Tree Surgeon St Albans

Folks in St Albans who try to do tree work by themselves, or by using a non-qualified operative could cause a risk of damage to property, the trees or to life. However, tree work isn't altogether safe for certified tree surgeons, who are familiar with all the risks involved. Within the industry there are a worrying average of three deaths and one hundred and forty major injuries each year, making tree surgery among the most hazardous jobs in the UK.

A damaged or neglected tree can also present a risk to life, with around 5 people a year being fatally wounded by falling branches or trees in the UK. If an injury, or damage to property occurs due to you bringing in someone to conduct tree work, you may well be liable to third-party compensation claims as a consequence of your actions. This is why it is imperative to employ a certified tree surgeon to do the work on your trees in St Albans. (The source of the above figures was HSE UK).

There are 2 major professional arboricultural bodies, at least one of which an experienced tree surgeon in St Albans should be a signed up member of. You can check the professional status and membership of any tree surgeon on the websites of either the AA (Arboricultural Association) or the ISA (International Society of Arboriculture). This webpage allows you to check whether any particular local tree surgeon has recognised ARB Approved Contractor status, and is a member of either of these bodies.

If an issue emerges during or after any tree work has been completed you can communicate with these trade associations for assistance in arbitration and for help and guidance at any stage.

If somebody offers to provide you with a quote for any tree work and they're not on this directory list, you should courteously decline their offer of work and continue your search for an approved contractor. You should try and get at least three different estimates from various companies in the St Albans area once you are reassured of their professional qualifications and associations. Whilst acquiring these quotations you should ask the following questions, making it abundantly clear that you need to know the answers due to the risks involved with the work:

• Do you have documents to indicate that you've got the appropriate qualifications, membership of the AA or ISA, and also a certificate for chainsaw use from the NPTC? It's required by law that any tree worker who uses a chainsaw must have gained NPTC/LANTRA certification. A skilled St Albans tree surgeon might hold National Diplomas and Certificates in Arboriculture.
• What insurance cover is provided? As suggested by the ISA and AA, your tree surgeon ought to be able to show you an insurance certificate covering no less than £5 Million public liability.
• Can you provide a written quotation? You should NEVER accept a verbal quote only. Only ever accept a written quote.
• Can I contact a recent person who you have worked for so I can assess the standard of your workmanship? It is generally a good idea to do an independent examination of recently accomplished work.

The written quotation that you are given should include easily followed details of the planned tree work. Who is responsible for the removal and disposal of tree branches, stumps and debris should be stated, as should information on any trees which might be protected in law, and the required steps to obtain permission to carry out work on them. Unless you're a commercial business, you should also make certain VAT has been included on the quotation. It is very important to understand that you've got a responsibility to employ only skilled people to work on your property and trees. This is laid out by the "Common law duty of care responsibilities and sometimes liabilities under the Occupier's Liability Acts of 1957 and 1984."

PRIOR TO WORK - Checking whether any of your trees are protected, your preferred St Albans tree surgeon should make sure that any tree work can get the green light from the relevant local authority department. To ensure public safety, even protected trees need to be maintained so as to cut back old or dead wood, therefore discovering that a tree is protected does not mean that you're unable to carry out essential work.

If your property in St Albans is in a designated conservation area then a minimum of six weeks written notice is required to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) before any tree work can be performed. This written notice is not required if the stem of the tree is under 7.5cm in diameter when measured at 1.5m from the ground. Notice is also not required if pruning or thinning of a protected tree's branches is crucial to promote and sustain growth.

After fully assessing the health of the trees on your property, your chosen St Albans tree surgeon will decide on the necessary treatments and how the best outcome can be safely accomplished. This involves conducting a full risk assessment to include your property, public spaces and any parts of a neighbour's property that could be impacted by falling branches. The level of protection needed and the quantity of workers required, will also be established at this stage. To keep the public and other property safe from damage or harm, this will include both personal protective equipment (PPE) and other safety measures.

ON THE DAY OF WORK - Barriers and safety measures should be put in place before any cutting of branches, climbing or tree felling is started, to keep unauthorised persons and passers-by away from the work area. It might at some point be necessary to halt the traffic temporarily, if there's any threat of debris falling onto the highway.

Different types of work will demand that the tree surgeon has different levels of protection. As the bare minimum when doing chainsaw work they will be wearing special protective clothing to prevent cutting injuries to the hands, torso and legs. High-vis clothing, and head and eye protection, must be worn by all workers involved in the operation.

Extra workers will generally be necessary to assist in the removal of high branches and large sections of tree trunk, especially if working at height is involved, and where ladders and associated climbing equipment is being deployed. For hauling waste away from the work area, a skip or truck will be stationed as close to the work area as possible. This need for access is a good reason to inform your neighbours of the work you are intending to do.

AFTER COMPLETION OF WORK - Upon completion of all the tree work, the site can be cleared of all debris, and all of the branches and waste can be taken away. Particularly in the case of any protected trees, a certificate of work will then be prepared by your tree surgeon, which can be signed off and a copy handed to you. If there were any public spaces that required safety measures, this will be taken away and roads and footpaths will be re-opened.

If you've got any complaints about the completed work, you should get them put right immediately by firstly speaking to your tree surgeon. If your tree surgeon is a member of a trade body, and there is any further dispute or arbitration required, you can receive help and advice from the Arboricultural Association or the International Society of Arboriculture so as to reach an acceptable solution.

Locally based St Albans tree surgery services will most likely have the postcode AL1 and the telephone dialling code 01727. They will work in St Albans itself, in addition to nearby areas such as Saint Stephens, Marshalswick, The Camp, Napsbury, Chiswell Green, Saint Julians, London Colney, Porters Wood, Fleetville, Townsend, Park Street, New Greens, Frogmore, Gorehambury, and these postcodes: AL1 1NR, AL1 1BY, AL1 1BZ, AL1 1JU, AL1 1PD, AL1 1SP, AL1 1NE, AL1 1UE, AL1 1HD, AL1 1TA.

If you need this type of assistance it is definitely better to hire a qualified tree surgeon. St Albans home and property owners can benefit from the skill sets that a seasoned professional can offer.

Storm Damage St Albans

To most people, trees seem sturdy, strong and capable of withstanding virtually anything that Mother Nature can throw their way. Actually certain varieties of trees can survive for many hundreds of years and do so happily and without problems.

Despite all this, trees are certainly vulnerable to adverse weather, and aside from the danger of falling branches and limbs, when confronted by a certain set of conditions they may also topple over completely, causing a lot of damage. The principal weather related problem for trees is high winds, and as the number of severe storms and weather events in St Albans escalates because of climate change, this form of damage is becoming more and more commonplace. Another issue can be heavy snow during wintertime, and waterlogged soil during flooding or prolonged periods of rain.

So as to be prepared for any issues that could arise during times of severe weather, it is recommended that you have a qualified St Albans tree surgeon prune and remove any dead or excessively long branches, and check for any further problems.

It is also a good idea to fit taller trees with lightning rods, copper conductors, or other lightning protection systems, to prevent them being struck by lightning, and to safeguard surrounding buildings and property which may be vulnerable to "arcs" or side-flashes. A tree which is struck by lightning can be killed or severely weakened, a weakened tree can be left vulnerable to disease, decay or pests. Lightning occurs more frequently than you might think, and there are around 300 thousand strikes each year in the UK alone.

Ask your local St Albans tree care specialist what they can do to safeguard your trees from storm damage and reduce the chances of serious consequences should an unstable tree topple over as a result of extreme weather conditions.

Crown Thinning St Albans

The removing of a number of the smaller branches at the outer crown of a tree to create a density of foliage that's uniform all the way through without altering the shape or size of the tree, is termed crown thinning. This procedure is usually only performed on trees with broad leves (Rather than conifers) and is done to prevent the tree from being uprooted when it is windy, to enable more light throughout, to minimize the stress upon specific limbs due to ice, snow, wind, or gravity, to minimize the wind resistance of the tree or to lower the total weight of the crown of the tree. Crown thinning isn't supposed to change the general size and form of the tree, but ought to produce a uniform foliage density surrounding uniformly spaced branches. (Tags: Tree Crown Thinning St Albans, Crown Thinning St Albans, Crown Thin St Albans)

A Tree Surgeons's Everyday Duties

• Evaluate tree health and treatments.
• Produce tree survey reports for domestic and commercial clients.
• Plant trees and vegetation.
• Climb trees to remove or prune branches as required.
• Service equipment like chainsaws and wood chippers.
• Fell and remove trees and perform stump grinding.
• Be adept with power tools and machinery.
• Deal with clients and complete admin duties.
• Chip and cut logs and branches.
• Clean up area on completion and remove waste from client's site.
• Identify dangers presented by trees.
• Prepare telephone or on-site quotations with the customers.

Stump Grinding

If you want to have some stump grinding done, you should bring in a firm having the correct knowhow and tools. The finest St Albans tree surgeons will appreciate that every single bit of the tree stump should be taken out to a depth of at least one foot. Having access to the recommended machinery means that your tree surgeon will have the ability to remove roots and stumps very close to walls and structures without without damaging them. The right machines can also cope with any stumps located in narrow alleys and passageways. Where big trees must be removed the stump which is left can be fairly substantial and the thicker roots will go down to a significant depth, needing a herculean effort to deal with them them.

Conservation Areas & Tree Preservation Orders St Albans

Before carrying out any serious work on your trees in St Albans, you need to make certain there is not a TPO (Tree Preservation Order) on any of them. To check whether any trees on your property are covered by Tree Preservation Orders, get in touch with your local planning authority. You must not perform uprooting, topping, lopping, wilful destruction, wilful damage, removal or felling, without consent in writing from your local authority, if a tree on your property in St Albans is covered by a Tree Preservation Order. Your tree surgeon should be able to give you advice on this and help you with any checks.

Also, if you propose to carry out any work on a tree with a stem diameter of seventy five millimetres or more, and you reside inside a conservation area in St Albans, you must give your local council a minimum of 6 weeks written notice of the work. (Tags: Tree Preservation Orders St Albans, TPOs St Albans, Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) St Albans).

The ISA (International Society of Arboriculture)

The International Society of Arboriculture, often referred to as just the ISA, is an international non-profit organisation that is headquartered in Atlanta, GA, USA. Providing credentials for tree care professionals all around the globe, the ISA is a membership association that champions the professional practice of arboriculture.

The ISA has its focus on best tree care practices, helping those in the tree care sector fully develop their arboricultural expertise, knowledge and skills, by promoting educational services, events and publications.

An agreement signed in 2016 between the Arboricultural Association and the International Society of Arboriculture, meant that the AA became an associate organisation of the ISA. This significantly strengthened the relationship between the two organisations and provided additional opportunities for ISA members in the United Kingdom and Ireland. UK members of the AA can now enjoy the benefits of being an integral part of a worldwide tree care network. With professional affiliates and associate organisations in EXTRAretrenchment pruning St Albans, tree pruning in St Albans, tree replanting, tree removal, arboriculture, tree surveys, professional tree care, emergency tree surgery, drop crotching, root pruning St Albans, crown raising in St Albans, brush cutting, damage restoration St Albans, tree reduction St Albans, woodland clearances St Albans, damaged tree cutting and removal, airspading, stump grinding St Albans, hedge lowering, decompaction in St Albans, coppicing in St Albans, tree maintenance in St Albans, stump removal, safety inspections St Albans, tree shaping St Albans, tree transplanting, dead wooding, repair of storm damaged trees, waste removal, tree wateringTEN, and the UK, the ISA now boasts over twenty two thousand members from all around the world.

Accidents Through Tree Surgery

As was mentioned earlier, the work that tree care professionals in St Albans do, involves a high level of danger. All reasonable safety measures must be taken when carrying out work on trees, because tree work involves a high risk of injury to both operatives, co-workers and passers-by.

As stated by figures gathered by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), falls from trees, the use of chainsaws, and being struck by a falling tree or branch are responsible for a large majority of major and fatal injuries. In actual fact, arborists and tree care specialists are more at risk of being seriously injured than those involved in the construction industry.

The most accident claims, in relation to insurance, are for being struck by objects (branches, grapple hooks, cranes, ropes, trees etc), lifting injuries and falling from ladders.

This should all help you appreciate why it's so crucial to choose a qualified tree surgeon in St Albans. Quite frequently, accidents in the tree care sector are down to untrained novices trying to do work that they're not equipped for, nor competent in. Consequently, to avoid this kind of issue, always try to use a reputable and experienced company that's been trading in the St Albans area for a good few years.

Deadwooding St Albans

A necessary part of tree management and care, the process of dead-wooding will be carried out by all competent tree surgeons in St Albans. Calling for the removal or dying and dead branches which could pose a threat to homes, vehicles or passers-by, dead-wooding helps to make a tree both safer and healthier. There may be a variety of explanations why the branches of a tree die off, the most common being a damaged root system, pest attacks, a lack of light or disease.

Even though the usual reason for removing dead branches is that of safety, it is also done for the overall benefit of the tree, or for aesthetic reasons. Insect infestation and disease can be attracted by an excessive number of dying, damaged and dead branches, therefore the tree's health can be radically improved by removing such dead branches. You can also improve a tree's appearance through this technique, because trees with lots of dead wood can also look rather unappealing.

Only larger and more substantial dead branches will generally be taken out, because in most cases the smaller ones will not pose much of a risk. Even so, any dead branches that are over 50 millimetres in diameter may have to be removed in locations where a tree overhangs a park, a property, a public space, a garden or a highway in St Albans.

Eco-Plugging St Albans

If you have large tree stumps in your garden that need to be removed, the traditional procedure used by most tree surgeons in St Albans is stump grinding. However, nowadays there is a less expensive alternative to this technique in the shape of "eco-plugging". Eco-plugging isn't only less expensive, but it is also useful for use in hard-to-reach locations that are largely inaccessible to stump grinding equipment.

For killing off tree stumps without affecting the surrounding trees and vegetation, eco-plugging is an incredibly effective treatment. Eco-plugs eliminate a tree stump by destroying the whole root system, and can be used in all weather conditions, and at any time of the year. Effective for use on a wide range of trees, eco-plugs are 95-100 percent effective and contain a type of crystalline glyphosate herbicide. (Tags: Eco-Plugs St Albans, Eco-Plugging Tree Stump Removal St Albans, Eco-Plugging St Albans, Eco-Plug Treatments St Albans).

Ash Dieback (Hymenoscyphus Fraxineus)

First recorded in the UK in 2021, ash dieback is an infectious fungal disease which is expected to wipe out around 80% of the current ash tree stock, in the next few years. Already having an equally calamitous impact on the beautiful British countryside as Dutch Elm Disease, ash dieback is just another huge blow to the UK's tree stocks.

A damaging disease of trees of the Fraxinus genus, ash dieback has a particularly disastrous effect on the Fraxinus excelsior (common ash), British Fraxinus excelsior (common or European ash). Originating in Asia where the native Manchurian ash (Fraxinus mandshurica) and Chinese ash (Fraxinus chinensis) are less susceptible to it, the fungus which causes the disease is known as Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (H. fraxineus), and it kills off the tree by obstructing its vascular (water transport) systems.

Already present in most regions of Great Britain, ash dieback (or chalara ash dieback as it's often known) is dispersed by microscopic spores that blow on the wind, and which are able to travel for many miles.

Ash dieback is recognisable by the following symptoms:

• The formation of lesions (often diamond shaped) where branches meet with the trunk.
• Leaves with dark patches that develop during mid to late summer.
• Leaves and shoots which are visibly dying during the growing season.
• New epicormic growth appearing from buds that were previously dormant.
• Foliage that wilts, turns black in colour and falls prematurely.

Ash trees have the ability to fend off the disease to some extent, but eventually succumb to continual attacks. As it's an airborne disease there's no clear-cut approach for stopping its spread, and no known cure for chalara ash dieback.

If you believe you have discovered a tree infected with ash dieback in your garden in St Albans, or somewhere else in the local area, you could report it to the "Tree Alert Service" provided by the Forestry Commission, although the disease is so commonplace throughout Great Britain that they are only really interested to know about cases discovered in areas not previously affected. You should however speak to a local tree surgeon, who can offer guidance about how to proceed.

Trees that are affected by ash dieback: Fraxinus excelsior, EXTRAretrenchment pruning St Albans, tree pruning in St Albans, tree replanting, tree removal, arboriculture, tree surveys, professional tree care, emergency tree surgery, drop crotching, root pruning St Albans, crown raising in St Albans, brush cutting, damage restoration St Albans, tree reduction St Albans, woodland clearances St Albans, damaged tree cutting and removal, airspading, stump grinding St Albans, hedge lowering, decompaction in St Albans, coppicing in St Albans, tree maintenance in St Albans, stump removal, safety inspections St Albans, tree shaping St Albans, tree transplanting, dead wooding, repair of storm damaged trees, waste removal, tree wateringNINE.

Tree Surgery Tasks St Albans

St Albans tree surgeons can usually help with retrenchment pruning St Albans, tree pruning in St Albans, tree replanting, tree removal, arboriculture, tree surveys, professional tree care, emergency tree surgery, drop crotching, root pruning St Albans, crown raising in St Albans, brush cutting, damage restoration St Albans, tree reduction St Albans, woodland clearances St Albans, damaged tree cutting and removal, airspading, stump grinding St Albans, hedge lowering, decompaction in St Albans, coppicing in St Albans, tree maintenance in St Albans, stump removal, safety inspections St Albans, tree shaping St Albans, tree transplanting, dead wooding, repair of storm damaged trees, waste removal, tree watering and other tree surgeon services in St Albans, Hertfordshire. These are just a small portion of the duties that are carried out by a tree surgeon. St Albans specialists will keep you informed about their whole range of services.

Tree Surgeons Nearby

Also find: Fleetville tree surgeon, Townsend tree surgeon, Napsbury tree surgeon, Frogmore tree surgeon, New Greens tree surgeon, Saint Stephens tree surgeon, The Camp tree surgeon, Saint Julians tree surgeon, Gorehambury tree surgeon, Marshalswick tree surgeon, Park Street tree surgeon, Porters Wood tree surgeon, Chiswell Green tree surgeon and more. Most of these towns and villages are covered by tree surgeons. Homeowners in the area can get quotes for tree surgery by going here.

Tree Care Services St Albans

Find a Tree Surgeon in St Albans Here

• St Albans Root Removal
• St Albans Tree Reduction
• St Albans Soil Terraventing
• St Albans Tree Lopping
• St Albans Root Grinding
• St Albans Wood Chipping
• St Albans Cable Bracing
• St Albans Crown Thinning
• St Albans Hedge Reduction
• St Albans Tree Cutting
• St Albans Tree Topping
• St Albans Crown Cleaning
• St Albans Tree Removal
• St Albans Stump Treatment

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Tree Surgeon Jobs St Albans: Find St Albans tree surgeon jobs here: Tree Surgeon Jobs St Albans

Tree Surgery AL1 area, phone code 01727.

01727 - Tree Surgeon St Albans - Vegetation Control St Albans - Tree Management St Albans - AL1 - Stump Grinding St Albans - Tree Reshaping St Albans - Crown Reduction St Albans - Tree Care St Albans