There is a sterile variety, rather rare, that does not set seed It has rounded lobes on its leaves and is called Rotundiloba. On an ordinary sweetgum, the only way I know is to kill it -- and that is not always easy, as they tend to sucker from the roots if cut down. The suckers will take a few years to grow to fruiting size, but that's just a temporary respite.
You could cut it down
A chainsaw applied to the base of the tree across the full diameter of the trunk. (Just joking...but that is really how my mom solved the problem with her Sweet Gum!)
You could try the $50 Nut wizard to pick up the balls. www.thenutwizard.com is is suppose to be a spray to stop the balls from forming but spraying a 50 foot tree is not practical. Hopefully they will figure out how to put the chemical in the spray into a tree spike.
Good luck.
You could try the $50 Nut wizard to pick up the balls. www.thenutwizard.com is is suppose to be a spray to stop the balls from forming but spraying a 50 foot tree is not practical. Hopefully they will figure out how to put the chemical in the spray into a tree spike.
Good luck.