Companies get to the root of the problem
They throw shade in a good way. They provide habitat for birds and other wildlife. They can be used as a windbreak, as a noise barrier and for privacy. They reduce runoff — and erosion — from storm water. Trees help settle out and trap dust, pollen and smoke from the air. They absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. And they look good.
As miraculous as they are, on occasion your trees might need a little love to address disease, damage or both.
To keep your trees healthy or to get rid of dying ones, you may want the benefit of professional advice, skill and labor. To help you find it, nonprofit consumer group Bay Area Consumers’ Checkbook and Checkbook.org has surveyed its members and Consumer Reports subscribers about their experiences with area tree care services. For the next month, Checkbook is offering free access to its ratings of tree care services to Chronicle readers: www.checkbook.org/ chronicle/tree-care.
You don’t have to be an expert to spot many potential tree problems. Examine your trees several times a year for
the following:
Discolored leaves and thinning in the tree’s crown
Roots pulled loose from the ground and fungal growths on roots and main trunk
Dead and fallen branches more than 2 inches in diameter
Deep vertical cracks on opposite sides of the main trunk
Sawdust on the trunk from wood-boring insects
A trunk that noticeably leans in one direction and a branch canopy that is not roughly balanced
Other unusual deformations and deposits on leaves, limbs or bark
Other reasons for tree work include eliminating the risk to your house, or to electrical or other utility wires from rubbing limbs or precarious overhanging limbs; letting light and breezes more readily reach your house, garden or lawn; and protecting foundations and drainage systems from invading roots.
In many cases, the problem and the solution will be obvious — removing specific limbs, for example. But sometimes it’s difficult to diagnose and treat trees. At those times, you need expert advice. But don’t assume that all estimators from tree care companies can determine what’s wrong and prescribe the correct treatment. Checkbook’s evaluation of tree care services found big company-to-company differences in the quality of advice and work performed. The good news is that many area companies were rated quite high for the quality of their work. But the news is not all good. Some companies received favorable ratings from only 60 percent or fewer of their surveyed customers. Common customer complaints included charging more than promised, producing bad results and even property damage caused by careless or untrained workers.
If you need tree work, the best strategy is to get more than one opinion. Invite representatives of several companies to your home to offer estimates. Ask them to explain what they plan to do and why.
Along with several opinions, you’ll get comparative pricing. Checkbook’s undercover shoppers found big differences in prices for tree care work. For example, to remove two 35foot-tall oak trees, companies quoted prices ranging from $650 to $2,304. And to remove a 70-foot-tall maple, prices ranged from $1,825 to $6,600.
Typically, you don’t have to be home when bidders are looking at the job — but do include a thorough description of the work in a written contract that specifies who cleans up afterward, hauls away debris and wood, and removes the stump. What is not specified in writing probably won’t get done.
If a job can wait, consider having the work done in winter, when companies are less busy and there is less debris to haul away.
Check whether a company’s liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance are in effect. Ask to see certificates of insurance, and call the company’s insurance carrier to verify. This is a serious concern because high-powered equipment, heavy branches and trunks, lofty heights, and proximity to power lines make tree work dangerous.
Ask about the company’s payment policy to see how much of the total cost is payable upon completion of the job or later. Paying after the work is completed gives you leverage to ensure that work is carried out properly and on time.
If you need expert advice and help caring for your trees, rather than simply removing goners, look for certification by the American Society of Consulting Arborists (www. asca-consultants.org) or the International Society of Arboriculture (www.isa-arbor.com). Certification by either organization indicates that arborist has a degree in arboriculture, several years of experience, and passed a difficult exam.