Top 7 Mistakes To Avoid When Removing Trees From Your Outdoor Space
There are various reasons why you may decide to remove a tree from your outdoor space. For instance, if the tree is diseased, it’s imperative you remove it since it risks infecting other plants and shrubs in the compound. Therefore, if you care for the aesthetics of your outdoor space, you may want to get rid of the sick tree.
You can choose to hire professionals to remove a tree, or you can do it on your own. Today, some resources will guide you on removing a tree on your own. The process may look simple. However, note that when done incorrectly, tree removal may lead to some fatal injuries. That said, it would be best to contact professionals like All About Trees tree removal service or other similar services near you to get the job done.
On the other hand, if you’re set on removing the trees from your outdoor space without the help of professionals, you must know the common mistakes you should avoid. That said, to assist you in safely and effectively removing your tree, this article will cover seven mistakes you must avoid when removing trees from your outdoor space. Read on!
1. Cutting The Tree Alone
Cutting the tree alone is a bad idea because the process of removing a tree involves various steps. It’s a lot of work, and even the professionals would need some help. That’s why it’s always advisable to do the job as a team. Other than that, it would be best if you had someone else to at least work as an observer.
As mentioned above, removing a tree is an unpredictable, dangerous job. For instance, you may be concentrating on cutting the trunk and not notice the branch that’s about to fall on your head. However, when you have someone else working with you, they can see these scenarios and warn you early enough.
2. Leaving The Stump
After the tree is cut down, there’s usually a stump remaining that’s attached to the roots of the tree. The stump should always be removed. So why is it essential to remove the stump?
Well, to start, the stump is never a good sight on your lawn or landscape. Therefore, if your primary reason for removing the tree is for you to improve the aesthetics of your outdoors, leaving a stump is not a good idea.
However, even if aesthetics isn’t a major issue, leaving the stump can be a hazard. The stump tends to attract termites and other insects. Termites, in particular, like to feed on wood. So, when the stump is infested with termites, they may extend to your home, therefore eating any wooden part of the structure and your furniture.
Depending on the damage done by the termites, you may have to demolish the affected part of your house or dispose of the damaged furniture. This also means leaving the stump puts your neighbors’ homes at risk of being infested with the same.
It’s therefore always a good idea to finish the job by removing the stump. A stump is removed using a stump grinder. Professional tree removers best do stump grinding.
3. Not Paying Attention
While your team member may help you see something that you didn’t, it doesn’t take away your responsibility of being alert during the entire tree removal process. You should always pay attention to what you’re doing. Through meticulous planning, you should know where the tree will fall and prepare enough to remove anything out of its way.
4. Lack Of Awareness Of Your Surrounding
When removing the tree, you must always be aware of the surroundings. This goes down to the nitty-gritty like is there a rock nearby or roots that have sprouted on the surface. Such things may cause you to trip when trying to run away from danger.
The only way you can be fully aware of the surroundings is by conducting a renaissance walk of the outdoor space before cutting the tree. After familiarizing yourself with the surroundings, you can plan the tree removal process.
5. Not Planning For The Tree Removal Process
Not planning for the process of removing the tree is another common mistake. Planning the tree removal process is crucial in ensuring you successfully and safely carry out the task. So, what’s there to plan anyway?
- For starters, you need to plan your landscape. How will it look after the tree is removed? If the tree isn’t dead or sick, through planning, you may realize that reconstructing your landscape after cutting the tree will be too expensive or a hectic process. In that case, you may reconsider removing the tree.
- Other than that, during planning, you must know which direction is best for the tree to fall. The best direction is where the land is clear, and there are no structures that may be damaged. It would also be best if you planned where the tree would fall in such a way that it won’t damage the rest of the lawn.
- Another way you can decide where the tree will fall is by examining in what direction the tree leans. The tree is likely to fall in the direction it leans. However, if the tree is rotten, it may end up falling in a different direction. So, beware of that. Planning the removal process will help you study the tree to identify in what direction it leans.
- You also need to plan your escape route. The tree removal process is a dangerous affair. That can’t be emphasized enough. Therefore, whether you’re a professional or not, you should always think of the worst-case scenario. In this case, it’s the tree falling. You, therefore, need an escape route should this happen. The only way to plan your escape route is by studying the area before removing the tree. Notice what places around the tree are clear of obstacles. Clear areas make the best escape route. If there are no clear paths, consider clearing out the path you’ll use to escape.
- Planning for the equipment you’ll use is also crucial. This is because using the wrong equipment could lead to injury. Also, the equipment you use to remove the tree will depend on the size and level of damage to the tree. For example, smaller trees can be cut down using a handsaw, but larger ones will require a chain saw.
6. Not Knowing How To Use A Chainsaw
This is one of the most common yet fatal mistakes. High chances are you’ll need a chain saw to cut your tree. While it may look like regular equipment to operate, it’s not. There are thousands of chainsaw-related injuries recorded across the globe.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), annually, there are approximately 36,000 people injured by chainsaws in the United States. Therefore, practice extreme caution as you use it. Furthermore, if you’re unsure how to operate it properly, it would be best to leave it to the experts to avoid any accidents such as your limb to a chain saw.
However, if you know how to use it properly, remember the following safety measures you must take while using a chainsaw.
- Ensure the chainsaw is adequately oiled before use
- Ensure it’s in proper working condition before using it
- When you aren’t using the chainsaw, ensure it’s locked. This helps to avoid a scenario where the running chain saw falls on your foot and cuts into it.
Read More: Adding a Roof to Your Outdoor Space: 7 Expert Tips
7. Not Wearing Safety Gears
Your safety is of utmost importance when removing a tree. Therefore, if you’ve avoided all the mistakes discussed above but do not put on the necessary safety gear, you’re still at risk. At the very least, you need to have the following safety gear.
- Safety Glasses or Goggles: Wearing safety glasses will help protect your eyes from wooden chips from cutting the tree. They also protect you from sawdust and other debris.
- Hard Hat: Wearing a hard hat during the entire tree removal process will help to protect your head should the tree fall on you. A hard hat also protects you from any heavy falling debris.
- Gloves: Gloves have several benefits. For starters, they protect your hand from getting scratched from touching the rough surface of a tree trunk. Gloves also give you a firmer grip on the chain saw. Should your hand be caught up in the chain saw, you have a better chance of saving it when wearing gloves.
- Proper Climbing Equipment: This equipment is necessary to help you bring the chainsaw up the tree safely.
Wrapping Up!
There are various reasons you may want to consider removing trees from your outdoor space. It could be to improve your space’s aesthetics or remove them since they impose a hazard on your property. Whatever your reason is, you must keep in mind that removing trees is a challenging and dangerous task.
Therefore, remember the following tree removal mistakes discussed above and avoid them. Furthermore, if you’re unsure if you can safely remove the tree, consider contacting professional tree removal services to get the job done.
