I feel for you.

I don't know how it ever got the name of "tree of heaven." I've spent the last month pulling dozens of young seedlings from my garden. There aren't any other ailanthus on my 3/4 acre lot but they're in the neighborhood....along the road. My feathered friends are responsible for "planting" them here I'm sure. I feed them in winter and keep fresh water in 2 bird baths for them and look how they repay me;)

As I understand from others who have tried to remove larger trees, the trunk should be cut, bruised and painted with Round-Up or Garlon. But I have no personal experience. I would suggest that you take this question over to the native plant forum here for more experienced advice. A gardenweb search will likely turn up some threads from other flustered ailanthus haters.

Good luck to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tree from HELL!

I've spent a lot of time researching and trying ways to eradicate this horrid plant. The only surefire way I've found is Garlon 4 mixed with diesel fuel, basally applied to the lower 2' of the trunk/stem. I've smoked 40' trees in less than a month doing this.

Whatever you do, do **NOT** cut or girdle the trees. They response by throwing out root suckers like mad. The stem density will go up by a factor of ten.