c/arborists

Had to choose between a 3-day removal or a 2-day crane job for a big maple in a tight Seattle yard

Went with the crane and it cost about $1800 more, but zero property damage and the client was thrilled. Anyone have a good rule of thumb for when the extra crane cost is absolutely worth it?

A homeowner in Springfield told me to leave the dead oak for the woodpeckers

I was giving a quote last fall to take down a big dead pin oak in their backyard. The client, an older man, pointed at the trunk and said, 'Those holes mean it's working, leave it be.' He thought the pileated woodpeckers using it meant the tree was still part of the ecosystem. I had to explain that the tree was a real hazard, with major rot only 20 feet from his house. It's a nice idea, but safety has to come first. How do you handle clients who get attached to dangerous trees?

Question about a weird trick for getting a stuck climbing line out of a tight crotch

Had a job in Portland last month where my line got pinched in a narrow oak crotch about 30 feet up. Instead of pulling hard and risking damage, I tied a small throw weight to the tail end of the line and gave it a sharp downward tug. The jolt popped it right out without any bark tear. Has anyone else tried this method or got a better fix?

Tried using a 3:1 water to dish soap mix in my sprayer for aphids on a client's maple, and it completely stripped the bark's outer layer.

It was a young Autumn Blaze maple in their backyard. I'd read online about the soap mix being a gentle alternative to harsh insecticides. Mixed it up, sprayed the whole canopy. Came back a week later and the bark on the younger branches looked sunken and papery, almost like it had been sanded. The aphids were gone, but so was a lot of the tree's protection. Learned that even 'natural' solutions can be too strong if the concentration is wrong, especially on sensitive species or new growth. Has anyone else had a similar reaction with soap sprays? What's a safer ratio you'd recommend?

I always thought topping was fine for a quick fix until this big maple job

Tbh, I topped a client's silver maple in Springfield last fall because they wanted it done fast and cheap. Ngl, it looked awful by spring, with a ton of weak, crowded water sprouts. My old boss saw it and told me, 'You just gave that tree a lifetime of problems.' Honestly, that stuck with me. Has anyone else had a job that made them totally switch up their approach to a common practice?

Had to pick between a crane and a big climb on a huge oak in Portland

The tree was over 80 feet tall and leaning over a house. The choice was a 100-ton crane for a full day or a three-man climb with a rigging setup. We went with the climb to save the client money and because of tight street access. It took us two full days and my arms are still sore, but we got it down clean. Has anyone else faced a similar call on a big residential removal?

The invoice total came to exactly $666 and the homeowner just stared at it for a solid minute.

I had to explain it was just the cost for removing the dead ash tree, not a sign of anything else, but he still asked if I could maybe add a pruning consult for a dollar.

Found a way to get a clean flush cut on a maple limb without a pull stroke bar

After struggling with the tear-out on a big sugar maple removal in Burlington last fall, I started making a shallow undercut with a handsaw first, and it gave me a perfect finish with the chainsaw every single time, so has anyone else found a different trick for those tricky back cuts?

TIL my crew hit 100 removals this year without a single crane job.

Everyone around here acts like you need a crane for big work. We just finished a huge silver maple in a tight city lot. Old growth, maybe 80 feet. Did it all with rigging and a bucket. Took three days, but the bill was half what a crane would cost. The homeowner saved a ton. I think cranes get pushed too hard. They are not always the answer. Sure, they are fast. But the skill is in the rigging. Anyone else feel like cranes are overused for removals now?

Finally got a clean removal on a big pin oak in a tight backyard

Three years ago, I would have had to rig it in three sections, but after practicing with a 20-ton port-a-wrap, I dropped the whole 80-foot trunk between two sheds last week with only a foot of clearance on each side. Anyone else have a go-to piece of gear that changed your game for big trees in small spaces?

Tried a 4-inch mulch ring instead of the usual 2-foot circle on a young oak in my yard, and the growth difference after one season was wild.

Unpopular opinion: I told a client to cut down their sick maple instead of trying to save it

They had a 40-foot silver maple with major girdling roots and advanced fungal rot in the trunk. The choice was a $5,000 cabling and soil treatment plan that might buy it five years, or removal for $2,800. I picked removal and laid out the safety risk clearly. They were mad at first, but a month later thanked me when their neighbor's similar tree dropped a huge limb in a storm. When a tree is that far gone, is removal actually the more responsible call?

Rigging a big oak limb over a shed, rope vs. pull line

Had to drop a 40 foot limb from a white oak in Springfield last Thursday, it was hanging right over a client's garden shed. Used my usual 3/4 inch static rope setup first, but the limb swung way too much. Switched to a 5/8 inch pull line with a port-a-wrap and the control was way better, barely any swing. Anyone got a favorite rigging line for tight spots like that?

Switched from a 3-strand to a 2-strand rigging system after a close call in Tacoma

I used to always set up a 3-strand system for big limb removals, thinking more lines meant more control. After a 1.5-inch line snapped under load last fall, I switched to a simpler 2-strand setup with a redirect, which actually gives me better force management and less hardware to fail. Anyone else make a similar change after a rigging scare?

A big oak in Springfield taught me to double-check my rigging after a limb swing nearly clipped a shed.

I was lowering a large limb over a client's property last Thursday when my redirect pulley slipped, causing the piece to swing wide and just miss their garden shed, which made me ask if anyone has a better knot or hardware they trust for tricky redirects?

Serious question, has anyone else had a climbing line get stuck in a sugar maple?

I was doing a crown reduction in Springfield last month and my rope got pinched in a tight crotch about 30 feet up. I had to set a second line, climb up, and carefully work it free with a throw line weight, which took almost an hour. What's your go-to method for a pinched rope in a deciduous tree?

Hit 1000 hours on a single climbing saw and it's still my go-to

I just checked the logbook for my Stihl 201T and the meter rolled over to 1000 hours this morning. That's a full year of hard climbing and cutting, mostly on big oaks and maples around the city. I was sure I'd have swapped it out for something newer by now, but it starts first pull every time, even after sitting for a week. It makes me think we push for new gear way too fast when the old stuff, if you take care of it, just works. Anyone else have a piece of kit that just won't quit?

I finally saw a climbing line snap on a big oak in Atlanta

It was a standard removal job in Decatur, a 90 foot white oak over a garage. I was running the ropes for my climber, and we were about 60 feet up. The line, a 5/8 inch static rope we'd used for maybe two years, just popped on a heavy limb. No weird angle, no sharp edge we missed. The limb dropped straight down, punched through the garage roof like it was paper, and left a hole you could drive a car through. We shut the whole job down right then. I spent the next three hours checking every inch of our other ropes with a magnifying glass. Found two more with core shots we'd missed. How often are you guys actually retiring gear before it fails? I feel like the 'it looks fine' check is not enough anymore.

PSA: Saw a huge oak in my neighborhood go from healthy to dead in under 3 months.

Turns out the new owners had a 'landscaper' bury the root flare with over a foot of soil and mulch for a 'clean look'. Anyone else seeing this happen more often?

Spent 4 hours trying to get a squirrel out of my chipper

Had a job in Oak Park yesterday clearing some storm damage. Finished chipping a big limb, turned the machine off, and this little gray squirrel just darts right up the feed chute like it's a condo. I mean, it was in there. Tried banging the sides, shining a light, even propping a ramp with some branches. Nothing. My helper said, 'Just turn it on, it'll leave,' but no way was I doing that. Ended up waiting it out with a bag of trail mix for like 3 hours until it got bored and left. Has anyone else had an animal pick the worst possible place to hide?

Mulch mistake almost cost me a customer's prized oak

I used to think more mulch meant better tree care. A customer's oak started wilting, and I was stumped. After talking to an arborist friend, I found the mulch was too deep and holding water. I reduced it, and the tree bounced back in weeks. Now I always check mulch depth first.

DAE see fewer birds nesting in city trees lately?

I was pruning a client's oak and realized I hadn't heard any chickadees all morning. This used to be peak nesting time, but now it's just quiet. My guess is the insect population crashed, so the birds moved on. It's a bad sign for tree health too, since birds eat pests.

Update: My storm damage call yesterday made me question the always no-spikes approach. It was safer and faster for that tree.

Appreciation post: Why I go slow with tree checks before storm time

Most teams rush to finish before the deadline, but I think waiting and looking close pays off. Last season, by taking extra days to check each tree, I kept three big maples that did not need to come down.

Noticed the city's mulch volcanoes killing young trees on my block.

Keep mulch away from the trunk to avoid stem girdling roots.