Tree care involves more than trimming branches and ensuring they’re not a nuisance. You need to hire a qualified arborist, or tree-surgeon, to look after your tree(s) because some jobs may be too big or dangerous for someone without the necessary knowledge to take on. However, finding an experienced arborist that understands your needs and can work with you is not as easy as it sounds. This article will tell you what you need to know about tree services and why you might need to use them.
1. Qualifications and Experience
OK, this isn’t a job interview, although it is an application of sorts, and you shouldn’t be afraid of approaching what tree services there are in this way. Why? Well, most of your trees would be older than you, especially if they’re towering above your property and so should be given the respect you would give your elders. Trees also do a lot for our environment and nature, so they need to be preserved. It’s for these reasons that you should look at the qualifications and experience of those you decide to employ.
One of the first things you should request to see a copy of their insurance contract of work. You want to know you’ll not be held liable for any damage to your tree, your property, their employees or equipment. Any qualification or accreditations should also be checked out by yourself. If your trees are growing dangerously close to where your electricity is or a pylon, you may need to hire a contractor that has specific knowledge and experience of working with trees around electricity.
2. A Detailed Estimate
This is an important document because it will provide important information about the work proposed to be undertaken. To ensure you’re being charged a fair price, it’s a good idea to obtain at least three separate estimates.
Look at what each contractor is prepared to offer you because the cheapest estimate is not always the best one. Doing this will open your eyes to what each one does differently and may even make you consider broadening your requirements.
When going through the estimate, make sure you ask what equipment the contractors will be using because the last thing you’ll want is massive power equipment causing unnecessary damage to your garden or other outside objects, like sprinklers.
3. How will they complete the Job?
You may not be an expert when it comes to tree services, but you should have done some research beforehand and will have enough common sense to know whether something doesn’t sound right. If you’re ever in this situation, there’s nothing wrong with contacting another party for their point of view. Any reputable organization, whether it’s an actual service or governing body, will only be too happy to advise you if they can.
If, for example, you’ve passed a site with orange netting around a tree it’s to establish a boundary around the tree and its roots. This is to avoid damaging any part of the tree whilst work around it is being undertaken. If you have several trees in your property that you want to keep that don’t require immediate work on, a reputable tree service in Mt Pleasant will only be too aware of this practice and implement it as soon as they can to ensure the roots and surrounding soil remains undamaged. Failure to not respect this boundary could lead to the possible death of the tree(s).
It may be a good idea to photograph the property that you want contractors to work on beforehand so that you have proof of what it looked like prior to any work being undertaken, in case of any unexpected damage incurred. In relation to this, it’s also good to find out what the contractor’s policy is on cleaning during and after their work. You don’t want to have any access to your garden due to dangerous equipment being left, especially if they’re only working on a specific section of your property.
4. Spikes and Topping
If you’ve decided to have a theme in your garden and trees play an integral part of this, you want to make sure your tree service has the same love for your trees as you do. Having trees in a magical tree garden will add an air of mysticism and age, which will appeal to all of your visitors, human or animal. So the last thing you want to see or know that they’re using are spikes to trim any trees that may be limiting light to your backyard.
Spikes are particularly harmful to trees because the spikes penetrate the trunks and cause wounds. These wounds can cause a tree to die. Therefore, unless you’re planning to remove any tree, you never want to see your arborist using spikes to climb up the tree. Ever. This is something you can ask any of the tree services you’re interested in at the start and even request that it’s stipulated in your contract that they don’t use spikes whilst working on your tree(s).
Another thing you never want to see a tree service doing is topping your trees. This is when they’ll take the top off the tree, which is live and usually healthy. It denotes poor practice so ask any prospective tree service if they employ this practice. If they do, you have a choice to either find an alternative, more knowing tree service or request the one you’re interested in refrains from doing this. Of course, ensure it’s also included in any contract you sign too.
5. Health and Safety
Health and safety in the tree care industry cannot be underestimated, for you and your loved ones or the contractor and their staff. The best way to avoid any form of action is to hire a contractor that has the relevant qualifications and experience of the tree service you require. But more importantly is that you see copies of their qualifications and you listen to their guidance.
If you’re in doubt, speak to them about what they’ve mentioned, whilst also seeking an independent opinion from someone just as qualified or more so. The last thing anyone wants is for anyone or anything to come to serious harm.
Hardhats, areas cordoned off and high vis clothing are standard. Other protective measures may be required, depending on what you require the arborists tree services for. For instance, if you’re wanting branches to be cut off, depending on the size of the tree and your property, hiring a tree service is the most sensible option. This is because they’ll know whether specialist equipment is required or whether they can take the appropriate safety precautions and climb the tree themselves.
Trees are an integral part of nature and feature everywhere, although we do not always appreciate their beauty and what they do for our environment. Employing a contractor for their tree services is the only way to protect these giants of nature to ensure they’ll thrive for many more years to come. This is because expert tree services know the best way to help trees thrive, making your backyard an appealing place for you, your family, and wildlife.
