Do vines kill trees

Yes. We have just bought a piece of property with pecan trees surrounded by hugh 8" thick P. Oak vines. Hugh limbs are beginning to die & fall off the trees. We are just beginning to fight it by cutting the biggest vines with a chain saw. Also trying to get the roots out of the ground. Then we will paint what's left, that we can reach, with brush-b-gone or something similar. We do not want to kill the trees. That's why we will paint on treatment instead of spraying it.

Fletch