Garforth Tree Surgeon West Yorkshire: An important feature of many properties and gardens in Garforth, trees add structure, style and substance to what can at times be a boring and 2 dimensional landscape. However, when trees are poorly maintained or have been affected by extreme weather conditions, for instance storms or flooding, problems can occur. Before any work begins, the safest option is to seek the guidance of an experienced tree surgeon in Garforth, when your trees need looking at.
Those in Garforth who try to do tree work on their own, or by using a non-qualified operative might cause a risk of damage to the trees, to property or to life. However, even for specialist tree surgeons who are aware of all the risks, tree work is not entirely safe. Within the industry there are an average of three deaths and one hundred and forty serious injuries annually, making tree surgery among the most dangerous jobs in the UK.
With falling branches and trees causing around 5 fatalities each year in the United Kingdom, a risk to life can even be presented by a neglected or damaged tree. If an injury, or damage to property occurs due to you hiring somebody to do tree work, you could be liable for any compensation to any third-party as a consequence of your actions. These are the reasons why it's imperative to employ a qualified tree surgeon to carry out the work on your trees in Garforth. (The source of the above figures was HSE).
There are two principal professional bodies, at least one of which a skilled tree surgeon in Garforth should be a member of. You can check up on the membership and professional standing of any Garforth tree surgeon on the websites of either the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) or the Arboricultural Association (AA). To discover whether any specific tree surgeon has ARB Approved Contractor status and has membership of either of these two associations, you can check on this page.
If there is a problem during or after any work has been completed you can communicate with these industry bodies for arbitration assistance and for guidance and help at any point.
If anybody who you are unable to find on this directory offers to provide you with an estimate, you should respectfully decline their offer of work and carry on your search for an accredited contractor. As soon as their professional memberships and accreditations have been diligently checked, you should try to get a minimum of 3 quotes from different companies in the Garforth area. Whilst acquiring these quotes you must ask the following questions, making it clear that you need the answers due to the risks involved with tree work:
- Would I be able to to contact someone you've recently worked for, so that I can inspect your tree work? Doing an independent check on any recent work is always advisable.
- Do you have documentary verification of your qualifications, professional membership and a NPTC certificate for the use of a chainsaw? It is required by law that any tree surgeon/operative using a chainsaw must have NPTC/LANTRA certification. A competent tree surgeon in Garforth will probably hold National Diplomas and Certificates in Arboriculture.
- Exactly what is your level of insurance cover? As suggested by the AA and ISA, your tree surgeon ought to be able to produce a certificate covering no less than five million pounds public liability insurance.
- Can you give me a written quotation? Verbal quotes alone are not acceptable. Always get a written quote.
The written quote that you are provided with must include easily followed details about the planned work. It should include details about any trees which may be protected, and the steps required to obtain permission to carry out work on them, and also state whose responsibility it is to remove waste, tree branches and stumps. Double check that they have also included VAT on the quote. It is vitally important to realise that you have a responsibility to hire only trained tradespeople to work on your trees and property.
PRIOR TO WORK BEGINNING - Checking whether any of your trees are covered by a TPO, your chosen Garforth tree surgeon should make certain that any tree work can get the go-ahead from the relevant local authorities. Even protected trees need to be maintained in order to cut back dead or damaged wood and ensure the safety of the public, so finding a tree has protected status doesn't imply that work can't still be carried out.
If your property in Garforth is within a conservation area then no less than six weeks written notice must be given to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) before any tree work can be carried out. This written notice is not required if the tree stem is under seventy five millimetres in diameter when measured at 1.5m above ground level. Also, if a protected tree's branches need to be pruned or thinned to encourage and sustain growth, written notice won't be necessary.
Your chosen Garforth tree surgeon will decide on the remedial treatment required and how best to achieve the required outcome in a safe manner after performing a full assessment of your trees health. Your property, public areas and any part of neighbouring properties that could be affected by falling branches and debris will all be given a full risk assessment. The level of protection needed and the number of workers required, will also be ascertained at this stage. To keep property and the general public safe from harm or damage, this will include both personal protection equipment and other safety precautions.
ON THE DAY OF WORK - To keep unauthorised persons away from the area of work, barriers and safety measures should be put in place before any tree felling, cutting of branches or climbing is started. Where there's the chance of debris and branches crashing onto a road, it might be necessary to stop the traffic temporarily.
Different kinds of tree work will require the tree surgeon to have different levels of protection. When working with a chainsaw, they will at the very least be wearing protective clothing to avoid serious cutting injuries to the legs, torso and hands. All operatives involved in the work must wear high visibility clothing, and eye and head protection, at all times.
If any working at height is involved, associated climbing equipment and ladders will need to be deployed, and extra workers will be on hand to help with the removal of high branches and sections of tree trunk. A skip or other means of transporting the waste materials away will be parked as close as possible to the work area, therefore it's a good idea to inform your next door neighbours of the need for access.
UPON COMPLETION OF WORK - The whole area can be cleared of all debris, and all the waste can be hauled away, once all of the tree work has been concluded. Your tree surgeon will then sign off and give you a certificate of work done, especially where the trees are covered by TPOs. Footpaths and highways can then be re-opened, and any safety measures places in public spaces removed.
If you've got any complaints about the work, you should get them put right immediately by firstly speaking to your tree surgeon. If your tree surgeon is a signed up member of a professional trade association, and there is any further dispute or arbitration needed, you can obtain help and guidance from the Arboricultural Association or the International Society of Arboriculture in order to come to a satisfactory solution.
Local Garforth tree surgery services will probably have the postcode LS25 and the telephone code 0113. They will operate in Garforth itself, together with nearby areas such as Cross Gates, Church Fenton, Rothwell, Aberford, Swillington Common, Scarcroft, Great Preston, Peckfield, Micklefield, Kippax, Barwick in Elmet, Colton, Thorpe Park, Whinmoor, and these postcodes: LS25 1QG, LS25 1NU, LS25 1EU, LS25 1BB, LS25 1PE, LS25 1BP, LS25 1HU, LS25 1DT, LS25 1LG, LS25 1PN.
If you require this kind of service it is certainly best to employ a trusted tree surgeon. Garforth homeowners can benefit greatly from the skills and expertise offered by a fully trained professional.
Tree Surgery Injuries
As we have already mentioned, the work that tree care professionals in Garforth do, involves a significant level of danger. Most tree work involves a considerable risk of injuries to both operatives, co-workers and passers-by, therefore all reasonable precautions must be taken when carrying out work on trees.
As stated by figures gathered by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), falls from trees, the use of chainsaws, and being hit by a falling branch or tree are responsible for the majority of serious and fatal injuries. Surprisingly, arborists and co-workers involved in tree care work are more at risk of serious injury than those involved in the construction industry.
Based upon insurance company sources, lifting injuries, being struck by objects (grapple hooks, trees, branches, cranes, ropes etc) and slipping from ladders, are the most frequent accidents for which claims are made.
This should all help you to appreciate why it's so vital to employ a certified tree surgeon in Garforth. Quite often, accidents in the tree care sector are due to untrained operatives trying to do tree work that they aren't equipped for, or competent at. Therefore, always use an established and reputable company that has been working in the Garforth area for a good few years, to sidestep this problem.
Pollarding Garforth
Pollarding is by and large carried out for the sake of health and safety, and is a technique which is used for significantly decreasing a tree's size when it has got too big for its setting. This process is from time to time employed for aesthetic reasons to change a tree into an especially desirable shape or form. It can regularly be seen on trees that function as borders or hedgerows, and trees which grow alongside streets in Garforth. The somewhat stark and naked appearance that results from pollarding isn't very popular with tree lovers, because it is so dissimilar to its attractive natural state. Tree species such as sycamores, oaks, beeches, limes, horse chestnuts, maples and planes are regular candidates for pollarding, and the beneficial aspect of this process is that trees which may otherwise need to be removed can be retained for generations to come.
Required Skills for Tree Surgeons in Garforth
- Decent customer skills.
- Have the ability to use, maintain and repair tools and machines.
- Have a methodical and systematic approach to work.
- Have the ability to work successfully other folks.
- Have a good understanding of public safety.
- To be able to accomplish basic tasks on a hand-held device or computer.
- Be alert to the complexities and dangers involved with the various aspects of the work.
- Have the ability to work well with your hands.
- Be professional and able to complete tasks within a given timeframe.
- Physical skills like coordination and movement.
- Have patience and the ability to remain calm and focused in times of stress.
Crown Thinning Garforth
If you want to enable more sunlight throughout, to prevent the tree uprooting when it's windy, to lower the stress put on particular limbs because of ice, snow, gravity, or wind, to help reduce the wind resistance of the tree or to reduce the weight of the crown, a lot of the smallish subsidiary branches growing on the outer crown of a broad leafed tree are clipped in a procedure that is called crown thinning. The shape and size of the tree aren't changed by this, and the likelihood is that it'll have to be carried out on a regular schedule, as shoots continue to sprout. A uniform thickness of foliage encircling consistently distributed branches ought to be the arborist's objective when crown thinning, it shouldn't change the overall size and shape of the tree.
The Use of Chainsaws
The most dangerous and probably the most widely used tool employed by Garforth tree surgeons, is the chainsaw. Petrol driven chainsaws are the most preferred by tree care professionals, due to their ease of use and greater mobility, although mains models can be purchased, as can rechargeable battery chainsaws which are becoming popular. Where large trunks and thick limbs are involved, such substantial tree work requires the use of the most robust petrol chainsaws.
Consisting of a revolving chain armed with a row of sharp teeth that is driven by a motor and cuts through the bark and wood, a chainsaw is in fact a relatively simple tool. Chainsaws also come in a variety of designs, each having its own specific use - top-handled for working at height (and which can be operated single handedly if required), pole saws for hard to reach branches and long distance pruning and rear-handled for working on the ground (two handed).
Despite the fact that carrying a spinning blade whilst precariously balancing up a tree isn't the safest job in the world, it is pretty rare to find a tree surgeon in Garforth who doesn't use a chainsaw in their daily activities. All professional tree surgeons have to be trained in the safe use and maintenance of chainsaws, and it is one of the main requirements for membership of the Arboricultural Association.
Although there are quite a few different chainsaw makes available to professionals, the most popular ones used the United Kingdom are Stihl, Husqvarna, Hyundai and Makita.
A Tree Surgeons's Everyday Tasks
- Prepare on-site or telephone quotes for clients.
- Prepare tree survey reports for both domestic and commercial clients.
- Chip and cut branches and logs.
- Establish dangers presented by trees.
- Deal with clients and complete administrative tasks.
- Tidy site on completion and remove waste products from client's site.
- Fell and remove trees and perform stump grinding.
- Maintain and service equipment like chippers and chainsaws.
- Be proficient with power tools and other powered machinery.
- Plant trees and vegetation.
- Assess the health of trees and create plans of action.
- Climb trees to prune or remove branches as required.
Tree Surgery - Health and Safety
Tree surgery can soon become a dangerous enterprise if conducted badly, therefore one of the principle worries is the health and safety aspect. Incapable or inexperienced "tree surgeons" in Garforth are likely to take shortcuts and just ignore accepted safety advice, meaning that there may be hardly any fall protection, in the form of platforms, harnesses and ropes, failure to use cut resistant clothing (specifically trousers and safety boots), a lack of head protection, falling timber and branches, neglecting to cordon-off the work area to protect the general public and vehicles and not wearing eyesight or hearing protection. What can be at risk due to this type of incompetence are vehicles, employees on the ground, the home owners, the tree surgeon himself (up the tree), passers by, fencing and garden sheds, the actual tree, the building structure within the property, facilities on the street.
Dutch Elm Disease
A fungal disease that has killed off tens of millons of precious elm trees throughout the UK during the past five decades or more, Dutch Elm Disease (Ophiostoma novo-ulmi) is not quite as big a problem as it was previously. Unintentionally imported into the British Isles, in infected elm logs imported from Canada in the Sixties, Dutch Elm Disease is caused by a fungus called Ophiostoma novo-ulmi which is spread by the elm bark beetle (especially the Scolytus genus).
After its arrival, it was rapidly spread through the movement of elm products like mulching bark, saplings, crates, and logs with the bark on. This horrible disease didn't only impact elms in the UK, but also decimated tree stocks in continental Europe, North America and New Zealand. Although the origins of Dutch Elm Disease are uncertain, the suspicions are that it first came from Asia (most likely Japan).
Usually first showing up in early summer, the recognisable signs of Dutch Elm Disease disease are:
- Foliage that turns yellow, wilts, shrivels and falls.
- A "shepherd's crook" reaction on affected twigs.
- Dark rings or spots in the cross-section of twigs.
- New shoots dying back from the tips.
The spread of Dutch Elm Disease has been substantially slowed by the felling and removal of dying, infected and dead trees, which has in essence decimated the favourite habitat of the beetle. There is currently a continuing project for the propagation of young trees which are resistant to Dutch Elm Disease.
You could ask for a diagnosis from the Tree Health Diagnostic and Advisory Service, or you can contact your local tree surgeon for advice, if you have elm trees in your garden in Garforth, and have suspicions that they may be affected by Dutch Elm Disease.
The International Society of Arboriculture
Headquartered in the United States of America, the International Society of Arboriculture, usually referred to as the ISA is a non-profit organisation that encourages the benefits and awareness of trees. Serving the tree care industry all around the globe, the ISA is a membership association that advances the professional practice of arboriculture, and provides qualifications for tree care professionals.
Promoting best practices in tree care, and focused on education, research and technology, the ISA provides educational publications, events and services improve the arboricultural expertise, skills and knowledge of people working in the tree care sector.
The Arboricultural Association (AA) is now an associate organisation of the ISA after signing an agreement with them in mid-2016. Providing further opportunities for ISA members in Great Britain and Ireland, this also substantially strengthened the relationship between the two. Any UK tree care professionals having either AA or ISA membership are now able to reap the wide and diverse benefits of being an integral part of a unique international network. The International Society of Arboriculture now has professional affiliates and associate organisations in EXTRAtree pest control, felling of storm damaged trees Garforth, damaged tree cutting and removal, landscaping in Garforth, monitoring of tree health, tree care Garforth, root flare exposure in Garforth, forestry management, stump removal, woodland management, crown raising in Garforth, crown lifting, woodland clearance in Garforth, soil terraventing, damage restoration Garforth, tree cutting, cable bracing Garforth, tree reduction, eco plug treatments, tree staking, fruit tree pruning, dead wooding, coppicing, the removal of dead wood, tree pruning, tree lightening protection Garforth, tree bracing, shrub maintenance, tree shaping in Garforth, vegetation managementTEN, and the United Kingdom, and now has a worldwide membership of over 22,000.
Tree Surgery Tasks Garforth
Garforth tree surgeons will likely help with tree pest control, felling of storm damaged trees Garforth, damaged tree cutting and removal, landscaping in Garforth, monitoring of tree health, tree care Garforth, root flare exposure in Garforth, forestry management, stump removal, woodland management, crown raising in Garforth, crown lifting, woodland clearance in Garforth, soil terraventing, damage restoration Garforth, tree cutting, cable bracing Garforth, tree reduction, eco plug treatments, tree staking, fruit tree pruning, dead wooding, coppicing, the removal of dead wood, tree pruning, tree lightening protection Garforth, tree bracing, shrub maintenance, tree shaping in Garforth, vegetation management and other tree surgeon services in Garforth, West Yorkshire. Listed are just a selection of the duties that are undertaken by a tree surgeon. Garforth providers will inform you of their full range of services.
Tree Surgeons Nearby
Also find: Swillington Common tree surgeon, Scarcroft tree surgeon, Colton tree surgeon, Aberford tree surgeon, Cross Gates tree surgeon, Great Preston tree surgeon, Barwick in Elmet tree surgeon, Micklefield tree surgeon, Whinmoor tree surgeon, Peckfield tree surgeon, Thorpe Park tree surgeon and more. All of these locations are serviced by tree surgeons. Home and property owners in these areas can get quotes for tree surgery by going here.
Tree Care Services Garforth
- Garforth Dead Wooding
- Garforth Arboriculture
- Garforth Eco-Plugging
- Garforth Tree Topping
- Garforth Cable Bracing
- Garforth Tree Care
- Garforth Tree Surveys
- Garforth Shrub Maintenance
- Garforth Tree Maintenance
- Garforth Soil Terravention
- Garforth Tree Bracing
- Garforth Tree Transplanting
- Garforth Woodland Management
- Garforth Crown Lifting
To read local Garforth information check here
Tree Surgery LS25 area, 0113.
Stump Removal Garforth - Tree Surgeons Garforth - Tree Surgery Garforth - Crown Thinning Garforth - Tree Surgeon Garforth - Tree Care Garforth - Arboriculturalist Garforth - 0113 - Woodland Management Garforth