A beautiful garden is the perfect way to amp up your home’s street appeal, but only if it’s well maintained. Nobody wants an unruly, overgrown tree on their lawn, blocking the perfect view or causing an inconvenience to themselves, or their neighbours. Naturally, there will come a time when you’ll want to remove it. And, when you decide to do so, it’s best to let the experts handle the task for you.

While it may seem like getting rid of a fully-grown tree is an easy task, in reality, it’s quite the opposite. To execute the process correctly and (more crucially) safely, it requires extensive knowledge and a lot of experience.

Tree Removal is more complicated than just chopping it down at the base and letting it fall to the ground. When it comes to do-it-yourself (DIY) tree removal work, there are many aspects to consider, not to forget the risks involved.

More often than not, DIY tree removal isn’t worth the risk, and will likely cause more trouble than one can foresee. So before you reach for your chainsaw, consider these risk factors and why it’s best to leave this work to a pro!

RISK FACTORS

The DIY tree removal process comes with many risks that may result in severe accidents if not executed correctly.Here are some of the most frequent factors that could lead to DIY tree removal disasters! Take note.

Using a Ladder

When it comes to doing some difficult-to-reach household chores, ladders come as a saviour. But are they equally safe and effective while chopping down the large and heavy branches? Not quite.

If you decide to use a ladder while removing a large tree it will be quite difficult for you to securely, and safely, cut the branches. Climbing a ladder while holding a chainsaw is very dangerous for many reasons. You risk losing control of the chainsaw, losing your balance on the ladder, falling off the ladder, and injuring yourself severely.

Placing the ladder on an uneven surface or, for that matter, using the wrong kind of ladder, can prove to be fatal. Large branches, for example, will be too much to handle if you are not at the right height—the ladder’s height doesn’t extend at least three feet beyond the branch. When you cut the branch off, it will probably rise over the ladder and potentially drag you off.

Using The Wrong Tools

Cutting down a tree using the wrong or defective tools—such as dull chainsaws, pruners, or axes—can result in a severe accident. When your tools are dull, you have to apply more pressure to use them and it becomes easier to lose your balance.

You’re much more in danger or harm if you don’t have all of the necessary safety equipment. Harnesses, hard hats, safety glasses, safety gloves, and chainsaw pants that jam chainsaws and protect your legs should all be worn while chopping down a tree.

However, given the amount of money you’d have to spend on the necessary equipment and gear, you’d be better off hiring experts to do this hazardous task.

Handling The Chainsaw Incorrectly

It takes practice to chop down a tree safely, especially with a chainsaw, considering the angles of the cut, weight distribution or bar placement. One should be in total control of the chainsaw at all times, lest they risk the dangers of cutting themselves.

Kickback, when the saw jerks backward toward the operator, is one of the most dangerous aspects of operating a chainsaw. The chainsaw may also break or become more difficult, and subsequently more dangerous, to use a if there is a bolt or a nail in the tree.

Lack of Knowledge or Experience

A very accident-prone experience of cutting down a tree would be to do so without having any prior experience or knowledge about the right techniques. Experts advise that understanding the physics and biology behind trees comes in great help too. Attempting to chop off big, heavy portions of tree limbs, for example, makes the section difficult to manage and causes harm to both the tree and the person.

Miscalculations

Miscalculation means attempting to chop off big and heavier portions of tree limbs. This will make it difficult to manage the sections and may result in damaging your property or inflicting a personal injury.

Gravity

When a tree is chopped down, the danger of the tree branches falling and harming your home or vehicle, or seriously hurting you, and anybody around you, is a big concern.

Tree branches usually tend to fall quite unexpectedly. The heavier the weight of the branch, the greater the thud on the ground. This is to say, that the weight of these trees and branches, as well as their centre of gravity, are deceptive. If you even have the slightest hint that handling them on your own will be too much for you, you should hire an arborist who’ll use a rope and pulley system to bring them to the ground securely.

Power lines

Power lines that are wired into a house often find their places concealed under the bushes or the trees at the owner’s lawn. If not managed properly one might get electrocuted by power lines.

Furthermore, fallen trees may knock down power lines, resulting in fires and power outages.

Decaying Wood

Trees may be riddled with dead or rotting wood patches, which makes removal even more complicated. If you aren’t aware of the decay, you won’t be able to tell where the tree’s centre of gravity is, or where it will fall if it falls.

It takes years of experience for arborists to determine the degree of decay in a tree.

Human Error

Poor judgement, lack of experience or simple errors can result in mild or even irreversible damage during your DIY tree removal attempt.

Professional arborists with appropriate training and expertise to safely remove trees are significantly less likely to cause accidents due to human error than those without years of experience and practice.

TREE REMOVAL – OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

When planning your tree removal, also consider the following:

Fines

Before chopping down a tree, you may require official permission from a neighbour or a permit from your local municipality, particularly if part of the tree is on your neighbour’s land. Otherwise, if you perform this job without the proper permissions, you may be subject to a fine.

Property Damage

Property damage is a significant financial risk associated with DIY tree removal. If you can’t anticipate where the tree will fall, you run the danger of it falling on your vehicle, home, or neighbour’s property. And this property damage will very certainly result in significant out-of-pocket costs as well as higher insurance premiums.

Messy Cleanup

You’ll need to chop a tree into sections for easier cleaning and transportation. If the tree is big and you’re removing it yourself, hauling away every component of the tree may take weeks. As a result, a one-day task may stretch into many days or weeks of cleaning.

Accidents to Others

If any friends, neighbours, or family members are helping or watching you remove your tree, they may be harmed as well. Professional arborists, on the other hand, will create a safety zone to keep people a safe distance away from the tree removal site.

Arborists Have Training

Arborists have the expertise, understanding, and experience to properly chop down trees while avoiding any risks.

These tree-trimming professionals are capable of doing the following tasks:

• Identify trees and branches with fractures, deterioration, or uneven weight to avoid falling from the trees they’re working on.
• Removing trees without causing any damage to property, themselves, or others.

 

LEAVE TREE CUTTING TO THE PROS

It’s better to leave tree removal to the professionals since there are so many dangers involved. Though you may believe you’re saving money by doing it yourself, it may end up costing you a lot more in terms of time, money, and stress. And the small cost reductions aren’t worth the danger of disaster.

Professionals have the expertise, equipment, and knowledge to securely remove your tree, protecting you, your family, and your property from the many risks associated with tree removal.

 

If you’re looking to remove a tree on your property, let our expert arborists handle the task for you. Enquire online or give us a call at 021 211 6014.