Tree Trimming Safety: Austin, TX

Trimming your trees in Texas may sound like something you think you can do yourself just by doing a little online research. This is not necessarily true. If you cut limbs incorrectly you could kill the tree, damage or weaken its structure, or even get seriously injured or killed during the process. Professional tree trimmers study and follow safety guidelines that you may not be aware of. They know where precious life veins are in the tree and know how to avoid them. This can be especially true in Austin, TX where trees do not recover well from injury due to the climate and soil.
Many people have been killed when trimming their own trees in Texas. One common mistake is to misjudge branch distance from power lines. If you cut a limb and it swings or bounces over toward a power line, then you could be in extreme danger. If any part of the limb is still touching the tree, then you can be electrocuted. Even if it is far from the tree when it strikes the power line, the line could break and swing over to where you are. Never ever cut limbs from a tree that are anywhere near a power line. This is something best left up to the professionals.
Another common injury suffered by inexperienced tree trimmers in Austin is a severe or fatal head injury. It can take years of school for an Arborist to learn how to avoid head injuries when tree trimming. Do not assume that you can figure it out on your first try. Even professionals with all of their knowledge still wear hard hats when tree trimming. It is a common occurrence for a cut tree limb to spring up instead of falling down like you may imagine. This has caused many fatalities for novice and experienced tree trimmers in Texas. Even branches from surrounding trees could be affected by the limb you cut and those limbs could come down on you.
The next issue is climbing. Do not assume that your tree climbing skills are good enough to get you by. Professionals wear double straps to make sure that they do not fall. Even so, accidents happen and a fall from a tree can be fatal in many instances. Most people that try to trim their own trees do not even wear a harness. If they do, they may not use it properly. An arborist can tell by looking at branches if they are safe to step up on, regardless of their size. You could use a perfectly normal looking limb to step on and it is infested with insects, infected with disease, or simply too weak making it a very unstable limb to use.
Be extremely careful around trees. Keep in mind that if you did spend the money on safety equipment to trim your own trees, you still would not be trained in how trees and cut limbs behave. You could cut life supporting limbs and damage your tree. You will spend more money on equipment than you would hiring a professional for your tree trimming Austin, TX services.

About the Author: Andrew Johnson is the owner of Central Texas Tree Care, a leading tree service provider in Central Texas (Travis County and surrounding areas) offering services such as pruning and removals, cabling and bracing as well as arborist reports, diagnostics, pest management, fertilization and Austin tree service trusts.