You Should Use a Licensed Professional Tree Service for Spraying

You should always use a licensed professional tree service when you get your shrubs and trees sprayed. The main reason you should do this is an obvious one: the safety of yourself, your family, your neighbors and your trees. The herbicides and pesticides used in tree spraying can be dangerous chemicals if they are not applied safely. If the spraying is done by professionals there should be no danger from it. If the spraying is done by amateurs a lot of damage can be done. Recent news reports indicate that a herbicide called Imprelis killed large numbers of pine and other trees in the Midwest. The reason this chemical killed those trees was that it was improperly applied. That means you could be putting your trees in danger if you use an amateur tree service. Your best course of action is to have all tree spraying done by a professional service that is licensed and established in your community. There are several reasons you will want to do this. The first is that a professional service will do a professional job. Nobody wants to have amateurs come on their property with dangerous chemicals. That is exactly what could happen if you hire somebody who knocks on your door to spray your trees.

A second and equally important reason is that an established service based in your community can be held accountable for its actions. If they do any damage you can call them back and have them fix it or at least get some damages out of them. A professional service will be bonded or insured so that damage is covered. A third reason is that you could be held responsible for any damage done by an amateur service. If your neighbors’ property is damaged by such spraying, the neighbor can sue you for the damage. A fourth reason why you should hire a professional service is that it could be illegal to be have somebody without the proper license spraying your trees. A person who is going around taking money for spraying does not necessarily have a license. Most door to door tree service people do not. You could be held liable and even face a fine for using an unlicensed service to spray your trees. An established professional tree service in your community will have the proper licenses. That way you can avoid any legal trouble and keep your trees healthy. More importantly you will know that your family and your neighbors will be safe because the spraying was done by a professional.

Selective Tree Removal

Selective tree removal is vital for the health and appearance of trees. Selective removal means the felling of trees that are sick, dead or unwanted. It is vital for forest health because many dead and sick trees contain pests and tree killing fungus. The only way to prevent these from spreading to the rest of the trees is to get rid of the infected or infested wood. Even the roots and stumps of dead trees can spread such plagues. Keeping a reasonable distance between trees usually a few feet can prevent the spread of diseases and pests. It also makes for healthier vegetation because fewer trees are competing for fewer resources. In many cases whole groves can die out because too many trees can use up the water and nutrients.

Thick strands of trees and lots of shrubbery can also create a major fire hazard. Selectively removing trees will reduce this hazard and make it easier to move through the woods. A good rule of thumb is to cut down any tree that is within five feet of another tree. This will make your property easier to move through and more attractive. You will be able to mow grass and remove weeds along the bases of the trees. The best method of selective tree removal is to hire a professional arborist to examine your trees and tell you which ones to remove. An arborist cannot only tell you which trees to take out. Arborists from a professional tree service have the tools and equipment necessary to take out the unwanted, sick or dead trees safely, quickly and efficiently. Such professionals can bring in equipment such as stump grinders so that entire trees are removed quickly. This will reduce the chances of pests or diseases spreading to your healthy trees and eliminate the fire hazard posed by dead wood.

What Stump Grinding Can Do for You

Cutting down the trunk is often the easiest and quickest part of the tree removal process. Once the trunk is gone, the stump remains and it can be both an eyesore and a nuisance. In addition to being an eyesore, a stump can be an obstacle to vehicles and to landscaping efforts. Stumps can also be home to pests and fungus that can kill your other trees. Therefore removing them is critical to maintaining the health of your trees. Removing a stump can be tough without the proper equipment. A bulldozer can be used to rip out a stump but it can also tear up your yard in the process. The old fashioned stump removal methods of dynamiting and burning are both dangerous and illegal. Fortunately there is a modern method of removing a stump that is safe, legal and environmentally friendly. It is called stump grinding and it involves a special machine that pulverizes the stump into sawdust.

The sawdust can then be hauled away or composted to make mulch. If a professional stump grinder knows his job, it could look as if there was never a tree in the location to begin with. Once stump grinding is done a new tree can be planted on the site, the site can be landscaped or used as a site for a patio. If you are clearing land for a building site, stump grinding is necessary.

Another advantage to stump grinding is that no special disposal is needed for the old stump. Once the stump is ground up it can be composted or simply tossed into the trash. Many trash services will not haul away stumps but they will haul away sawdust. The best way to get rid of a stump is to call a reputable professional tree service with a stump grinder. Such a service should be able to come out and give you a free estimate on the grinding job. It should also be able to do any other tree removal work needed such as felling dead, dying or unwanted trees. It can also plant new trees to replace dead ones and preserve the beauty and value of your property.

Watering Your Trees

The ongoing drought in many parts of the country - obviously has many homeowners worried about the health of their trees. Quite a few people are wondering when and how they should be watering trees. Unfortunately a lot of home and property owners do not know how to water trees. Simply placing a sprinkler near trees or spraying a tree down with a hose will not necessarily water it. These methods will not work with trees because most trees get water through the roots. Water sprayed on the trunk or the surface of the ground may not reach the roots. Therefore you will have to water the tree through the roots. Fortunately there are a number of good methods of doing this. Watering a tree through the roots makes a lot of sense because you will actually use less water. The easiest method of watering a tree is ground soaking. This can be done by soaking the ground with water. A good way of doing this is to lay a hose right next to the tree and let water run out. You will have to leave the hose there for around 30 minutes to get the water to reach the roots. A variation on ground soaking is to use a sprinkler to soak the ground. If you use a sprinkler you should use a small one that covers the only area immediately around the tree. There are special tree sprinkles available from hardware stores for this purpose. Tree sprinklers can be attached to buried-sprinkler systems as well. In some cases it can be possible to use water diverted from an irrigation ditch for soaking. If you can simply let the ditch water run over the ground around the base of the tree. Another popular water conserving method of watering trees is to drip stakes. A drip stake is a metal or plastic stake that you drive into the ground at the base of the tree. Once the stake is in the ground a hose is attached to provide water. This method takes the water right to the roots so they are the most efficient method of tree watering. Deep drip stakes can be purchased from hardware and other stores and online for a fairly low price.

When to Water Trees Always water your trees when you notice that the ground has dried out. If the ground on your property becomes very hard it might be a good idea to water trees. You should also consider watering trees if it has not rained in your location for more than a month. All trees will need water but leafy species like Aspens and willows will need more. You should try watering because trees can die fairly quickly if there is no water in the ground. The last you will want is to pay for tree removal for your favorite poplars or spruce. If there has been drought in your area, it would be a good idea to have a professional tree service take a look at your property. The experts at such a service can tell you what care your trees need and takes the steps necessary to keep them alive. They can also tell you when and how you should be watering your trees.

Dead Trees Must be Removed

The terrible forest fires burning in parts of the west prove one thing: dead trees must be removed. If you own wooded land or property adjacent to woodlands, forests or empty lands you need to remove all dead and dying trees from your property. The reason for this is obvious dead trees are the fuel that spreads forest fires. Just this summer, two large towns in New Mexico Las Alamos and Raton were threatened by forest fires. A large forest fire also burned in the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado, and forced the evacuation of hundreds of home owners.

The reason the fires are so bad this year is the drought in much of the West. Despite record snowfalls in Colorado and other states, there has been little or no precipitation in many areas for months. This means that the forests are dry and likely to catch fire. To make matters worse, Colorado is in the midst of a terrible pine beetle epidemic. The pine beetle is a pest that kills trees and makes the situation worse. This means it is a good idea to have a professional tree service look at your property. A tree service’s arborists can remove dead trees and dying trees quickly and effectively. More importantly a tree service can stop the spread of the pine beetle by spraying for it. Such a service can remove dead trees safely and effectively. If you have pine, spruce or evergreen trees on your property you could vulnerable to forest fires. If any evergreen tree’s needles turn brown it is probably dying and will have to be removed. The sooner the dead tree is removed the sooner the fire danger will be lessened. A dead tree is a major fire hazard because in the present drought conditions in the west it can go up in flames in a few minutes. A wildfire can go through a forested lot as quickly as the wind can blow. This means that just minutes after a tree on your property goes up in flames your home could be up burning. By the time the fire department reaches your property all of your possessions could be destroyed.

Therefore you owe it to yourself and your family to have professional arborists look at your property. These experts can take the steps necessary to remove the fire hazard posed by dead trees.

Maple Tar Spot

Maple Tar Spot is yet another fungus that could attack the trees in your yard. Although it is a fungal infection, the Tar Spot is not fatal like Dutch Elm Disease. Instead it merely disfigures Maple Leaves. Maple Tar Spot puts black spots that look like tar on the leaves of maple trees. Property owners should not become concerned if they see signs of Maple Tar Spot because it is not fatal. Most experts recommend that fungicide not be sprayed when this disease is present. The best way to control Maple Tar Spot is to properly dispose of dead leaves in the fall. Professional arborists believe that the tar spot spreads from dead leaves. Keeping your yard clean and getting rid of waste should stop the spread of this pest. Even though tar spot is not fatal there are other fungal infections that can be. Therefore it is always a good idea to call a professional tree service whenever you see signs of an infection. Treating the infection early through spraying is the best way to keep it from killing your trees. A professional tree service should be able to take the necessary steps to protect trees from fungal infection. If trees cannot be spared, such a service should be able to remove and dispose of dead trees effectively. Maple Tar Spot has been reported to infect most of the common kinds of Maple in the US and Canada including stroma, silver, Red and Manitoba maples. Experts report that fungal infections in trees are on the rise so property owners should be on the lookout for them. A good way to prevent the spread of such infections is to use a professional tree service. Many arborists believe that improper tree maintenance can accelerate the spread of fungal infections. Even pruning trees at the wrong time of year can increase the chances of infection.

Why You Should Hire a Professional Tree Service

Every summer tens of thousands of homeowners get ripped off because they do not hire a professional tree service. Instead of a trained arborist they hire the guy hanging around the Home Depot parking lot, a neighborhood kid or worse somebody who knocks on their door to take care of their trees.

Using such amateurs is an invitation to disaster because most of them do not know what they are doing. For example they probably will not be able to spot trees that are infected with deadly diseases or infested by tree killing pests. Nor will they be able to spray the trees to prevent the spread of such destructive maladies. Many of these amateurs do not know how to properly trim or prune trees. They often end up damaging trees and your property. Worse they can do hundreds of thousands of dollars to your neighbor’s property that you will end up paying for. To make matters worse, quite a few of the door to door tree maintenance guys are actually professional criminals. Instead of coming to work on your trees, these characters are interested in cleaning out your pocket books quite a few of them actually take money upfront and do not do the work. Others are actually casing your property for burglary. Or they will do a shoddy and substandard job and leave town. These people do not care about your trees or your property. As soon as they get their money they will be gone. There will be no way to get reimbursed for any damage they do to your trees or your property. Worst of all if their amateur work damages your neighbor’s property you will be liable for it. If a limb they cut off falls on your neighbor’s car you will end up paying for the repairs. If they damage the power lines or your neighbor’s roof you will be liable for the repairs. That means you could be sued and the damage will not be covered by your insurance. Therefore you should hire a professional tree service. A professional service will have the proper training, expertise and equipment. It will also be bonded and insured so that any damage done will be covered. More importantly a professional service that is established in the community wants a good reputation. They want to come back year after year to work on your trees. So they will do a good job. The traveling tree services will not. It always pays to hire a professional tree service, the extra money you spend will make life easier for you and your trees.

Pruning, Trimming and Tree Pests

Many people do not realize it but pruning and trimming done in the wrong way can actually hurt trees. The reason these activities can hurt trees is that improper pruning and trimming can actually spread some diseases that can kill trees.

Tree killing diseases like Oak Wilt actually spread faster if trees are pruned at the wrong time of the year. To make matters worse the waste left from trimming and pruning can also spread fungus if it is not disposed of in a proper manner. Such wastes can spread some of the insects that attack trees. The best way for a property owner to prevent the spread of fungus like Beech Bark and Maple Tar Spot is to have trees maintained by a professional tree service. A good service will employ professional arborists who can prune and trim trees in such a way as to spread diseases. Unfortunately many home and property owners do not do this. Instead of proper maintenance they hire the first person who knocks on their door or that guy hanging around in the Home Depot parking lot. Yes these characters are cheap but they are probably not professional arborists. They do not know how to prune or trim trees properly. Nor do they know how to prevent the spread of fungus. In addition to proper pruning and trimming a professional tree service can spray trees for diseases. This can prevent the spread of the diseases, some of which can quickly kill trees. Unfortunately the trees most vulnerable to these blights are the big leafy ones that are the most attractive like oaks, willows and maples. These are the trees most likely to enhance property values and provide shade. They also give neighborhoods and towns their character. The best way to maintain these trees and preserve property value is through proper tree maintenance done by professionals. A professional service will cost more but it can keep your trees healthy and preserve the beauty of your property.