Avoid An Emergency Tree Removal Situation By "Branching" Out Your Knowledge
Posted on: 25 August 2015
Trees are beautiful additions to any yard, but they can also cause unexpected--but often preventable--property damage. If you pay your trees little mind, think again; many emergency tree removal requests result from ignorant tree ownership. To reduce your risk of experiencing a tree removal emergency, identify your trees and learn how to care for them properly.
Know Your Trees
Unless you personally purchased the trees on your property or know more about botany than the basic homeowner, you probably have no idea what kind of trees decorate your yard. Is that a mountain cedar or an eastern red cedar? A sugar maple or a silver maple? If you are uncertain, you had best find out.
There are several reasons why some trees are better suited for yards than others, such as these reasons:
Allergies. Some tree species cause brutal allergies. If you find out that your yard is populated with one of these trees, like the mountain cedar, you have likely just discovered why you, your family members, or your neighbors suffer from intolerable allergies. Landscaping professionals recommend against planting these trees because they cause so much misery.
Storm Vulnerabilities. A hurricane or severe storm can challenge even the toughest trees' survival abilities. Yet some trees are so brittle that they can barely withstand a moderate wind. These trees, including the Bradford pear and the silver maple, will break or split under stress, causing costly property damage.
Pipe Damage. What happens below ground does not stay below ground. Some tree species have aggressive root systems that can wreak havoc on your yard, your house, and your piping. For example, the silver maple's root system is renowned for splitting through concrete and even into sewer systems and pipelines. Other trees are known for spawning new trees from their root systems, often in unexpected places, causing emergency attention. Leave your quaking aspen unchecked, and you are asking for property damage (even if your plant does not grow near the size of the impressive Pando).
The bottom line? Hire a professional landscaper or tree service person to inspect your property and help you identify the species in your yard. Once you have identified your trees, you and your landscaper can assess the threat level and determine whether they pose a risk to your health or your property.
Know the Basics of Tree Care
The best way to care for your lovely trees is by hiring a professional landscaper or tree service, such as Arborist Services LLC, to monitor and care for them. Professionals know when to water, trim, and prune, and they can also identify the early warning signs of damaged, stressed, and dying trees. If you cannot commit to a routine tree service but still want to keep your trees healthy and your property safe, learn the basics of tree care:
Address tree stress. People are not the only creatures that feel stressed. Trees can also suffer from stress, usually resulting from radically changing climates, drought, freezes, injury, or poor nutrition. Tell-tale signs of stress include dying branches, droopiness, wilting, discoloration, and leaning. Unfortunately, sometimes the signs of stress are unnoticeable until it is too late.
Learn proper techniques. Pruning not only keeps your trees looking their best, but also keeps health problems at bay. It can even prevent property damage. Unfortunately, improper pruning or pruning out of season can leave your tree in a worse state than if left unpruned. If you are uncomfortable with this process, have a professional walk you through your first pruning experience so that you can learn the correct techniques.
Be wary of external threats. Sometimes, your risk of experiencing a tree removal emergency can be afoot with no fault of the tree itself. Always be wary of your trees' environment and look out for external factors that can interact with trees and present a hazard. For example, power lines that touch or intermingle with tree branches pose a significant risk of deadly shock or property damage via power failures. Insects can also infest your tree; if this occurs, the infestation can spread to the rest of your landscaping, and even your home. Inspect your trees regularly; bugs are natural inhabitants, but too many can be dangerous.
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