Tree Surgeon Swanley

Using non-qualified personnel for tree work or attempting to do it by yourself, could cause damage to property, harm your trees, or even be life threatening. But even hiring a specialist tree surgeon who is aware of all the hazards does not necessarily mean that tree work is safe. Within the industry there are a worrying average of 140 serious injuries and three deaths annually, making tree surgery among the most dangerous jobs in the UK.

There is also a danger to life from damaged or neglected trees in Swanley, seeing as around 5 people each year are fatally wounded in Britain by falling branches and trees. If there is an injury, or damage to property due to you bringing in someone to carry out tree work, you could be liable to third-party compensation claims. The above are just some of the reasons why hiring a professional Swanley tree surgeon to carry out the work on your trees is important. (The source of the above figures was HSE).

FINDING A TREE SURGEON IN SWANLEY - A skilled Swanley tree surgeon will likely be a registered member of one or both of the two main professional industry bodies. The professional status and membership of any tree surgeon in Swanley can be checked on the websites of both the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) and the Arboricultural Association (AA). This page permits you to check out if any specific tree surgeon has recognised ARB Approved Contractor status, and is a member of either of these organisations.

You'll be able to make contact with these professional bodies for mediation assistance and for help and guidance at any stage, if an issue crops up during or after any tree work has been finished.

You should graciously decline the offer of a quotation from anyone who is not on this directory, and carry on your search for an approved and qualified contractor. As soon as you've reassured yourself of their accreditations and professional memberships you should try to get a minimum of 3 different price quotes from various companies in and around Swanley. Due to the risks involved in tree surgery work, you should ask the following questions, making it crystal clear that you need them to provide you with the answers:

• Do you have documents to indicate that you have the recommended qualifications, membership of the AA or ISA, and also a certificate for basic chainsaw use from the NPTC? The NPTC/LANTRA certificate is required by law for any operative/tree surgeon who uses a chainsaw. City and Guilds National Diplomas and Certificates in Arboriculture are qualifications that might be held by a certified Swanley tree surgeon.
• Can you provide a quotation in writing? You must NEVER settle for a verbal quote only. Only ever accept a written quote.
• Precisely what is your level of insurance cover? Don't consider a tree surgeon in Swanley with any less than £5 Million public liability insurance as stipulated by the ISA and AA.
• Can I contact a recent person who you have worked for so that I can assess the quality of your tree work? It is always a good idea to perform an independent examination of recently completed work.

The written quote that you're provided with should include easy to follow specifics of the planned work. It should mention whose responsibility it is to remove waste, tree branches and stumps, and should also include specifics of any trees which may be protected in law, and the steps required to get permission to carry out work on them. Unless you are a commercial business, you should also make sure that VAT has been included on the quote. You have a responsibility to hire only qualified people to work on your trees and property, and it is extremely important to understand that fact. This is laid out by the "Common law duty of care responsibilities under the Occupier's Liability Acts of 1957 and 1984."

PRIOR TO WORK COMMENCING - Finding out whether any of your trees are protected, your chosen Swanley tree surgeon should make sure that any tree work can get the go-ahead from the appropriate local authority. To ensure public safety, even protected trees require maintenance so as to cut back dead or damaged wood, therefore discovering that a tree is protected doesn't suggest that you're unable to carry out essential work.

No less than six weeks written notice must be given to the Local Planning Authority prior to any work being performed, if your property in Swanley is within a conservation area. This only applies to trees with a stem diameter of more than seventy five millimetres in diameter, at a point 1.5m above the ground. If a protected tree's branches need to be pruned or thinned to sustain and promote growth, it's also not necessary to provide notice.

Your chosen Swanley tree surgeon will decide on the necessary remedial treatment and how best to achieve the required outcome in a safe manner after completing a thorough assessment of your trees health. Public spaces, your property and any parts of a neighbour's property that could be affected by falling debris and branches will all be given a risk assessment. This stage will also ascertain the amount of operatives required and the level of protection needed. This is both personal protection equipment together with other safety measures to keep property and the general public safe from damage or harm.

ON THE DAY OF WORK - Before any climbing, tree felling or cutting of branches commences, barriers and safety measures will be put in place to keep unauthorised persons and passers-by away from the area where work is going on. If there is any risk of debris falling into a public road, passing traffic may need to be temporarily halted.

Different kinds of work will require the tree surgeon to have varying degrees of protection. When working with a chainsaw, they will as a bare minimum be wearing special protective clothing to avoid serious cutting injuries to the torso, hands and legs. Without exception, every operative involved in the work should wear eye and head protection, and high visibility clothing.

Safety climbing equipment and ladders will be necessary if any working at height is involved, and to help in the safe removal of high branches and large pieces of tree trunk, additional workers will be needed. A skip or other method of transporting the waste away will be parked as close as possible to the work area, so it is a good idea to inform your next door neighbours of the need for easy access.

UPON COMPLETION OF WORK - As soon as the tree work has been finished all of the branches and waste can be transported away and the area cleared of all debris. Your tree surgeon should then sign off and provide you with a certificate of work done, especially in the case of any protected trees. Footpaths and highways can then be re-opened to the public, with any safety measures in public areas being taken away.

If you have any complaints about or issues with the work, you should get them fixed immediately by firstly speaking to your tree surgeon. If there's any further dispute or arbitration needed, and your tree surgeon is a signed up member of a professional trade body, you can get advice and help from the AA or the ISA in order to come to an acceptable solution.

Local Swanley tree surgery services are likely to have the telephone dialling code 01322 and the postcode BR8. They will operate in Swanley itself, in addition to nearby areas such as St Mary Cray, Eynsford, Kevintown, Chislehurst, Darenth, Hook Green, Horton Kirby, Hextable, Dartford, Questor, Crockenhill, Sidcup, Farningham, Fawkham, Orpington, Wilmington, and these postcodes: BR8 7NB, BR8 7DP, BR8 7EA, BR8 7FA, BR8 7QF, BR8 7EN, BR8 7DJ, BR5 3JA, BR8 7PS, BR8 7HG.

For this kind of assistance it is certainly advisable to employ a certified local tree surgeon. Swanley business and home owners can benefit greatly from the skills and knowhow offered by a fully trained professional.

Storm Damage Swanley

At first glance, trees seem strong, sturdy and able to withstand virtually anything that Mother Nature can throw at them. Actually certain varieties of trees can live for hundreds (even thousands) of years.

Despite all this, trees can be susceptible to unfavourable weather conditions, and aside from the possibility of falling limbs and branches, when faced with certain conditions they may also topple over completely, causing a lot of damage or even death. The principal weather related problem for trees is wind, and as the frequency of violent storms and weather events in Swanley increases due to climate change, this sort of damage is becoming more and more common. Another problem can be heavy snowfall during winter, and saturated soil during flooding or prolonged periods of rainfall.

It is recommended that you get a competent Swanley tree surgeon to check out your trees to lessen the chance of problems with your trees in times of severe weather, they will trim and remove any dead or overhanging branches that could be a problem.

It's also recommended to fit bigger trees with lightning rods, copper conductors, or other lightning protection systems, to prevent them getting struck by lightning, and to protect surrounding buildings and property which may be susceptible to side-flashes ("arcs"). A tree can be killed or severely weakened when it is struck by lightning, and even if the effect is not immediately obvious, the tree is going to be more susceptible to attack by pests and diseases. Lightning occurs more frequently than you may believe, and there are approximately 300,000 strikes annually in the UK.

Ask your local Swanley tree surgery company what they can do to safeguard your trees from being damaged by storms and reduce the risk of major consequences should an unstable tree topple over due to bad weather.

Deadwooding Swanley

An important element of tree care, the process of dead-wooding will be carried out by all competent tree surgeons in Swanley. Dead-wooding calls for the removal of dead and dying branches that could present a danger to passers-by, vehicles or homes. There could be a number of reasons why the branches of a tree die, the most typical being a damaged root system, excessive shading, pest attacks or diseases.

Even though safety is clearly the usual reason for dead-wooding a tree, it is quite often done to make the tree more visually appealing, or so that the tree itself will benefit from the process. Insect infestation and disease can be encouraged by an excessive number of damaged, dead and dying branches, therefore the tree's health can be greatly improved by removing such dead branches. Dead wood also makes a tree look ugly, and by removing much of this you can make it more attractive.

Only substantial dead branches will generally be taken off, as in most instances the smaller ones will not present much of a risk. Nonetheless, it may be advisable to cut out any dead limbs that are more than 50 millimetres in diameter, where trees in Swanley overhang a property, a park, a garden, a road or a public area. (Tags: Dead-Wooding Swanley, Deadwooding Swanley, Deadwooding Surgery Swanley, Deadwooding Trees Swanley).

The Skills and Knowledge Needed to be a Tree Surgeon in Swanley

• Being able to work efficiently with others.
• Good knowledge of public safety measures.
• Customer service skills.
• Have patience and the ability to stay calm and focused in times of stress.
• Have a methodical and organised working approach.
• To be able to execute common tasks on a hand-held device or computer.
• Have the ability to use, maintain and repair machines and tools.
• Physical skills like movement and coordination.
• Be professional and capable of completing work within the specified time frame.
• Be alert to the complexities and dangers involved in all aspects of work.
• Be able to work well with your hands.

Removing Tree Stumps Swanley

When you have a tree chopped down and removed from your garden in Swanley, unless arranged with the tree surgeon, you'll be left with a tree stump to deal with. You may be thinking about using the stump as a quirky garden seat for example, and may be happy to leave it in place until it eventually rots away. However, tree stumps in your garden can attract unwanted pests, be a trip hazard, and can even produce suckers in an attempt to regrow themselves.

There are various techniques for removing a stump completely, but stump removal or stump grinding are the two main choices. Below we will be investigating the stump removal solution.

In relation to getting rid of a tree stump, the three primary techniques are digging out by hand, burning and chemical treatment. If you are intending to deal with a stump yourself, you could use any of these strategies. If you are going to bring in a tree surgeon to perform the job, they'll usually favour the aforementioned stump grinding solution, however a chemically based stump removal treatment such as eco-plugging might also be on the agenda.

Stump Digging: The method of digging out a stump by hand is fairly straightforward, and requires shoveling out out as much of the earth as possible from around the roots, cutting any main roots with a chainsaw or handsaw, and eventually freeing the stump so it can be hoisted out and removed. The use of a winch may be required for the final removal of the stump. This tends to be laborious and tiring work, and should not be attempted by anyone who's not physically fit and up to the job.

Chemical Stump Removers: The chemical treatment option involves the use of a powerful chemical like Vitax SBK Stump Killer, Resolva Xtra Tough Tree Stump Killer or Roundup Tree Stump Remover. When using any of these products you should closely follow the manufacturer's instructions, as such chemicals can be incredibly dangerous. Depending on the size of the stump, and if it's dead or alive at the time of treatment, it can take a few weeks or perhaps even months for a stump to decay entirely, so look at this as a long term rather than a short term fix. Once well decayed, it can be chopped up with an axe and removed with a shovel.

Tree Stump Removal by Burning: As it can be quite dangerous and may be at variance with local legislation, stump burning isn't really recommended, so if you use this approach, take great care. A number of holes will need to be drilled in the tree stump, and for a number of days kept topped up with vegetable oil. You can then stack charcoal around the tree stump and set it alight. However, this must be constantly supervised and not left unwatched. Make sure that the fire is properly extinguished as soon as it is completely burned out. You'll then be able to dig out the stump ashes and roots after it has completely cooled down.

An alternative method is shoveling out all the soil from beneath the tree stump and lighting a fire in the void underneath. Never burn a tree stump if it's near fences, other trees or a building.

Health and Safety

One of the primary issues with tree surgery in Swanley is the safety aspect, as it can certainly be a dangerous and risky enterprise if done badly. If the "tradespeople" engaged in the tree surgery are inexperienced or untrained, there are many things that can easily go wrong such as failure to use cut resistant (chainsaw resistant) apparel (especially trousers and boots), inadequate head protection, falling branches and timber, no protection from falling, in the form of platforms, harnesses and ropes, not using eye or hearing protection and not cordoning off the area to protect vehicles and passers-by. In jeopardy due to such inadequacies are nearby properties, the tree surgeon (person in the tree), the property owners, the street facilities, parked and passing vehicles, those working on the ground, the actual tree itself, fences and garden sheds, pedestrians.

The ISA - International Society of Arboriculture

Headquartered in Atlanta, USA, the International Society of Arboriculture, usually referred to as simply the ISA is a non-profit organisation that fosters the awareness and benefits of trees. Championing the professional practice of arboriculture, the ISA is a membership association that serves the tree care industry throughout the world.

With its focus firmly on technology, research and education, the ISA encourages best tree care practice via educational publications, services and events, allowing those in the tree care industry to fully develop their knowledge, skills and arboricultural expertise.

After signing an agreement with them the Arboricultural Association (AA) was accepted as an associate organisation of the International Society of Arboriculture in mid-2016. This allowed the two associations to strengthen their relationship, while providing further opportunities for anyone in the UK and Ireland who was a registered member of the ISA. Being an integral part of a global network of tree care professionals is something that ISA and AA members in Great Britain and Ireland can now enjoy. The International Society of Arboriculture now has associate organisations and professional affiliates in EXTRAstaking, safety inspections, commercial tree surgery, tree transplanting, arboriculture Swanley, damage restoration, tree maintenance, woodchipping, tree removal Swanley, hedge reduction, landscaping Swanley, coppicing, root flare exposure in Swanley, residential tree care, tree pruning, tree planning in Swanley, landscape clearing, tree lopping in Swanley, emergency tree removal, tree waste removal, hedge planting, damaged tree cutting and removal, vegetation management, brush cutting in Swanley, tree felling, tree fertilising Swanley, cut sealing, dead-wooding, soil terravention Swanley, fruit tree pruningTEN, and the UK, and now has a worldwide membership of more than 22,000.

Tree Transplanting Swanley

Moving a mature tree and transplanting it in an alternative location may seem challenging, but with heavy, modern lifting equipment and vehicle mounted tree spades, it has become a fairly straightforward undertaking. Fully-grown trees can be transplanted onto new ground to achieve an instantly landscaped look, or overgrown wooded areas could be thinned without needing to resort to tree felling.

If you have no choice but to transplant a tree in Swanley in the warmer seasons of spring and summer, you should minimise the stress of the move on the tree's roots by thoroughly soaking the soil with water before any work commences. Moving a mature tree will involve a mechanical spade burrowing down and encompassing the root-ball, before lifting the whole tree, unharmed, from the ground. The uplifted tree is then able to be moved to its new location for transplanting, or kept in temporary storage until it is ready to be replanted.

Even protected trees can be transplanted by an experienced tree moving service in Swanley, providing all relevant preservation orders and authorisations are granted by the authorities and woodland organisations. It should be possible to get transplanting services in St Mary Cray, Eynsford, Kevintown, Chislehurst, Darenth, Hook Green, Horton Kirby, Hextable, Dartford, Questor, Crockenhill, Sidcup, Farningham, Fawkham, Orpington, Wilmington, and Swanley. (Tags: Tree Moving Swanley, Tree Replanting Swanley, Tree Transplanting Swanley).

A Tree Surgeons's Regular Tasks

• Climb trees to prune or remove branches as required.
• Assess tree health and treatments.
• Service equipment like chainsaws and chippers.
• Be adept with power tools and powered equipment.
• Tidy work area on completion and fulfil removal of waste product from customer's site.
• Work with clients and complete admin duties.
• Produce tree survey reports for both commercial and domestic customers.
• Fell and remove trees and perform stump grinding.
• Create on-site or telephone quotes for clients.
• Tree planting and transplanting.
• Identify dangers presented by trees.
• Chip and cut logs and branches.

Tree Surgery Tasks Swanley

Swanley tree surgeons can usually help with staking, safety inspections, commercial tree surgery, tree transplanting, arboriculture Swanley, damage restoration, tree maintenance, woodchipping, tree removal Swanley, hedge reduction, landscaping Swanley, coppicing, root flare exposure in Swanley, residential tree care, tree pruning, tree planning in Swanley, landscape clearing, tree lopping in Swanley, emergency tree removal, tree waste removal, hedge planting, damaged tree cutting and removal, vegetation management, brush cutting in Swanley, tree felling, tree fertilising Swanley, cut sealing, dead-wooding, soil terravention Swanley, fruit tree pruning and other tree surgeon services in Swanley, Kent. These are just a selection of the activities that are handled by a local tree surgeon. Swanley professionals will keep you informed about their entire range of services.

Tree Surgeons Nearby

Also find: Darenth tree surgeon, Chelsfield tree surgeon, Fawkham tree surgeon, Pinden tree surgeon, Maplescombe tree surgeon, Crockenhill tree surgeon, Farningham tree surgeon, Questor tree surgeon, St Mary Cray tree surgeon, Lullingstone tree surgeon, Chislehurst tree surgeon, Kevintown tree surgeon, Eynsford tree surgeon, Horton Kirby tree surgeon and more. Practically all of these towns and villages are covered by local tree surgeons. Householders in these areas can get tree surgery quotes by going here.

Tree Care Services Swanley

Find a Tree Surgeon in Swanley Here

• Swanley Cable Bracing
• Swanley Root Decompaction
• Swanley Tree Lopping
• Swanley Tree Replanting
• Swanley Crown Raising
• Swanley Stump Grinding
• Swanley Stump Treatment
• Swanley Tree Cutting
• Swanley Site Clearance
• Swanley Tree Surveys
• Swanley Root Removal
• Swanley Crown Removal
• Swanley Tree Management
• Swanley Tree Inspections

Tree Surgeon Jobs Swanley: Find Swanley tree surgeon jobs here: Swanley Tree Surgeon Jobs

Learn about Swanley here and Swanley weather here

Tree Surgery BR8 area, telephone code 01322.

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