ask if you can hook on and share the mutual fenceline. Of course that means you share responsibility for fence mending, and if newly erecting, the costs of that run. It also doesn't hurt to offer to compensate them if theirs is already erected and you want to hook up to it. Typically they'll say no, just help me keep it repaired. It looks to me like that line of your chain link fence is not even required, and the stockade fence is more than adequate to contain your animals, at least along that side of your property. The way it is now is a NO WIN situation, and worse for you than the party on the other side of the wooden fence. They don't have to look at it. You do. They can ignore the detritus growing between them until it gets so tall it towers over their higher fence, or so large it takes that section of their fence down.

You can keep it all round-upped. It'll look like sin. You can't keep it tidy now unless you clean it all out and then keep round-up on it.

I'd go talk to the property owners on the other side of the fence. Invite them to come see what you are dealing with. I suspect they like having that view blocked, and if anyone has to remove a fence, it'll be you. Show them that if you can't tend the no-man's-land, that it'll ruin their fence. Ask them if you can't use their fence as your back boundary, or ask them if they wish to use you fence as the common boundary. I have a feeling it may have been erected because the people who once lived in your house gave them a view they didn't want to look at. I suggest one of those sections of fence really needs to be removed, and I'm guessing yours.

OK, now that I see the pics - I'd get rid of them too.

Hard to tell but they look like Morus alba to me. Hate those things. Invasive, ugly, messy.