Tree Maintenance & Care to Avoid Storm Damage

Trees in your yard can provide you with so many abundant opportunities for beauty, shade, fruit and homes for neighborhood birds and squirrels. However, trees can also pose a safety hazard to your property and home if they are not properly inspected and maintained.

Regular tree maintenance is important, but even more so before a storm. Wind, lightning, snow and ice can transform your beautiful grove of trees into a threat to your physical property including your home, fences, outbuildings, vehicles and even YOU!
Here are some steps you can take to protect your trees and prevent them from becoming a safety hazard. Make sure if you are not able to safely prune or remove trees and limbs, please contact a professional arborist or tree care professional for advice and to do the work for you.

• Remove any dead trees on your property
• Enhance the health of trees by making sure they have proper watering, fertilization and protection from soil compaction or erosion. Heathy trees adapt to environmental changes easily and will remain firmly rooted in the event of a windstorm.
• Regularly prune limbs and remove broken limbs to maintain the tree’s structural integrity. Thinning branches every 3-5 years is also helpful.
• Remove or treat pest problems as soon as you spot them to minimize potential damage to trees. A tree that is decayed from pest damage has the potential to fall over or lose branches without much coaxing by inclement weather and wind.