When a Difficult Take Down Is the Right Thing to Do For a Tree

It’s never easy for an arborist to cut a tree that appears to be healthy.  Our goal is to offer these amazing specimens everything they need to grow and thrive.

However, sometimes it’s just not possible to save a tree and, while it may seem unkind to cut that life short but cutting the tree down, it can be the wise thing to do.

Unhealthy Trees

A tree can appear to be healthy, with unblemished bark and lots of foliage or, in the case of a pine, deep green needles and lots of pinecones.  Like animals in the wild, a tree will hide illness as a form of protection.  In an earlier blog, we noted that a woodpecker had singled out what otherwise appeared to be a healthy pine tree.  The top of the 120-foot tree was thick with dark green needles and the bark was unblemished but for the holes that the woodpecker had made.

An initial diagnosis was that the woodpecker had gone after the tree for no good reason.  The homeowner was upset and began to think of ways to scare the bird off, such as plastic owls that might make the woodpecker believe there was a predator nearby.

The holes that the bird had made were four or more inches deep, mortally wounding the tree.  Given that this tall pine tree was only about 45 feet from the corner of the house, the homeowner was scared about when and how the tree would decide to fall when it finally succumbed to the bird damage.

A Challenging Take Down

Unless you’re cutting a sapling, you should always assume that cutting down a tree is going to be dangerous and difficult.  To address the situation, you need the right tools, experience, and a bit of intestinal fortitude.

We have a bucket truck and that was a great help as we limbed the tall pine tree to prepare it for the takedown.  Preparation is key as is coordination.  When an arborist is cutting so high off the ground, it’s vital that the people on the ground are not in the way of falling material.  They perform a critical job as they keep an eye on the bucket truck and the wind and other site factors, such as traffic if we’re working near the road.  Those trucks are sturdy but a good gust of wind or a speeding vehicle can turn a simple wobble into a deadly situation if you’re caught unawares with a chainsaw.

Rope is a simple tool but don’t underestimate it or assume we tie off the tree and hold on tight.  A pine tree can weigh as much as two or three tons and that’s not something you want to mess with, especially as you add momentum.

Silence Is All

People are surprised when there is no thud.  A good takedown will capture the falling portion of the tree close to the cut and allow us to gently lower it to the ground with ropes and pulleys.  There isn’t much drama there.  That’s the point.  Drama is not safe and we wouldn’t want to hurt people or damage property.

The only noises that should be heard are the machinery we use, including the chainsaw and the chipper.

A Good Outcome

At the end of the day, we want the tree down safely and either chipped or, if too large, hauled from the site.  We’ll be tired but that’s okay because it feels good to know we’ve done a good job.

We also find that nature can be a valuable ally.  The woodpecker had identified this particular tree as unwell long before any outward sign would have indicated.  When exposed, we saw the base of the tree was infested with carpenter ants, who had made significant progress in attacking the integrity of the trunk.  The tree would likely have broken from the bottom and, as it was already leaning toward the house, would have hit the house, causing severe damage if not personal injury.

The tree was a good one and the homeowner will miss it but is glad to avoid the weeks or months of home repair, insurance claims, and loss of whatever possessions that might have been crushed inside the home — assuming no one was hurt during the fall.

We’re sad to have removed the tree but happy to have given it a safe end to a long life, leaving a space for a new tree to be planted and loved.  We’ll be happy to help you, too, if you suspect anything is wrong with your trees, working our hardest to save what we can but to respectfully remove what we can’t save.

The Woodpecker: Tree Service Professional

Woody Woodpecker is Just a Cartoon

The fame of one two-dimensional woodpecker has resulted in something of a phenomenon: people will use the word pileated in conversation.

The word refers to the red crest of the bird, from the Latin pileatus, which means capped.  Pileated woodpeckers are strikingly beautiful and hard to miss.  If you don’t see that bright red, you will definitely hear the rat-a-tat of that beak drilling into a tree trunk.  A longer lower beak reduces the strain that might otherwise be put on the bird’s head.  And, a hyoid bone wraps around the woodpecker’s skull to like a seatbelt to further protect the brain.  That’s why a woodpecker can strike a tree about 20 times per second yet no one has ever seen one of these guys at the pharmacy buying aspirin.

Real woodpeckers are much more amazing, and useful, than the televised version.

What Do Woodpeckers Do?

A woodpecker is doing what the name says, drilling into wood to find its food in the form of insects and tree sap.  The work it does to survive results in useful information for homeowners.  In essence, the woodpecker is a tree service professional, providing help just like your favorite arborist.

The birds don’t necessarily kill a tree.  A healthy specimen won’t be nearly as bothered by the jackhammering as you will be.  (That sound does get on the nerves after a while.)  And while the birds will remove some bark to access a meal, a healthy tree can easily survive.

However, a woodpecker’s preference for your trees might indicate a very real problem.  Trees can appear to be in good shape, producing foliage after winter’s harsh temperatures and winds.  Bark can appear unblemished and hide a sickly or even rotting trunk.  A woodpecker might be the first sign you have that insects are deep inside, eating the weakened tree from the inside.  The next sign you receive might be that tree unable to withstand a storm, falling on your lawn or, worse, house, garage, or car.

What Should You Do When You See a Woodpecker?

Take a photo.  They’re very pretty birds and really awesome to watch for a few moments (before the sound becomes annoying).

You can also take a little inspiration from a woodpecker.  They can see value in something like a dead tree and find life within it.  Trees are wonderfully generous, giving so much throughout their long lives and for decades after that.

Then call your favorite arborist, the human version.  There are ways to tell if a tree has been singled out because of illness and if that tree can be saved but that comes with experience.  An arborist with years of tree service experience can usually tell if a tree is going to be strong and healthy for years to come — or not.  Without that know-how, the only sure way to learn the health of a tree is to cut it down and look inside.  Then, you’ll know how old it was and if you should have done that.  But, it’d be too late for a good tree.

Enjoy the birds and thank them for their service to our trees.  Call Gerry and Brian for more information.

Trees and Our Mild Winter (so far)

Let’s take a moment to celebrate the mild winter weather we’ve had so far.  After the damaging storms of the summer and fall 2020, it’s nice to hear the quiet that comes from a lack of high winds and gusts.

As you might guess, those of us in the tree service business have been busy with cleanup after these storm events.  It’s heartbreaking to see beautiful, old trees broken or literally uprooted by Mother Nature and the recent cold weather only makes some trees, like spruce, more vulnerable because the deciduous trees nearby have lost their leaves.  These evergreens are facing the brunt of winter winds at a time when they can be brittle due to extreme cold.

When the worst happens, weight is an important factor when removing material.  The weight of a tree depends on the type and height of a tree, among other factors.  In the warmer months, a tree weighs more because of leaves.  If you want to satisfy your inner geek, this is a good resource for calculating the weight of your trees.  The quick answer is that trees are usually measured in tons and not pounds, unless you’re talking about a very young specimen.

Arborists want to save a tree if at all possible while making sure that people and property are safe.  Sometimes a tree will split so that its own limbs or the limbs of neighboring trees hold dead wood aloft.  To safely remove several tons of material from a precarious position in the air takes experience, equipment, patience, and more experience.  Never walk under a hanging limb because that could go at any time.  Dial your favorite arborist as soon as possible.

Material that has made it to the ground—usually with a sickening thud—is more stable, of course, but anyone who’s been through the experience knows that trees spread on the ground are met with the phrase, “It looks so much bigger now.”  It takes time and effort to cut trees and prep them as firewood and chip less desirable wood.  Here, the right equipment can save backs and therefore lives.

When trees hit homes and cars, the result is miserable but a little less so when you have your ducks in a row before the storm hits.  Check that you’ve bought the right homeowner’s insurance and found a trusted arborist, someone who is skilled in tree service and carries the proper tree work insurance.  Knowing who to call, like us at Tree-Scape and Fitch, will make dealing with tree damage easier.

And here’s hoping Mother Nature will continue to be kind to us in terms of good weather.

Trees and Storms

Storm damage from Tropical Storm Isaias was barely off the ground in Fairfield and Litchfield Counties before residents in Woodbury and Southbury were hit with high winds and more damage on August 27.  If you’re worried about the rest of hurricane season, then you’re in good company.  We’d much rather have gentle breezes than gusts and believe rain should not move horizontally.

But, for those moments when Mother Nature is less than ladylike, we’ve prepared a few tips that we hope will help our tree owners.

Maintain Your Friendships

Wait.  What?!  Nothing about filling the tub with water, checking batteries in the radio and flashlights?  Did we forget buying milk and bread?  Seriously, there are enough blogs out there telling you these things.  If you need a refresher, check out the FEMA guidelines here.

Our first tip is about human contact because that’s really important.  Do you know your neighbors well enough to ask for their help?  Depending on the electrical grid in your area and the availability of generators, a neighbor may have power when you don’t.  Or, the reverse may be true.  Checking in with them and family members and friends is also a good way to keep spirits up in an emergency situation.

Prepare Well Ahead of Storms

Just as utility companies do tree work in good weather, you, too, should be maintaining your trees.  Are there branches close to your house or driveway?  Are your trees healthy or do they need care?  A free consultation with a professional arborist will answer your questions and give you great peace of mind when the tracking models start appearing on your television.

Keep Your Cool

Know your tree service professionals are trying their best to get everyone back to normal as we leave our homes and families to take care of yours.  You’re welcome to watch us work from inside your homes but please don’t approach the work area.  We can work faster and safer if we can control who is in the work area.

There will be an end to the mess, just hang in there.  An emergency visit from an arborist will be to move a tree from the driveway and then we’ll leave quickly to help another person.  It’s critical to keep pathways clear in case an ambulance or fire truck needs access.  Once everyone has basic access to the outside world, we’ll return to your home chip wood, blow sawdust, and tidy the area.

Call us at 203-515-3051 before the next storm.  We’d love to help you.

Welcome to Spring 2020!

You’ve seen a lot of messages lately, telling you how businesses are reinforcing good habits like keeping surfaces germ-free or ramping up new practices, like marking lines so people stay more than six feet apart while waiting for service.

Have you ever tried to wipe down a tree with a disinfectant cloth?

Seriously, arborists have always made safety a priority.  Tree work is in any list of top 10 most dangerous professions.  Social distancing is just something we’re adding to the many ways we keep ourselves, our clients, and their property safe.  We’re also adding our families to this list; we don’t want to spread the coronavirus to them.

Six Feet Apart

As tree climbers, we move vertically as well as horizontally. We can easily keep at least six feet of space between our team members as we work. That means, you can call us to prune your trees, remove unhealthy specimens, or chip some of the bigger limbs that have fallen as a result of winter winds. Recently, we’ve used cell phones during our free consults, walking around the yard to evaluate trees while the homeowner remains safe inside the house. Our clients trust us to work when they’re not at home but it’s been a bit of a boon to have them on site and available to share their input on the work or just admire what we do. (One client was so in awe of our ability to climb well past the second-floor window of her home office that she missed a virtual meeting!)

Keeping Plants Safe Too

Some people worry that the ground becomes too soft during spring thaws to allow for heavy equipment on site. Not so. We use thick plywood to distribute loads and ensure that your lawn will not have any marks on it when we leave. Arborists love all plants, not just trees, and we want to protect your landscaping. Limbs don’t just fall randomly when we cut. We can place material where it needs to go and chip anything to either haul it away or rake it to your specifications.

The sight of us working to clean up your yard this spring might be just the sign of hope you need now. No one can say for sure how long our new reality will last as we try to avoid the coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. But we are doing the right thing and you should be prepared to welcome friends and family to your home for a really good time together, hopefully sooner than later.

Stay safe everyone.

What Does Tree Service Mean to Homeowners?

Tree service is often confused with landscaping services but landscapers cannot do what arborists do (and vice versa) because there are different skill sets and equipment required of each. It’s important to know when you should call a tree service professional for help.

Emergency Care

There have been some pretty memorable storms in the first two decades of this new century, including hurricanes and the tornadoes mixed into the microburst of May 2018. The latter storm caused some very impressive tree damage in upper Fairfield County, much of which can still be seen two years later. In fact, we just helped a family remove approximately 50 tons of pine from their yard. They’d managed to cut it up but noticed something that isn’t apparent until you experience it: trees will decompose but that process takes a long, long time.

Removing dead wood is important for more than aesthetic reasons. Termites will help break down the material but they don’t distinguish between a dead tree laying at the edge of your property and the wood inside your walls. Tree service in this case means preventing damage from critters as well as beautifying your property because professional tree service providers have the equipment and training to safely remove large limbs and trunks, whether they’re laying across your driveway right after your storm or an eyesore many months later.

Long Term Care

If you want your yard to look and feel like a relaxing, carefree park, you will need to put some work into it. Mother Nature is always changing. Trees grow older and drop branches. Some trees reach the end of their lives and die. Other trees compete with each other for light and water, growing in ways that may not be attractive or, worse, safe.

For one client in Litchfield County, tree service in this case meant actively keeping up with what trees need to be healthy and happy. We worked to remove select trees to ensure the future of the remaining specimens. Trimming and chipping limbs not only made the yard look better, there were fewer dense leaves that could act as sail to catch a high wind and break the trunk. A good landscaper will take care of your lawn but look up and you’ll see where you need a professional tree service provider to work tens or even hundreds of feet above the ground. An arborist will also carry the correct (and frankly more expensive) insurance for that kind of dangerous work, which can be very reassuring for a homeowner worried about liability and workers compensation should someone be hurt on their property. Finally, on those days when a tree does have to come down, you can access services like stump grinding to allow for some fresh grass or a new tree that will grow in the decades to come.

So, whether you need a professional tree service to access equipment that can move serious amounts of unwanted wood off your property without damaging your lawn, well, septic, or other features or you’re thinking about proactive about tree care, call 203-515-3051 for a free consultation. We can tell you if a tree has been compromised by a storm as we did in New Haven County, where one of the hurricanes left the tree standing until months later, when it fell on a car. Thankfully, no one was injured but we’d rather spend time walking around with you and leave knowing all was safe even though there was no job to be had. We love trees and are happy to share what we know.