Trips Trees

03/23/2024

Many thanks to Amelia Mason and her incredible team for their dedication to the magnificent birds that call NC skies their home!

06/03/2023

So it begins.

Just a friendly reminder to survey your property for potential hazards. When taking a look around, you should consider the following:

Dead branches - Any limbs that aren't producing leaves by this time in the season are probably dead. Dead branches can still can be heavy. The only guarantee is that they're brittle (and more likely to break in medium to high winds) than live branches.

Live branches - Most reputable tree companies in our area offer free estimates. If you have branches that hang over your house, it may not be a bad idea to have a professional come out and assess the likelihood they may break off in heavy winds.

Trees - Soft woods (cedars, cypress, magnolias, pines, etc.) are likely to snap at the trunk in high winds, whereas hard woods (birch, elm, gum, hickory, maple, oak, poplar, willow, etc.) are likely to uproot. Put simply, a 60-foot soft wood that sits 40(+) feet away should not pose much danger to your home.

Pine trees - These are some of the most dangerous trees to have in a hurricane. Although soft wood is much lighter than hard wood, pines tend to lose more limbs during storms. Also, as they grow, pines tend to shed their lower, less productive limbs. Unfortunately, this causes them to be very top-heavy. As a result, they are the most likely of all trees to snap at the trunk (usually a dozen feet or so under the lowest limb).

Heart rot - If you do nothing else before the hurricane season gets into full swing, you should check every tree within striking distance of any structures for heart rot. When trees are damaged (spiked by a climber, pruned in spring or summer, topped, etc.) they can begin to rot from the inside out. Although the exterior and limbs will look perfectly healthy, the tree is extremely vulnerable to snapping in a manner referred to as "barber chair". To check for this issue, simply inspect the base of your trees for fungus. If you find mushrooms (mainly turkey tail and other flat varieties) growing from the base of your tree, you should contact a tree professional as soon as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to send me a private message.

04/16/2023

04/15/2023

Fun job: Skinny, rotten 60-ft pine leaning in the top of a tall willow oak to keep from falling completely over. For an added bonus, there are two power lines on either side (5-feet in one direction and 10 feet in the other) and a pole with a transformer standing opposite of the direction of the lean. Well, only one thing to do...detach the tree from its base and lower the whole thing down at one time using an adjacent tree. Of course it was tied off to two other trees (one on either side) to prevent it from swinging into the power lines.

03/29/2023

Latest job: One rotten tree with a hard lean toward the house and a very rotten branch overhanging the sunroom. One large branch overhanging the corner of the house. Delimbing a magnolia tree up to 25 feet. Small debris stacked at the curb, large trunk and branches hauled away. Heavy machinery used - none.

03/09/2023

Many thanks to Jeffrey Schmidt at Gaslamp Insurance for helping Trip's Tree Service with our new year-round commercial insurance policy!

07/01/2022

One month in and systems are popping up overnight. Be sure to take care of your hazard trees now before the storms arrive. An ounce or prevention is worth a pound of cure.

04/21/2022

Our new client wasn't even aware of the damage done to his tree by the previous "experts". After bringing this to his attention, he quickly realized the importance of our spike-free delimbing services. Not only do climbing spurs wound the tree, they also open it up to rot, disease, and pests.

08/03/2021

Glad we could help this client tame that jungle. No job is too small.

07/28/2021

Pro-tip: Don't tether dead trees to a healthy tree, this is not a "fix".

07/23/2021

I hate to take down healthy trees. When they get too big and they're too close to the house, sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry, especially during hurricane season.