A tree that falls in the forest may not make a sound. But a tree that falls on your house certainly will. There are roughly three trillion trees on Earth, and millions of them are dead or dying. Tall trees can take out your entire house and injure you, even if they seem healthy. This means that you need to take steps today to prevent a devastating accident.
When should you remove a tall tree? Can you trim branches by yourself? What does professional tree removal look like?
Answer these questions, and you can stay safe from falling trees today. Here is your quick guide.
Monitor Your Tree for Signs of Disease
Tree diseases can set in quickly. Once a tree has become diseased, it can fall on your house, or branches can snap off and damage your property.
Each disease has its own symptoms, but many diseases share a few symptoms in common. Your tree may shed all of its leaves before autumn begins. Your tree may not grow any leaves at all during the spring or summer.
Branches may fall off your tree on a regular basis. You may notice that the trunk of the tree has fungus and rot growing on it. Pests may crawl all over the bark, especially bugs like termites.
The bark may peel off or become loose. Pieces may blow off on windy days or get knocked off by the rain and snow.
If your tree is leaning toward your house, you need to get it removed right away. A gust of wind can knock a tree over or snap branches off. The tree can also strike a power line, damage your fence, or crush the grass or flowers in your garden.
Monitor the Weather
Any storm can knock over a tree, especially diseased and old ones. A microburst is a column of sinking air inside a thunderstorm; its winds can reach up to 100 miles per hour. This is powerful enough to uproot a tree and send it toward your home.
A microburst or thunderstorm can occur during any season, but most storms occur during summer. You should get your tree trimmed or removed before the summer starts.
A snowstorm can produce enough snow and ice to push down your tree. This can knock it over, especially if the snowstorm produces high winds. If you did not get your tree trimmed before the summer, you can try to get it trimmed during the fall.
Prune Your Tree by Yourself
If you’re worried about a particular branch falling on your house, you should prune the branch. You can also remove leaves, which will take off some of the weight that can cause your tree to fall over.
Buy a pruning saw with a handle you can grasp firmly. Do not use a flat ladder, as you risk pushing your tree over to one side. Your tripod ladder should stand on its own while letting you get close to the tree.
Insert the spikes of your ladder into the ground and test them to make sure your ladder doesn’t slip. Once you know it is steady, you can climb it and attach your harness to a branch you will not trim. Secure the harness to your waist and tighten the straps, so it doesn’t move around.
Get as close to the branch as you can. Make a cut on the underside of the branch a few inches away from the branch collar. This cut should go halfway through the branch, and it prevents the bark from stripping off when the branch falls.
Make a second cut further out on the branch. This cut can go all the way through, removing the entire branch. You can then make a third cut that removes the remaining stub but ensure you do not damage the branch collar or trunk.
Do not trim your tree if you need multiple branches removed or if your tree is close to power lines. You should call a professional tree removal service or find a professional experienced with pruning tall trees.
Remove Tall Trees
If you decide to remove your tree, you should immediately call a tree removal company. It is very difficult to remove a tree by yourself, and you risk injuring yourself or damaging your property.
Call a company experienced in removing trees similar to the ones you have. Ask an employee to inspect the tree so they can determine what they need to do to remove it. Remove any items around your tree, so it’s easier for the employees to access.
You can stay in your house while your tree is being removed. However, tree removal equipment can create a lot of noise, so you may want to go somewhere else for a few hours.
If you have a few trees you want to be removed, you can ask the company to remove all of them at once. Keep in mind that removing several trees can take a few days, so be ready for disruptions.
Take Care of Your Tall Trees
Tall trees may seem harmless, but it takes one storm to knock them over. Keep your eye on your trees and talk to a tree removal company if they show signs of disease or rot. Storms can occur at any time, so you shouldn’t wait to get them removed.
You can remove a branch if it could fall on your house or damage your property. But you should let the professionals remove the entire tree.
Find professionals in your area with years of experience. Grace Tree Service serves the Kokomo area. Contact us today.