Product that kills roots - for good.

Question

About a year ago individual tiles began coming loose from one of the walls of my shower. Apparently, moisture went into the wall, causing it to swell. Needless to say, more and more tiles came loose and fell off.

I ripped all of the tiles off, and found tree roots growing in from the outside. I have no idea as to which tree these roots belong. They continue to grow.

I need to find a root killer that will kill these roots as far up as possible, and most importantly, permanently.

I would hate to spend the $2500.00 it's going to cost me to remodel the shower, just to have this reoccur in the future.

Serious suggestions and advice is appreciated.

Smart-*** comments expected

Answer 1

I believe that you are going to have to have someone treat the outside area by digging into the soil and eradicating all of the roots in the area.  Additionally tree roots should not penetrate through a wall so there is likely remodeling work that will need to be done to the wall.  Lets face it, if you remove the roots you are left with a whole in the wall where dirt and moisture will penetrate.  

There are products that are sold at any home improvement store that will definitely kill the roots.  Stub killers and the like will prevent the problem from occuring again.  With this situation you will pour the poison into a small container and the brush the poison onto the root.  But again, you have a wall problem that needs to be corrected together with killing these roots as only a part of resolving the whole problem.

Answer 2

Although I've never heard of a problem like this (I'm assuming the shower is in a basement, right?), copper sulfate crystals can be used to kill roots and control future growth. The trick is that the stuff is potentially polluting, so you should check with your municipality or DNR to see if its use is permitted for such an application. You'd probably have to dissolve the crystals in water and pour the solution along the outside wall where you are having the problem, and do this once or twice a year.

The roots are going to seek water, so a bigger concern is that your shower wall is giving them something to drink from. That means you may have a leak in the wall or your shower pan. The only place water should go is down the drain. If it's going anywhere else, you have a problem that can cause mold growth or eventual structural deterioration. The $2500 remodel may be a good idea anyway, to ensure you don't run into trouble later.

Edit: Roundup will not be effective on roots because it becomes inactive when it comes in contact with soil. It's designed to only affect the leafy parts of a plant.