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1st Choice Tree Service

How To Find A Qualified Tree Service Company

6/15/2015

87 Comments

 
Homeowners searching for qualified tree care companies should look for the following:  

  • Good References: Ask for references, and check on the quality of their work. Don't be rushed by a bargain and don't pay in advance.
  • Proof of Insurance: Ask for current certificates of liability and workers' compensation insurance, if applicable. Be aware that if the tree care company you hire doesn't have insurance or is not a legal company, you - the homeowner - could be held responsible as a contractor.
  • Solid Reputation: Verify professional affiliations the company might have, such as memberships in business and/or professional organizations such as the Tree Care Industry Association.
  • Up-to-Date Knowledge: Ask if they follow ANSI Standards. A professional arborist will be aware of the current safety, pruning, fertilizing, and cabling standards. 
  • Contract: Insist on a signed contract as to cost, dates when work is to be performed, and exactly what is to be done. Insist that climbing spikes are used only if the tree is to be cut down. 
Find a Professional
A professional can assess your landscape and work with you to determine the best trees and shrubs to plant for your existing landscape.
87 Comments

The Benefits of Trees

2/27/2015

2 Comments

 
Have you ever imagined what the world would be like without trees? The benefits of trees extend beyond their beauty. Trees planted today will offer social, environmental, and economic benefits for years to come.
Learn more about the benefits of trees.

Social Benefits 
Social benefits of trees go beyond enjoying their beauty. Humans feel a calming effect from being near trees. The serenity we feel can significantly reduce stress, fatigue, and even decrease recovery time from surgery and illness. Green spaces can also help lower the level of crime within urban environments

Communal Benefits
With proper selection and maintenance, even trees on private property can provide benefits to the community. Trees provide privacy, accentuate views, reduce noise and glare, and even enhance architecture. Natural elements and wildlife are brought to the urban environment which increases the quality of life for residents within the community.

Environmental Benefits
Trees alter the environment we live in by moderating climate, improving air quality, reducing storm-water runoff, and harboring wildlife.

Examples of the environmental benefits of trees:

  • Trees help moderate temperatures by creating a cooling effect which can counteract the heating effect of pavement and buildings in an urban environment.
  • Compact tree foliage can serve as a windbreak, as well as provide protection from rainfall.
  • Leaves filter the air we breathe by removing dust and other particulates and releasing oxygen.
Economic Benefits
The economic benefits of trees are both direct and indirect. Property values of landscaped homes are 5 to 20 percent higher than those of non-landscaped homes based on the species, size, condition and location of the trees included in the landscape. Trees also provide shade which can lower cooling costs for your home and reduce heating costs in the winter by acting as a windbreak.

An arborist can help you determine the value of trees by providing an appraisal. Documentation on the value of trees in your landscape can assist with determining property value, as well as, help with insurance claims in the event of a loss.

Learn more about the value of trees

Maximize Your Trees' Benefits


Trees provide numerous benefits but in order to maximize a tree’s benefits routine maintenance is required. Though these benefits begin the moment a tree is planted, they are minimal compared to the benefits of a mature tree. The costs associated with removing a large tree and planting a young tree can outweigh the costs of regular tree maintenance practices such as a tree inspection, pruning, and mulching.


Learn more about mature tree care
Courtesy of treesaregood.org

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2 Comments

The Importance of Maintaining Trees On Your Property and Removal of Dead Decaying Trees

1/15/2015

3 Comments

 
Trees add value and beauty to your home, but they also can spell trouble if they aren't properly maintained. Dead or dying trees aren't just unsightly; they pose safety hazards and can cause liability issues. It's important for homeowners to understand what is covered by their homeowners insurance policy if a tree should fall on their property or their neighbor's property.

Overview
Most basic homeowners insurance policies will cover damage to your house and the contents caused by falling trees and tree limbs. Most storm-caused tree damage, such as ice, hail and lightning, is covered. As long as the tree was healthy and well maintained, it doesn't matter if it was your tree or your neighbor's tree; your policy covers damage to your property. The same is true for your neighbor. Their homeowners policy is there to cover their property.

Liability
This is where it gets a little more complicated. If a tree on your property is not well maintained, is dead or diseased, and may fall and cause damage to your neighbor's property, you may be liable. Typically, your neighbor's insurance company will pay for the damage and then come after your insurance company for reimbursement in a process called
subrogation. If the insurance adjuster finds that you were negligent (didn't maintain the tree properly), your insurance company may end up footing the bill and you'll feel the pain through higher premiums and potential lawsuits.

If you notice that your neighbors aren't taking care of their trees properly, you should contact them about it. If they aren't cooperative, it's best to use certified mail to have a record of the communication to show you've made an effort to protect your property.

If you don't properly maintain trees on your own property and they cause damage to your home, it's possible the insurance company may deny coverage because you failed to protect your property.

Other damage
Should a healthy tree fall on your garage and damage your car, your homeowners policy will cover the damage to the structure up to limits set within your policy. Your auto insurance, assuming you have comprehensive coverage, will cover the damage to your car. Again, if the tree isn't properly maintained, coverage may be denied.

Your homeowners insurance policy also likely will cover some of the cost of removing the tree from the structure and the cost of hauling it away. Tree removal and hauling away will have separate limits. These can be very expensive, so be sure to see what the limits of your policy are.

It's important to maintain the trees on your property. Keeping them healthy and well trimmed doesn't just protect your family's safety, but can save you from increased premiums, potential lawsuits and a lot of money out of your pocket. Prevention is by far the best cure.
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Fallen dead tree which should have been maintained and ultimately removed. It is very likely homeowner insurance will not cover a situation such as this.
3 Comments

Don't Use Climbing Spikes When Pruning Trees

12/28/2014

0 Comments

 
Is your tree care provider using spikes to climb while pruning your trees? Ouch!

Climbing spikes are sharpened steel spikes attached to the climber's leg by leather straps and padded supports. These spikes are traumatizing to your living tree and create unnecessary damage.

Each puncture from a climbing spike produces a certain amount of tree tissue death around it to some extent, varying from tree to tree. In most cases isolated wounds will seal, but over time, groupings of spike holes can cause the entire area on the trunk to die back with no chance of recovery.

The likelihood of piercing the cambium (living tissue beneath the bark) is high, even with larger trees and thick bark. If soon after the work is performed with spikes there is sap oozing from the wounds, the tree is responding to spike damage. Repeated damage of this type is harmful to the tree.

So why would climbers use spikes? The use of tree climbing spikes (spurs, hooks, gaff, irons, etc.) is a once-practiced method of climbing trees that has proven to be harmful to long-term tree health. The climber, using one leg at a time, will kick these spikes into the tree tissue and take alternate steps to ascend the tree - similar to climbing a ladder.

There are certain exceptions, when spikes are allowed, such as:
  • when the tree is being removed.
  • when branches are more than throwline distance apart and there is no other means of climbing the tree (for example: when there are no branches lower than 50 feet), with no access for an aerial lift device or crane.
  • if the tree is too close to power lines and cannot be accessed safely by other means.
  • to reach an injured climber.
Professional tree care companies are aware of the dangers of spikes and use proper tree equipment such as ropes and climbing harnesses to climb (or aerial lift devices and cranes if accessible). This, coupled with their training and experience, contributes to the future health of the tree.

Homeowners searching for qualified tree care companies should look for the following:  

  • Good References: Ask for references, and check on the quality of their work. Don't be rushed by a bargain and don't pay in advance.
  • Proof of Insurance: Ask for current certificates of liability and workers' compensation insurance, if applicable. Be aware that if the tree care company you hire doesn't have insurance or is not a legal company, you - the homeowner - could be held responsible as a contractor.
  • Solid Reputation: Verify professional affiliations the company might have, such as memberships in business and/or professional organizations such as the Tree Care Industry Association.
  • Up-to-Date Knowledge: Ask if they follow ANSI Standards. A professional arborist will be aware of the current safety, pruning, fertilizing, and cabling standards. 
  • Contract: Insist on a signed contract as to cost, dates when work is to be performed, and exactly what is to be done. Insist that climbing spikes are used only if the tree is to be cut down. 
Find a Professional
A professional can assess your landscape and work with you to determine the best trees and shrubs to plant for your existing landscape.

0 Comments

6 Reasons Why You Should Remove Tree Stumps

12/16/2014

13 Comments

 
Before you have a tree removal specialist cut down the dead tree in your yard, you'll need to decide whether the worker should remove the tree stump as well. If you're having a hard time making this judgment call, consider these factors when deciding what to do with the stump. 

  • Stumps aren't pretty. Aesthetically speaking, the sight of a stump definitely isn't appealing. If you're meticulous about your yard and landscaping, removing the stump is well worth it.
  • Stumps are hazardous. Stumps are dangerous to your children. When running and playing in your yard, they may not look for the stump and trip over it. And if a neighbor trips, it's a liability that falls into your hands. In addition, tree stumps can damage your mower if you accidentally hit one when you're mowing your lawn.
  • Stumps cause new tree growth. Sometimes leaving the stump behind contributes to new sprouts, which can result in many small trees growing around the stump. This is unsightly to your landscaping and quite costly to try to remove because the new shoots may keep coming back, and you may need chemicals to kill them off completely. These small trees also leech nutrients from other plants located near them, so your begonias may not receive all the nutrients they need.
  • Stumps are a pain to maneuver around. Remaining tree stumps become a nuisance, an obstacle you have to maneuver around when weeding or mowing your lawn.
  • Stumps attract insects. When you leave stumps in your lawn, the decaying tree takes a long time to rot away completely. While it's decaying, the stump attracts beetles, termites, ants and other wood-boring pests. You may not mind them in your yard, but they can eventually spread to your home.
  • Stumps take up precious yard space. Especially if you don't have a very large yard, the space you lose from the stump and roots may occupy a lot of space. Just think: You can use that space for a flowerbed or a picnic table.
Typically, you'll spend extra money to grind down the stumps, but it just might be well worth it.

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by Christine DiMaria, Angie's List Contributor
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13 Comments

Why Not to "Top"----8 Good Reasons

9/8/2014

0 Comments

 
Why Not to “Top” ---Eight Good Reasons

1.       STARVATION: Good pruning practices rarely remove more than one-fourth of the crown, which in turn does not seriously interfere with the ability of a tree’s leafy crown to manufacture food.  Topping removes so much of the crown that it upsets an older tree’s well-developed crown-to-root ratio and temporarily cuts off its food making ability.

2.      SHOCK: A tree’s crown is like an umbrella that shields much of the tree from the direct rays of the sun. By suddenly removing this protection, the remaining bark tissue is so exposed that scalding may result. There may also be a dramatic effect on neighboring trees and shrubs. If the tree thrives in shade and the shade is removed, poor health or death may result.

3.      INSECT and DISEASE: The large stubs of a topped tree have a difficult time forming callus. The terminal location of these cuts, as well as their large diameter, prevents the tree’s chemically based natural defense system from doing its job. The stubs are highly vulnerable to insect invasion and the spores of decay fungi. If decay is already present in the limb, the opening will speed the spread of the disease.

4.      WEAK LIMBS: At best, the wood of a new limb that sprouts after a larger limb is truncated is more weakly attached than a limb that develops more normally. If rot exists or develops at the severed end of

the limb, the weight of the sprout makes a bad situation even worse.

5.       RAPID NEW GROWTH: The goal of topping is usually to control the height and spread of a tree. Actually, it has the opposite effect. The resulting sprouts (often called water sprouts) are far more numerous than normal new growth, and they elongate so rapidly that the tree returns to its original height in a very short time---and with a far denser crown.

6.       TREE DEATH: some older trees are more tolerant of topping than others. Beeches, for example, do not sprout rapidly after severe pruning, and the reduced foliage most surely will lead to death of the tree.

7.       UGLINESS: A topped tree is a disfigured tree. Even with its regrowth, it never regains the grace and character of its species. The landscape and the community are robbed of a valuable asset.

8.       COST: To a worker with a saw, topping a tree is much easier than applying the skill and judgment of good pruning. Therefore, topping may cost less in the short run. However, the true costs of topping are hidden. These costs include reduced property value, the expense of removal and replacement if the tree dies, the loss of other trees and shrubs if they succumb to changed light conditions, the risk of liability from weakened branches, and increased future maintenance.



                   (Info. courtesy of the Arbor Day Foundation)
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