c/arborists

Hit 50 mature tree removals this year - didn't see that coming

Started keeping count back in January just out of curiosity. Now it's November and I've pulled 50 big ones, mostly oaks and maples. Anyone else track their numbers and get surprised by the total?

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kevin_bailey•5d ago

TIL rope access cuts my crane rental time in half

Used to just call a bucket truck for every deadwooding job no matter what. Switched to rope access about 2 years ago after a tight alley job in Portland where a bucket couldn't even fit. Anyone else switch and notice their back hurting less?

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nora535•7d ago

That oak removal in Austin last July taught me a hard lesson about rigging angles

Ngl, I got lazy on a 60-foot red oak in a tight backyard. Instead of setting a proper high anchor, I tried to side-tie the bigger limbs to save time. About halfway through, a 8-inch limb swung back and nearly took out a fence. The homeowner was watching from their porch and said 'hey, maybe rethink that.' That moment made me realize I was cutting corners just to finish faster. Now I always take the extra 20 minutes to set the anchor right, even if the client is in a rush. Has anyone else had a close call that made you change your whole approach to rigging?

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kim.emma•8d ago

A utility worker in Denver taught me a climbing trick I still use

I was trimming a tricky cottonwood near some power lines last summer when a lineman named Dave walked over. He showed me how to use a flipped friction saver to avoid branch hang-ups on the way down. I had been fighting with my rope getting caught for years before that. Has anyone else picked up a solid tip from someone outside the tree world?

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henry101•8d ago

Rant: went with a rope wrench over a mechanical hitch saver for SRT climbing

I stuck with the rope wrench because my buddy Mike swore it was simpler to adjust in windy conditions up in Portland. After 4 climbs, I do like the feel on red oak removals, but has anyone else found the extra friction a pain for lighter pruning cuts?

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gavine41•9d ago

Update: that day I nearly got flattened by a falling oak in a backyard in Ohio

Last Thursday I was taking down a big red oak in a tight backyard near Cincinnati. The homeowner wanted to keep the fence intact, which meant I had to rope everything real careful. Around 2 PM the breeze picked up and that tree started swaying more than I expected. I had my ground guy on the rope but the trunk twisted and a big limb came down maybe five feet from where I was standing. It hit the ground so hard it left a dent you could fit a cooler in. I sat there for a minute just breathing and thinking about how quick things can go bad. Anyone else ever have a close call that made you rethink your whole setup for the rest of the job?

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wade_hall•10d ago

Just learned that sycamore bark peeling is actually a growth adaptation

Was reading an old arborist textbook from 1984 my mentor gave me, and apparently that peeling helps the tree get rid of moss and lichen without spending energy fighting them off. Has anyone else noticed sycamores stay cleaner than oaks in humid areas?

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henry101•10d ago

Took advice from an old forester about leaving dead trees standing

A retired forester named Bob stopped by a job I was on last summer near Eugene. I was about to take down a big dead oak that I figured was a hazard. He told me to leave it because woodpeckers and owls would use it. I thought he was nuts but I held off. Six months later I spotted a pair of barred owls nesting in a cavity in that same tree. Changed my whole view on hazard removals. Anyone else rethink their take on deadwood after seeing wildlife move in?

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campbell.logan•12d ago

PSA: A job at a high school in Portland changed how I set up my crane picks

I used to just eyeball my weight estimates for tree work with a crane. Did it for 12 years and never had a problem. Then last spring I took a job at Grant High School in Portland taking down a massive 80 foot red oak. The crane operator flat out refused my pick plan and made me use a load cell on every single cut. I was EMBARRASSED at first but after the third pick I saw my estimates were off by 300-400 pounds on some sections. That was a real wake up call for safety. Has anyone else started using load cells since that OSHA memo about crane accidents came out?

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ninab95•13d ago

Just realized how much tree work changed since I started 20 years ago

I was up in a big oak over in Portland last week, doing a removal with all this modern gear like the rotator and a GRCS. Got me thinking about back in the day when we used just ropes and a handsaw, no fancy mechanical advantage. Honestly, we got the job done but it took way longer and we were sore for days after. Any of you old timers feel like the trade is almost too easy now with all the new tech?

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spencer199•13d ago

Appreciation post: found a trick for stump grinding near gas lines

Had a tight spot behind a house in Portland last week. Ran the grinder slow and wet to keep dust down, let me see the line clear. Anyone else got a method for working around utilities?

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the_anna•13d ago

Rant: neighbor tried to 'prune' their maple with a chainsaw from the ground

Came home last week to find my neighbor hacking away at a big Norway maple on their property line. They were cutting branches way too big and leaving stubs that are gonna rot right into the trunk. I told them they should hire a climber with proper cuts, but they said 'it's fine, I've done this for years.' Anyone else deal with homeowners making hack cuts that ruin the tree's structure for good?

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oscarcooper•13d ago

Saved a 90 year old oak in Austin yesterday, felt amazing

Got a call about this massive live oak in someone's backyard that had a huge crack running up the main trunk. The homeowner was ready to cut it down, but I spent the afternoon doing some cabling and bracing work on it. Used a combination of dynamic and static cables to stabilize the split, and honestly it came out cleaner than I expected. The owner was so relieved he offered to pay me double my usual rate. Anyone else have a tree they saved that just felt really good?

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troy439•15d ago

My climber buddy pointed out my friction hitch had been backwards for 3 years

I was up in a red oak last month and my climbing partner Josh whistled at me from the ground. He said my Blake's hitch was riding weird and asked when I started tying it that way. I looked down and sure enough I had the tail wrapping the wrong direction around the rope. I had been doing it like that since I started climbing three years ago. Nobody ever caught it because it still held, but it was binding up on every descent. He showed me the correct way and the difference was immediate. I felt like a total goof but at least I know now. Anybody else find out they had a basic knot backwards for way too long?

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cameron763•16d ago

That elm I tried to save ended up costing the homeowner $2,000 more in the end

Was out in Aurora on a job last spring. Homeowner had this big American elm with some dieback up top. I told her it was probably Dutch elm disease and she wanted to try everything to save it. Did the injections, did the deep root feeding, the whole nine yards. Seven months later the thing split right down the middle during a windstorm and took out a chunk of her garage roof. Should have just told her to take it down from the start. How do you guys handle customers who want to save a tree that's clearly on its way out?

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ninab95•17d ago

Old timer told me to skip the root barrier on a silver maple...

He said it would just cause more trouble than it was worth, that the roots would find a way around it anyway. Two years later and that maple is pushing up the driveway something fierce, just like he warned. Has anyone else had root barriers that just didn't do the job?

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ninasanchez•24d ago

Had a 50-foot oak limb come down on my truck last Tuesday and everyone says I should have cabling installed but I think it just missed the warning signs.

The tree looked fine from the ground with no cracks or rot at the union, so how's a cable supposed to predict a random gust at 3am anyway, has anyone else had a failure that didn't match what the textbooks say?

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jordan134•26d ago

Had a guy in Portland show me his tarp method for big pines and now I do it different

Was helping a buddy with a 80 foot ponderosa last Thursday. He goes up first and just wraps this big tarp around the branches as he cuts them. Kept all the debris off the house and lawn below. No cleanup after. I always just let stuff fall and raked it up after. Felt like an idiot. Anyone else use tarps for residential jobs or is that just extra hassle?

3 comments

christopherwilliams•28d ago

The day I actually measured the root flare on a 60 year old oak

I was on a job in Austin last month removing a dead limb from a massive live oak. Out of curiosity I dug down to the actual root flare expecting it to be maybe 4 inches down. It was almost a foot and a half buried under soil and mulch from years of lawn care. That tree was basically suffocating for decades. I started wondering how many other trees in the neighborhood are slowly getting killed by nice landscaping. Has anyone else seen a ridiculous depth like that on a mature tree?

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ninaross•28d ago

Did a tree survey in Richmond last week and saw something wild

I was out in Richmond doing a routine survey for a new development and I kept noticing these huge old oaks with major root compaction from all the construction equipment. The builders were driving right over the root zones like it was nothing. One tree had bark damage and soil so packed down you could barely dig with a hand trowel. Anyone else run into this where developers just ignore the root protection zones?

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matthewp52•1mo ago

Controversial take: I stopped using climbing spikes on removals after a job in Seattle last spring.

I was taking down a big Douglas fir for a homeowner who specifically asked me not to spike the trunk (she wanted to keep the wood for lumber). That job made me realize how much damage spikes do on trees that could actually be milled or reused. Has anyone else switched their approach for a similar reason?

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kim.emma•1mo ago

Had to choose between a crane and a bucket truck for a tight job in Portland

I was removing a big dying maple behind a row of houses last month, and I had to decide between renting a crane for $800 or squeezing my bucket truck down a 6 foot wide alley. I went with the crane because the alley looked too tight for my bucket, but the setup took forever and I still spent half the day worried about the neighbor's garden. Next time I'm paying for the bucket and just hoping the mirrors squeeze through - anyone else had to make that call?

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claire_fisher41•1mo ago

Spent a whole day pulling ivy off a client's oak

Had this job in Beaverton last week where ivy had completely wrapped three mature oaks. Took me 6 hours just to clear the base of one tree. Has anyone else dealt with ivy damage that bad?

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gavine41•1mo ago

I finally figured out why that old elm near the creek was struggling

I was out at a property in Maplewood last week and kept noticing this big American elm with really thin canopy and dieback on one side. The homeowner thought it was Dutch elm disease, but I took a closer look at the root flare. Turns out the previous landscaper buried the root collar about 6 inches deep with fill dirt from a driveway project. That extra soil suffocated the roots and kept moisture trapped against the trunk. I cleared the excess dirt and exposed the flare, and the tree already looks better after just a week. Has anyone else run into buried root collars causing more problems than pests or disease?

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elliotl24•1mo ago

Tried a throw line bag from 1995 on a red oak last week

Dug out my old leather throw bag that I had since my first year climbing. The stitching gave out on the third toss and the shot went straight into a storm drain. Anybody else find old gear that just doesn't hold up like you remembered?

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