Tend To The Trees In Your Yard Before A Hurricane Makes Landfall

12 September 2018
 Categories: , Blog


The dreadful thought of a tree falling onto your home or a limb hitting a windowpane and causing it to crack can be at the forefront of your mind if you are dealt the task of needing to prepare for a hurricane landfall near your hometown. Before a hurricane strikes, take the time to tend to the trees near your house by improving drainage, assessing each tree in your yard, removing branches, and seeking assistance with extensive trimming or tree removal.

Improve Drainage

Puddling water that is near the base of a tree can cause soil to recede, resulting in the loosening of a tree's root system. Since this can be one of the main triggers that often can result in costly damage during a hurricane, improve drainage on your property by having an underground drain system installed or by using a thick layer of mulch, wood chips, or gravel pieces to create borders around the bases of the trees.

The borders should be relatively wide so that rain that drips from tree limbs and leaves is deposited on top of the drainage material. After a storm, you may need to shift some of the drainage material if it was dispersed by heavy winds so that puddling will not be an issue during additional stormy weather.

Remove Dangling Branches

If storms frequent the area, there may be some damage that you haven't discovered yet. Just because a lot of limbs haven't fallen onto your property recently does not mean that there isn't one or more that are barely attached to the tree and at risk of falling during the next wind or rain event. 

Be careful if you see damaged limbs. They can fall onto your head if you place weight on the surrounding branches. Wear a safety hat and goggles before removing the limbs by hand. A hacksaw or power saw can be used to cut through damaged branches if pulling them by hand is too difficult for you to achieve.

Receive Help

If you are not sure if some branches are damaged or if you are overwhelmed by the number of branches that seem to be hanging by a thread, don't take the chance of trying to tackle the branch removal steps on your own. You are only placing yourself at risk if branches are too high for you to reach by ladder or if you do not have the proper tools to remove branches.

It only takes a minute to call the owner of a tree company and voice your concerns. If trees are severely damaged or if one appears to be tipping, an emergency appointment will be set up so that the trees will be tended to before bad weather begins rolling through the area. 

Visit a website like http://www.hodgsontreeservice.com to learn more. 


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