Even if you live on a property with just a few mature trees, those living features add a lot of value to the property. Unfortunately, mature trees with large and heavy limbs also create new and distinct risk factors for damage and injuries as they age.
You have no need to cut down every mature tree around your home just to enjoy the peace of mind of knowing your yard and home are safe from falling limbs. Deadwooding injured and dead limbs can prevent all six of these common forms of tree limb damage.
1. Physical Injuries
With an average of over
100 people killed per year
in the US due to falling limbs or entire trees, a small but significant life-threatening risk exists with any tree with dead or dying limbs. Even relatively small-looking branches can hit someone with hundreds of pounds of force — especially when wet and falling — leading to costly hospital bills.
2. Home Damage
Planting trees close to the home provides essential cooling thanks to shade. Yet many trees that seem properly spaced during the initial planting end up growing too close to the home, eventually spreading branches and limbs directly over parts of the structure.
One falling limb can take out an entire side of a home's roof or collapse part of a wall to expose your home's interior to the outside world. Home insurance policies cover most cases of tree damage, but if your insurance provider can prove you knew the tree was in bad shape and you failed to deal with it, you may end up having to pay for the repairs out of pocket in some states.
3. Utility Interruption
Don't discount the cost and trouble a loss of power or another important utility causes. Most homes feature aboveground electrical, internet, phone, and other lines that connect to a nearby pole or power station. Falling limbs and branches easily take out any nearby utility lines, especially when high winds move limbs horizontally at high speeds as the limbs fall.
Losing power for even just a few hours can cause your food to spoil, damage items you have in storage, or threaten the health of pets, in addition to interrupting your daily routine. A loss of heating in the winter may leave you shivering until the utility company can repair the damage. Trimming any limbs or branches growing near hanging utility lines is a much smarter approach.
4. Vehicle Destruction
Windshields and vehicle windows can resist most impact forces, but large tree limbs easily overcome the strength of the glass. You can't even drive a car with a shattered windshield or back window to the repair shop and must pay for towing, along with professional cleaning to remove the glass shards.
Limbs also dent car roofs and trunks and may even break lights or sunroofs. Dealing with problem limbs before they show signs of eminent drop will protect any vehicles parked on your property.
5. Landscape Effects
One tree with multiple dead or dying limbs can damage dozens of other trees, plants, and shrubs as it drops massive chunks of wood onto your property. Limbs that intertwine with nearby trees can rip entire smaller trees out by the roots as they fall out.
6. Liability Concerns
Finally, you may have to pay for damage to a neighbor's property if a tree on your property drops a limb onto their yard, home, or car. Even if your home insurance policy pays for the damages, your deductible will likely result in at least some money coming out of your pocket for the repairs.
Maintain your mature trees the right way with deadwood trimming services from us here at
Kaily's Tree Service. We can identify all unhealthy or dead limbs and crowns and trim your trees to reduce the chance of limb and branch drop damage as much as possible.
