Are the Trees Near Your House a Hazard?

Having trees around your house is a wonderful thing. They produce oxygen, provide shade in the warmer months, diminish noise pollution and can boost curb appeal. But when a tree becomes a hazard, meaning it could potentially fall on your property or lose limbs during a strong storm, it needs to be dealt with quickly and carefully.

Not sure how to tell if a tree is a hazard or not? Here are some red flags to look out for and what steps you can take to keep your property safe from tree-related damage.

Inspect your trees

At various times throughout the year, especially after a big storm, it's a good idea to give the trees on your property a thorough check. The first and easiest thing to look for is if any of them are in danger of falling over.

Look for leaners

If you've got any trees that are leaning extremely in one direction or another, or have cracked soil at the base, you'll want to call an arborist who can help you prune the tree so its weight is distributed more evenly. Bracing the tree trunk with cables attached to stakes on either side is also an option.

Sick or dying trees

Dead wood on a tree is usually indicative of instability and a break or fall waiting to happen. Dead wood looks soft or splintery — in fact, you may see some pieces of bark around the base of the tree and bare spots on the trunk or branches where the bark hasn't grown back. Dead or discolored leaves are also a sign of a diseased or dying tree, as is the appearance and/or spread of fungi. If it's just a branch that's afflicted, you may be able to have it removed without harming the rest of the tree, but if there's a lot of dead wood on the main trunk, you'll likely have to have the whole thing cut down. Either way, have an arborist check out the situation and offer recommendations.

Cracks and multiple trunks

A V-shaped or U-shaped tree that splits into multiple trunks has more weak points than the average tree. The connecting points can be more susceptible to breaking in high winds or under heavy snow. Similarly, deep, vertical cracks in a tree that go into, through the trunk or extend down into the roots are also vulnerable to splitting to the point where a large part of it falls.

An arborist can usually help stabilize trees with multiple trunks and/or manageable cracks by connecting branches that are higher up with cables. This can cost anywhere from $600 and $2,000, and annual cable maintenance usually runs $100 to $200.

Damage caused by construction

If your house has undergone major construction in the last year, it's possible that construction vehicles damaged a tree or two in the process. When you have new utility lines put in, for example, it can damage tree roots, which usually ends up destabilizing the tree. When this happens, you'll start to see the same dead wood signs described above, which can indicate a sick or dying tree.

The best way to get ahead of this is shore up your trees before construction begins. Prune overgrown tree crowns, have cables attached to trees with multiple trunks, remove dead limbs, and aerate compacted soil around roots.

If you suspect a hazardous tree, but aren't sure of the cause or what to do next, calling an arborist or similar tree specialist is a great first step. They'll be able to either fix the problem, or at the very least, they can help you calculate the risk of it falling on your property or someone else's.

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