How Do You Prevent Lawn Damage from Tree Work?

A Hollis, NH Resident Asks

Being in the business of tree removal is interesting and challenging in many ways. At its core it is essentially the same thing everyday; set up the trucks, cut the tree down, clean up the mess and move on to the next job. Fortunately for those of us in the tree business every tree is different and no two days are the same, each tree poses its own challenges, and obstacles that need to be overcome in order to accomplish the job safely, efficiently and make the customer happy.

One dichotomy tree guys face all the time, especially in affluent upscale neighborhoods, is the issue of lawn damage. How much will your trucks and the tree coming down damage my lawn? Is a question heard almost daily in our business. At Souhegan Valley Tree Service our answer is: as little as possible. We go to great lengths to preserve the landscape you the home owner has spent countless hours and dollars maintaining. Here are a few of the ways we protect your lawn and landscape:

1. We carry 20-30 sheets of full size 4x8 plywood to the jobsite. We use the plywood to “build a road” for our trucks to drive on, this minimizes the chances of creating ruts. After we are done and the plywood is picked up, we rake the lawn and quite often you can’t even tell have driven across it.
2. Instead of dropping trees whole from the ground onto the lawn, which creates a large mess, we utilize our bucket truck to take the tree down. A tree that is 75 feet tall and 40 feet wide will make a mess on the lawn that is 75 feet long and 40feet wide. By taking the branches off and dropping them to the ground from the bucket truck the mess is confined to a much smaller area.
3. We also have a small loader that has turf friendly tires. This machine can drive back and forth across the lawn, while carrying heavy loads of tree material, and not do any damage.
4. Lastly, we will often rent a crane for the day todo the tree work. The crane can sit in one spot, most often the driveway, and reach most any tree that might be endangering the house, or that the customer needs taken down. Our worker attaches a strap to the top of the tree, then comes down to a designated spot and cuts the tree at that spot. The crane then lifts that portion of the tree and sets it down in the “landing area”. This is often in the driveway as well. All of the mess is in one spot, the landing area, and the rest of the crew can deal with it as the crane swings around to get the next piece.

If you are planning on doing tree work in your yard, please ask the tree crews who you are getting estimates from the following:

What steps does your company take to protect my lawn and property?

Do you use plywood to drive over the lawn?

What will my lawn look like after you leave?

Also make sure all contractors know where the septic tank, leech field and sprinkler system is located as these can also be damaged if driven over without protection. If they don’t answer these questions to your satisfaction, call us, and we will.