Three Questions to Ask
These questions will help you identify companies that honestly care about your trees from those who are primarily concerned with their profits.
• Do you carry liability insurance andworkmen's compensation? Unfortunately, there is no protection from poor arborists as there is from poor workmanship in other industries.
Some companies carry only liability insurance. They claim they are fully insured, but offer no worker's protection, opening you to a possible lawsuit if a worker is injured. Others don't carry any coverage at all. • Do you wear spurs when you prune? Spurs, spikes, gaffs, and hooks are for removals only. We cannot stress this enough. Wearing spurs when pruning healthy trees inflicts many needless wounds. These wounds can overwhelm the tree's resistance to infections, and allows certain pathogens easy access to healthy tissue. We recommend that you ask any company you contact what their policy is regarding spur use. Poor pruning practices (wearing spikes) is believed to have resulted in the premature death of a staggering amount of trees in our area. We have seen the shameful evidence firsthand. • Does the company mention the dangers of
"Active Season" pruning of disease sensitive
trees such as oaks and native elms? Many pathogens that infect trees are completely dormant in the colder seasons, and insect activity in the winter is nearly nonexistant. Pruning during the warmer active season tremendously increases the danger of disease transmission in many species.
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