Why should I hire a tree surgeon?
This is a common question that many householders ask themselves if they have work that needs doing to trees or hedges in their garden. Let's face it, if you can do it well yourself, then why spend money on hiring a professional tree surgeon?
It's a good question and one that we'll address briefly in today's post. Here's a short summary explaining the main points:
- Your safety
- The health of your trees and shrubs
- Proper insurance if something goes wrong
- Relevant skills and qualifications
Safety
Your safety should be one of the main factors to consider if you're thinking of getting out that trusty old step ladder to attempt a bit of tree work on your own in the garden. However, there are often stories in the daily newspapers of individuals who have done exactly that and met an unfortunate demise. These types of accidents often start off with similar storylines of people being injured or even killed when trying to trim or prune their trees and hedges. There are several common reasons that often crop up.
Firstly, people often fall from ladders that are not properly secured or the individuals themselves are not wearing harnesses that will save them if they fall. Obviously, erecting scaffolding isn't a practical option for most common scenarios so using a stepladder is the obvious choice. Not using the right kind of ladder and overreaching and toppling as a result, are all too frequent - Whilst it's tempting to try and stretch to reach that long branch, it can be extremely costly if you fall.
Secondly, misuse of power tools is a huge danger, especially when working with chainsaws and other high-powered machinery. If you slip or feel yourself toppling, your body will naturally try and adjust to counter the effect. As you can imagine, anything can happen in this type of scenario. You should also be careful of sharp saws and other cutting or pruning tools. These can end up anywhere if you fall or stumble.
Tree and hedge health
You may look at your favourite tree/hedge and think to yourself "I'll just trim that bit off there, it won't hurt" ...However, sometimes it does. Not knowing the correct place to make a cut and how to do it can be harmful to your trees and plants. If you over-prune, you can kill your tree and similarly, cutting off branches in the wrong place can lead to the tree not being able to heal properly, thus making it more susceptible to disease.
Insurance cover
Popular video websites are awash with tree related disasters. In an attempt to prune or remove a tree from their garden, a householder will attempt to make large cuts in the place that "look right". The impending disaster that follows often tells a different story though. The tree or large branch either falls on their house, their car, or even their neighbour's roof.
In this classic example below with over half a million hits, you'll see exactly what we mean...
If things go wrong like this (and they frequently do), the person who has to pick up the tab is you. By law, you're responsible for the trees on your property so it really is better to play it safe and hire a professional tree surgeon. Assuming you do, make a point of asking to see their insurance documents for your own peace of mind as there are a few rogue tree surgeons out there that don't have any.
Relevant qualifications, experience and training
If you're doing it yourself, you may have a little experience but it won't be anything like that of a professional arborist (the less common name for a tree surgeon). For example, all of our tree surgeons are trained to NPTC industry certification standards and you're free to ask us about this and we'll be happy to provide proof on request. Also bear in mind that tree surgeons do this for a living, day in, day out, in all kinds of weather. Their qualifications and daily experience are two crucial factors that shouldn't be overlooked.
In summary
We hope the above four main points have helped you decide whether it's still a good idea to do it yourself or whether to hire a tree surgeon instead.
