Introduction

Tree care isn’t dangerous if you know what you’re doing. However, if it’s done by unprofessional and unlicensed people, it carries many risks. If you want to get the trees on your property serviced, you can search for “tree service near me” and hire licensed professionals for the job. Let’s check out the real dangers of hiring unlicensed tree professionals. 

The Dangers

1. Tree Care Dangers – Pruning, climbing, and removing trees is a lot of work that requires careful planning and safe execution. That’s because the job comes with many risks. You can get stings and bites from tiny yet dangerous animals and insects while on the job. There are also risks of infection if you get scraped by diseased tree parts. Moreover, if the tree has poisonous leaves, you can get nasty and deadly rashes. 

You also need to be very careful while chopping up and pruning tall tree limbs and make sure they don’t break into splinters. Otherwise, you may be injured by flying pieces of wood or at least get your eyes damaged severely. The risk is even more severe if there are power lines near the tree or you need to use power tools for the job. One wrong move or slip up may lead to amputations or burn down a few homes or public property. 

2. Credentials of legit tree care professionals – Unlicensed tree professionals seem like the better choice since they always offer lower rates than their legit competition. While it seems that you save money, you also invite the above-mentioned risks. If something goes wrong, you may end up spending thousands of dollars instead of saving a few hundred bucks. 

That’s why you need to check the credentials of the tree service company before hiring them. Start off by checking their license. While there’s no federal license, most states and cities require tree service companies to be licensed. You can check the legitimacy of tree service companies by checking them up on your city’s website. Those companies also need to show their license and have it with them while they are on the job. 

Licensing shows that the company has passed the minimum requirements of safety, personnel and other factors deemed necessary by the local authorities. Apart from the license, you also need to make sure that the tree service company is insured. Insurance comes in handy to cover damages for both the tree service company and you and also protects you from liability. Make sure to check the insurance policy of the tree service company. 

Check if it protects you from property damage and if it covers employee compensation if an accident happens on your premises. That protects you from lawsuits and liabilities and also shows that the tree service company values its employees. With that out of the way, let’s check how you’re affected by hiring an unlicensed tree service company.   

3. Industry standards aren’t followed – Your city and state set certain standards for pruning and trimming. Those standards are set so that your tree has a nice appearance even after being pruned and it can preserve its full growth potential. This way the tree contributes to the community while maintaining the curb appeal of your home. Unlicensed professionals often don’t abide by such standards since they didn’t go through the licensing process and haven’t been in the industry for more than a few months. 

They aren’t here for sustained growth; they are here for making a quick buck. That’s why they are pretty lax and often negligent with the standards. When they don’t follow those standards and use detrimental pruning techniques like topping or typing, it may lead to unnecessary tree injuries. 

4. Property damage – Professionals and licensed tree service companies have been in the mar3ket for at least a few years and have valuable experience at the job. Their staff is trained and experienced and that allows them to roughly predict where the tree is going to fall depending on its size and position. This allows them to make preparations and move out your car, or lawn equipment or entirely adjust the cutting method to change the direction of the fall. 

They can even implement methods where they cut off tree limbs while securing them with cables and don’t even let them fall on the ground. After that, they make their way from the top and chop off the trunk in several sections. Licensed professionals always take the best and most precise approach in cutting down trees so that they don’t damage your property. 

Even if an accident occurs after the most careful approach, any damage to your property is covered by their insurance policy. An unlicensed tree service company can’t predict the fall of the tree and doesn’t have established practices to avoid property damage.    

5. Liabilities – As mentioned above, tree removal is a dangerous job and requires careful planning and execution. Licensed tree service companies spend a lot of resources and time training their staff. Those professionals need to operate dangerous tools and equipment and since licensed companies spend all those resources training those individuals, they want them to be safe. That’s why they also have insurance to compensate their workers in case of a job-site accident. This protects you from legal troubles and provides the worker with appropriate compensation. 

An unlicensed tree service company can offer ridiculously cheap rates since they don’t pay for their license, don’t pay taxes, and don’t spend a dime on insurance. So, in case of an accident, you end up paying for property damage and are also responsible for people injured on your property.    

Conclusion

As you can see, there are numerous risks to hiring unlicensed tree professionals. They may not follow safety guidelines, may not have the right equipment for the job, and may not have insurance to cover damages to your property. If you want your trees to be serviced, it’s best to search for “tree service near me” and hire licensed professionals for the job.