Roots usually keep trees firmly in the ground and standing upright. But sometimes — such as when high winds, lightning strikes or if a tree isn’t properly taken care of — those roots aren’t strong enough to hold the tree, which means it could potentially topple over and cause damage to your home.
Maintaining the health of the trees on your property is a good homeownership practice and helps to prevent damage that can happen during storms. By performing regular maintenance on your trees, you can lower the risk of a tree falling on your property. And, if you notice a tree on your property is starting to rot, get the tree removed right away to prevent costly damages down the road. Contact a local arborist or tree expert if you’re unsure about your trees. They can provide helpful advice and tree trimming services to ensure that your trees are not a hazard to your property.
Conduct a pre-storm assessment.
Identify trouble spots before a storm hits. Some potential hazards to look for on your property:
- Cracks in tree trunks or major limbs
- Hollow, aged and decayed trees
- One-sided or significantly leaning trees
- Branches leaning more than 45 degrees over the roof
- Anything in close proximity to utility lines
- Shelf-like fungus or mushrooms
- Trees with dangerous leans
After assessing possible hazards to your property, you and/or your arborist may need to take any number of measures to limit potential damage.
- Remove dead, diseased or damaged limbs.
- Have leaning trees inspected and consider removing those with large cavities.
- Prune branches too close to your house and over the street.
- Check your gutters and remove debris to prevent water damage.
- Call a professional to assess and potentially remove any limbs within close proximity to utility lines; DO NOT attempt to do this yourself.
Put Safety First.
It’s important to protect yourself as well as your property.
- Be on the alert. Stay away from utility lines and keep an eye out for dangers both up in hanging branches and down on damaged trunks.
- Broken limbs may still be lodged in trees, but can easily and unexpectedly fall. Loggers call these “widow-makers.”
- Look for trees leaning against or touching downed phone lines or power lines – a tree in contact with a power line and the ground at the base of the tree can be energized and dangerous.
- When in doubt, call Salazar Tree Experts. We offer tree services in Charlotte, North Carolina and surrounding areas.
- If you’re skilled enough to do work yourself, suit up properly, wear the proper attire and protective equipment.
Consider wildlife. Birds or bees may have been taking temporary storm shelter while you are doing work – always proceed with caution.