When to Drop Your Ax and Call a Tree Removal Professional
While we want to preserve trees as much as possible, there are instances when removing them is inevitable. For instance, there’s no point in keeping dead trees standing and posing as a public hazard. When a storm uproots that old longleaf pine in your backyard, you will have no choice but to remove it on your own or call a tree removal service in Alexandria, Virginia.
Alexandria Tree Services deal with troublesome trees and stumps every day. The job of our professionals involves real risks both for them and for the people around. The good news is, they are trained the proper way to eliminate trees while ensuring their safety and your safety as well as your property’s. Getting rid of a tree is dangerous and taxing enough for a professional; it’s even more hazardous for the inexperienced homeowner.
Do not attempt to haul a fallen or damaged tree on your own if:
1. You don’t have the right equipment.
2. You don’t have experience.
3. You’re not fit enough for the task.
4. There’s risk of property damage.
5. There’s risk of accident.
About 200 fatal injuries per year in the United States are due to trees, and that number includes forestry and logging accidents. Tree maintenance accounted for approximately 60 injuries in 2012, and forest conservation and management and logging accounted for about 120 fatal injuries in the same year. In 2011, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported more than 80 injuries due to tree maintenance and more than 120 forest management and logging fatalities. Such injuries and fatalities were a result of falling trees, mishandling of equipment, and encountering accidents during transportation. And note that these are only reported numbers. There surely are a lot of unreported cases of injuries that were a result of cutting or removing trees.
What makes tree removal hazardous?
1. The tools
Chainsaws and wood chippers are just some of the tools that cause outright injury when mishandled. People have cut or fractured their limbs while using these tools. Worse cases involve amputation. The worst case scenario is death. Injuries and fatalities also entail financial damage. One has to pay hospital bills, medication, and therapy after an injury.
2. The tree itself
Trees are picturesque when they are in good condition. When struck by lightning or uprooted by strong winds, they become a hazard to life and property. First, trees are heavy. A typical tree weighs about 50 tons. Hardwood trees
are even heavier. Imagine that weight crashing into your home or car. You can’t start home restoration until that tree is removed, and this cumbersome task is dangerous when you carry it out without the needed equipment and experience.
Some trees are also near power lines. You don’t want to cut tree branches only for them to hit power cables and irk the neighbors with an unannounced outage. Worse, you don’t want to electrocute yourself in the process. Now, in the case of fallen trees hitting utility lines. Don’t attempt to move the tree. Call 911 or call for a tree removal service in Alexandria.
Trees themselves can become hazardous to health too when they have thorns or insects. Some trees are also a habitat for poisonous plants or vines that cause serious allergic reactions warranting a hospital admission. This is why we have experts that study different species of trees and plants and know exactly what they’re dealing with. These tree specialists are called arborists, and it’s important to bring them on site to assess the trees that need to be cut or removed. It’s seriously important that trees are inspected before doing anything to them. Besides, you also need to assess other hazards, like downed power lines or compromised structures that may collapse.
Another reason to bring in tree specialists is identification of signs of decay. A dying tree has dead branches — in varying degrees of decomposition — that may fall anytime. Removing a tree without assessing its health makes you vulnerable to falling branches. On the other hand, dead trees have hollow trunks that may collapse when dealt with carelessly. Call a tree removal company once you see signs of decay on a tree on your property. Our arborists diagnose tree diseases and salvage trees that can be saved through treatment and maintenance. However, trees with extensive decay may have to be eradicated.
Systematic
Most people think tree removal is as simple as cutting the trunk with a chainsaw and letting the tree fall to the ground — just as you might have seen in movies or videos. That’s okay under certain situations where there are no trees, structures, or people nearby. In most cases, however, we don’t do it this way.
Tree removal in commercial and residential areas poses risks to nearby houses, buildings, vegetation, and pedestrians. Hence, careful planning should be deliberated before the project is carried out.
Call us at 571-371-0282 if you have troublesome trees that need to be treated, trimmed, or removed.