The Hidden Dangers Of Do-It-Yourself Palm Tree Removal
Palm trees are beautiful and familiar in balmy tropical states like Queensland. However, holes in the trunk, yellow palm fronds and a brown tree centre are all signs your tree is dead. Dead trees must be quickly removed in Queensland because they become wild flying projectiles during this state's violent summer storms. To save money, some homeowners consider tackling tree removal themselves, but this is a dangerous idea when it comes to palm trees. Here are three reasons by it is best to leave palm tree removal to the professionals.
Heavy Fronds
A mature palm tree contains palm fronds which may weigh up to 45 kilograms (100 pounds). To safely remove the palm tree, dismantling the tree takes place in stages. Firstly the biggest palm fronds are removed to reduce the tree's weight. Next, the trunk is trimmed down in stages until it reaches the stump. Finally, the stump is dug out and removed. After removing each palm frond, you must carefully lower the branch to the ground below. As you can imagine, a 45 kg piece of vegetation landing on your house roof would leave damage. Since most homeowners do not own the equipment necessary to lower palm fronds safely, this is one reason by do-it-yourself palm tree removal is a bad idea.
Electrocution
Look Up And Live is a safety campaign aimed to educate Australians about the dangers of working near overhead powerlines. Depending on the palm tree type, it may grow up to 60 metres tall. With a minimum power pole height of 4.5 metres, chances are your palm tree is as tall as or taller than your power lines. Since electrocution is not an optimal outcome after choosing to remove the tree yourself, the better choice is to let the professionals liaise with the power company to remove the tree safely.
Shallow Roots
Palm trees do not have super deep roots in the soil beneath them. In fact, most palm tree roots offshoot along the top or just beneath the topsoil. This root system means that without reducing the tree weight in stages, there is potential for the tree to topple over and damage property or life. Only a professional tree removal service has experience and knowledge about safely reducing the palm tree's weight.
Now that you know the hidden dangers of do-it-yourself palm tree removal, contact your local tree service to discuss options for safely and efficiently removing your trees.
For more information, contact a specialist in Caloundra.