Does a tree need to come down?

University of California extension calls a damaged or unhealthy tree that may drop limbs or fall over a hazard when it stands where it's likely to hurt someone or damage property, and lists these warning signs:¹

• Dead or dying limbs.
• Cracks in the trunk or where limbs fork.
• A trunk that leans or tilts instead of growing upright.
• Cavities in the trunk or at the base.
• Mushrooms, conks or other fungus on the bark or around the base.
• Cankers or wounds in the bark or wood.
• Cracks in the soil near the base.

University of Kentucky extension adds that piles of sawdust or crumbling wood at the base point to damage inside the tree, and that large cracks going through the bark into the wood should be taken as a red flag.² It suggests checking a tree that might be a hazard often, especially after wind or snow storms.²

Some problems, such as decay inside the trunk or unhealthy roots, are hard to see from outside.¹ If a tree could hurt someone or damage property when it fails, University of California extension advises having it inspected regularly by an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or registered with the American Society of Consulting Arborists.¹

Tell the arborist which of these signs you've seen, and ask:

• Whether the tree can be kept, and what that would take.
• Whether you'll get the finding in writing, and what a report adds to the price.
• Whether the visit fee comes off the price if the same company does the work.

To have a company near you look at a tree, get quotes and choose the arborist check as the job.

Cabling and bracing cost about $200 to $400 a tree.^3-4

If the tree is an ash, ask whether treating it for emerald ash borer is an option. Extension services put an injection at about $10 to $15 per trunk inch, repeated every 2 to 3 years.^5-6 In Virginia, the Department of Forestry's treatment program can share up to 70% of the cost for ash trees 12 inches or larger, capped at $10.50 per trunk inch and $2,000 per landowner.⁷

A written finding can matter. Florida law bars local governments from requiring a permit, fee, mitigation or replanting to prune or remove a tree at a single-family home when an ISA arborist or a Florida landscape architect documents that the tree poses an unacceptable risk.⁸ If you're in Florida and the tree may be a hazard, ask for that finding in writing. The Florida rules page has more.

Texas bars cities from banning, or charging a fee for, the removal of dead, diseased or hazardous trees.⁹ Some cities waive their permit fee as well. Austin waives it for dead, diseased and imminently hazardous trees,¹⁰ and Seattle charges nothing for a dead tree.¹¹

The permit guide covers the rest of the permit picture, and the removal cost guide covers what taking a tree down costs.