Tree is attacking the house but wife says wait for a winter that never comes! Why do I have to wait?

no it will not

Trim the branches. It won't hurt the tree. If you take the whole branch off go back to the colloar of the branch. The collar is a swollen ring right close to the trunk. The tree has special chemicals that will heal it faster if cut there.

The reason your wife says in winter is because the sap has gone down to the roots but it won't heal over winter and may drip sap in spring.

We regularly trim our trees in the cooler spring so the tree is not under stress trying to cope with an injury and hot weather too. Wait until you are going to have a couple of days of cooler weather and trim away

It is better to trim in cooler weather but if the branches are a threat to the house then take them out. To trim the branches properly. Cut the branches all the way back either to the trunk or where it splits off from another branch. Start cutting from the end and work your way back. If you make your cut too far back the weight of the branch will cause splitting. Look for the collar mentioned by the other poster. Your final cut should be at the collar. If you just lop the ends off of the branches they will not heal and the wound will attract rot and insects. If cut properly there is no need to put anything on the wound. The tree will heal itself.

Good luck

It depends on how large the branches are. If removing the 2 branches will make the tree lopsided with more weight on one side than the other that could be an issue. But you also want to take into consideration what the roots are doing to the foundation of your house. If the tree is that close and still growing, the roots could destroy your foundation.

Edit: The tree will not be harmed if they are cut now.

DO NOT paint anything on the cut areas. It has been found that painting the wounds will actually seal fungi and bacteria in the wound, harming the tree. Trees 'bleed' sap to expel bacteria and fungi. They won't lose all their sap. Trees can deal with cuts very nicely on their own without us.

Carefully cut back the offending branches,making the first cut from below to avoid tearing the bark.Trim the cut surface smooth and paint with mastic to prevent sap "bleeding".

Work on a calm,damp day taking safety precautions and the tree should be fine.

The tree with feel extreme amounts of pain while it is awake during the summer. You have to wait until it is sedated during hibernation which only occurs during a real winter. If cut now, the tree will experience great psychological distress and may stop eating and drinking, or eat and drink too much, inevitably leading to it's untimely death. Be humane and wait for winter.