If your tree is creating an emergency situation, such as by presenting an immediate threat of falling onto your house, call for emergency tree services immediately. But if your tree is creating a lower-grade nuisance or threat (such as making a mess or threatening to drop a branch on the lawn), you may not be sure what to do next. Here are some tips.
1. Determine if the situation is abnormal
If you've recently moved into a new home, you may not have a baseline for what each tree on the property does at every season. For example, maybe your tree is making a nuisance of itself by dropping stinky fruit on the driveway. If it's a ginkgo, that's normal behavior for this type of tree and you'll have to consider removing the tree rather than treating it.
On the other hand, if your tree has a disease, pest, or structural problem, that's abnormal. In this case, some judicious treatment such as pruning or application of antifungal products may help resolve the situation.
2. Identify the source of the problem
If your tree does have an abnormal situation, you'll want to identify why that happened. This can help you decide whether you want that kind of tree in your yard or not. For instance, a tree that's highly susceptible to fungal diseases, which can cause messy unseasonal leaf-dropping behavior, may be highly likely to suffer the same problem again.
Finding out what caused your tree's problem can also help you avoid the same problem in the future. In some cases, you could even be unwittingly responsible for the damage yourself. For instance, your tree could be dropping leaves unseasonally as a sign of stress because your riding mower damaged the layer beneath the tree's outer bark.
A tree service expert can help you to diagnose the tree's problems and help you theorize as to what caused them.
3. Schedule treatment or removal
Once you've discovered the root of the problem, you can decide whether to schedule treatments or have the tree removed. Your tree service company can help you pick a good day to schedule the procedure. Ideally you should choose a day with good weather, especially if planning much limb removal (or even total tree removal).
4. Prepare for the treatment or removal visit
Your tree care experts will be able to perform the job more quickly and easily if you ensure a wide, clear pathway between your driveway and the tree so they can access the tree easily. You may also want to remove anything easily breakable or anything of value from the area so no damage will occur from falling tree limbs.
These tips will help you get from noticing a messy or unstable tree all the way through to your tree service visit from a tree care professional.
