Have you purchased a property with one or more large trees growing there? Have you been wondering if there's anything that you should be doing about these trees? Trees can be a great addition to a landscape, but they can also cause problems if they're not properly cared for. If the property's previous owners didn't correctly tend to the trees in question, they may be in need of professional help or even removal. It's not always easy to tell if a tree is sick or injured, but there are still a few crucial signs that a tree is dead or dying and needs to be taken out. Some things that you should look for include:
Excessive noise: It's obviously normal for a tree to rustle and, sometimes, even creak when the wind blows through the branches. What's not normal is for there to be significant creaking and groaning coming from the tree in even light winds. A lot of noise may simply mean that there are several limbs rubbing together that need to be removed by one of your local tree services. The creaking may also be caused by wood that is drying out because it's dead or dying. Dead or dying tree limbs should also be removed as soon as possible, in order to prevent them from falling and causing damage or injury to people or property down below.
Fungus or mushroom growth: If you find mushrooms or toadstools growing in the dirt around the base of your trees, you probably have nothing to worry about. But if you find mushrooms growing on the tree trunk or in its branches, you should probably schedule having one of your local tree services come out to remove the tree in question. Most fungi will only grow on dead wood. Most of the rest will eventually kill a tree once they start growing. Removing the tree now will prevent a dead tree from becoming a danger at a later date.
Large hollow areas: Under normal circumstances, the bark of a tree protects the wood inside and keeps it from becoming a meal for insects. But if termites or other insects find a way in, they may eat out a tree's interior so that, eventually, all that is left is a relatively fragile shell of bark. Hollow areas, such as where a tree limb has recently broken off of the main branch, may be a sign that this sort of damage is in progress. A tree professional may be able to save the tree, if the damage is caught early enough, but you may have to resign yourself to the tree being cut down.
Check with a company like AJ's Tree and Landscape for more information.
