The Biggest Mistakes Homeowners Make When Trimming Their Own Trees

I’m fortunate that my husband is proactive with maintaining our trees.  We have 22 trees on our property and he trims them each year.  Tree trimming is essential for the growth, health and the trees appearance. If you hire a tree service to trim your trees, you can expect dead or dying branches to be removed and the tree to be thinned and trimmed back.  But like us, so many would prefer to trim their own trees.  Here are some tips to help in the process of trimming your own trees.

Make sure you sharpen your tools before trimming, that may seem to be a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people trim their trees with dull blades, making it harder to trim, but more importantly, causing damage to your tree.  Don’t trim too much, we suggest trimming no more than 25-30%, as over-pruning can really damage the tree.  Try not to cut too close to the trunk, you could significantly injure your tree.  Be sure to clean-up well, the most common cause of tree pruning accidents and fatalities remain on your property.  Being struck by a falling branch or limb is known as a “struck by” accident and is the leading cause of serious accidents when pruning trees.  Above all, be safe!  Tree pruning is a difficult and dangerous job, and it takes an investment of time, study, and practice to do it well.  If you decide to have your trees trimmed by professionals, give us a call at 520-304-1603 to schedule a free estimate.  Happy trimming!