Tree Surgeons Aylesford

Those who hire an unqualified individual, or try to do tree work for themselves, may cause a risk of damage to property, the trees and to life. But even hiring a professional tree surgeon who is aware of all the risks doesn't necessarily mean that tree work is entirely safe. On average there are 3 deaths and 140 severe injuries each year within the profession, making it one of the most dangerous jobs in the UK and definitely not for amateurs to try.

With around 5 people a year being fatally wounded by falling trees or branches in the UK, even a damaged or poorly maintained tree can also cause a danger to life. If there is an injury, or damage to property due to you employing somebody to perform tree work, you may well be liable for any compensation to any third-party. This is why employing a certified Aylesford tree surgeon to carry out the work on your trees is essential. (Source - HSE UK).

There are 2 professional trade bodies that a seasoned tree surgeon in Aylesford should really be a registered member of. You can check up on the professional status and membership of any tree surgeon on the websites of either the International Society of Arboriculture or the Arboricultural Association. On this page you can check out membership of either of these associations, which gives the tree surgeon in question, ARB Approved Contractor status.

If a problem develops during or after any tree work has been finished you're able to make contact with these industry bodies for arbitration assistance and for guidance and help at any point.

If anybody who you cannot find on this directory offers to provide you with a quote, you should courteously decline their offer of work and carry on with your search for an accredited contractor. It is a good idea to get at least 3 quotations from different companies in Aylesford, when you have carefully checked their professional associations and accreditations. You should ask the following questions whilst getting the quotations, making it abundantly clear that you need to know the answers due to the risks involved in the work:

• Can I contact some former clients so that I can check the standard of your tree work? It is recommended that you do an independent examination of any recent work.
• What insurance cover is provided? You shouldn't even consider a tree surgeon in Aylesford with any less than £5 Million public liability insurance as stated by the ISA and AA.
• Can you provide me with a written quotation? You must NEVER settle for a verbal quote only. Only ever accept a quote in writing.
• Have you got documentary evidence of your professional membership, qualifications and a NPTC/LANTRA certificate for chainsaw use? It is required by law that any tree surgeon/worker who uses a chainsaw must have NPTC/LANTRA certification. Qualifications can include City & Guilds National Diplomas and Certificates in Arboriculture.

The written quotation that you're given must include easily followed information on the proposed work. It should mention whose responsibility it is to remove tree branches, stumps and debris, and should also include details of any trees which might be protected in law, and the steps required to get permission to work on them. You should also ensure VAT is included on the quote. It's important that only qualified people are hired to work on your trees and property, and this is wholly down to you. This is outlined 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 Aylesford tree surgeon should make sure that any tree work gets the green light from the appropriate local authority department. Finding a tree has protected status does not mean that work cannot be carried out, because even protected trees require maintenance so as to cut back old or damaged wood and ensure the safety of the public.

If your property in Aylesford is situated in a conservation area then no less than 6 weeks written notice must be given to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) prior to any work being undertaken. However, tree trunks of less than seventy five millimetres in diameter when measured at 1.5 metres from ground level are free from this requirement. If a protected tree's branches need to be pruned or thinned to encourage and sustain growth, it is also not necessary to give notice.

Your chosen Aylesford tree surgeon will decide on the remedial treatment needed and how the required outcome can be achieved with safety in mind after conducting a complete assessment of your trees health. Where there's any chance of falling debris, a full risk assessment will have to be undertaken on public spaces, your property, and parts of neighbouring properties that may be impacted. This stage will also ascertain the level of protection required and the amount of workforce needed. This will include various safety measures as well as personal protection equipment to ensure the safety of passers-by and adjacent property.

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

Different levels of protection will be necessary for the tree surgeon according to what tree work needs to be done. When doing basic tree work with a chainsaw, to prevent serious cutting injuries to the hands, legs and torso, they will as a bare minimum be wearing special protective clothing. Every worker involved in the operation, should at all times be wearing high visibility clothing, together with eye and head protection.

Additional staff will normally be required to help with the removal of high branches and sections of tree trunk, particularly if working at height is involved, and where ladders and associated climbing equipment is being deployed. A vehicle or skip for removing the waste will be parked as close as possible to the work area, so it's a good idea to inform your nearby neighbours of the need for easy access.

UPON COMPLETION OF WORK - As soon as the tree work has been completed all the waste and branches will be hauled away and the area cleared of any debris. Your tree surgeon should then prepare and sign off a certificate of work, a copy of which will be presented to you. This is particularly important where protected trees are involved. If there were any public spaces that required safety measures, this can be taken away and highways and footpaths will be re-opened.

If you've got any issues or problems with the completed work, you should first take them up with your tree surgeon in order that they can be fixed immediately. If your tree surgeon is a member of a professional trade association, and there is any further dispute or arbitration needed, you can receive help and advice from the AA or the ISA in order to come to a satisfactory solution.

Chainsaws in Tree Surgery

The most common piece of equipment that professional tree surgeons in Aylesford use is the chainsaw. It's a versatile and effective tool, but can be rather dangerous in untrained hands. Even though mains electric and battery models of chainsaw can be purchased, the most preferred by tree care professionals are driven by petrol, due to their ease of use and greater mobility. Where large tree trunks and thick limbs are involved, such heavy tree work calls for the use of the most robust petrol chainsaws.

Basically, a chainsaw consists of a revolving motor-driven chain which has a row of sharp teeth for cutting through bark and inner wood. For the different tasks that are required, there are various designs of chainsaw, rear-handled for work at ground level (must always be used with two hands), top-handled for working at height (and which can be used with one hand if required) and pole saws for long distance pruning and hard to reach branches.

Although climbing a tree with a rapidly rotating blade in your hand is an incredibly dangerous activity, it is rare to see an experienced Aylesford tree surgeon who does not use a chainsaw. So as to become a member of the Arboricultural Association (AA), being trained in the safe use of chainsaws is one of the main requirements.

Although there are many different chainsaw makes and models available to professionals, the most popular ones the United Kingdom are Hyundai, Husqvarna, Makita and Stihl.

Day to Day Duties of a Tree Surgeon

• Plant trees and vegetation.
• Be competent using power tools and other powered equipment.
• Establish dangers posed by trees.
• Clean up area upon completion and fulfil removal of waste product from client's site.
• Climb trees to remove or prune branches as required.
• Fell and remove trees and grind stumps.
• Cut and chip branches and logs.
• Deal with customers and complete admin duties.
• Evaluate tree health and treatment.
• Maintain and service equipment like chainsaws and wood chippers.
• Produce tree survey reports for both commercial and domestic clients.
• Produce telephone or on-site quotes for customers.

Eco-Plugging Tree Stumps Aylesford

If you have large tree stumps in your garden that need to be removed, the typical strategy employed by most tree surgeons in Aylesford is stump grinding. However, nowadays there's a less costly alternative to this approach in the form of "eco-plugging". Not only is this solution cheaper, it can also be employed where there are stump grinding accessibility issues, for example in awkward and hard-to-reach places.

Eco-plugging is an effective treatment for killing tree stumps and does not affect the surrounding vegetation and trees. Eco-plugs can be employed at any time of the year and in any weather, and they destroy the entire root system of the stump. Containing a kind of crystalline glyphosate herbicide, eco-plugs are 95% to 100% effective, and can be used on a wide selection of tree species.

Ash Dieback

A damaging fungal disease that's expected to wipe out close to 80 percent of the current UK ash tree stock, in the next few years, ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) was first documented in the UK in 2012, when a nursery brought in a number of trees from Holland. Following on from the Dutch Elm Disease catastrophe, which decimated Great Britain's elm trees, ash dieback is going to have huge repercussions for our beloved countryside.

A disease which affects the Fraxinus genus of trees, it has an especially disastrous effect on Fraxinus excelsior, the native British common ash. Believed to have originally come from Asia where the native species of ash (the Chinese ash and the Manchurian ash) were less susceptible, the fungus which causes the disease is known as Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (H. fraxineus), and it blocks a tree's water transport (vascular) systems, causing it to die.

Dispersed by wind blown spores which can travel for tens of miles, ash dieback (or chalara ash dieback) has already spread to most parts of the UK.

Affecting tree of all ages, ash dieback can be recognised by the following symptoms:

• Dying shoots and leaves are visible in summer.
• Leaves with dark patches that develop during mid to late summer.
• New epicormic growth appears from previously dormant buds (common in stressed trees).
• Dark brown necrotic lesions (often diamond shaped) form where branches connect to trunk, and the inner bark under the lesions looks brownish grey.
• Foliage that wilts, turns black and falls early.

Stronger ash can fight off the infection to a certain extent, but ultimately succumb to continual attacks, year-after-year. As it's an airborne disease there's no clear-cut technique for stopping its spread, and no known cure for ash dieback.

Whilst the "Tree Alert Service" provided by the Forestry Commission is presently only interested in reports of cases in new areas where it hasn't previously been recorded, if you are worried about an ash tree in your garden in Aylesford, you should call in a local tree surgeon to confirm the diagnosis and suggest a suitable plan of action.

Vegetation Management

It isn't simply the removal and maintenance of trees that your nearby Aylesford tree surgeon will be prepared to assist you with, but also any sort of out-of-control plant growth that's jungling up your land. Quality tree surgeons will normally be happy to cut down shrubs, overgrown vegetation, weeds and bushes that might be thriving close to patios, drives, sheds, pathways or buildings, and creating an annoyance. If you're to maintain your precious garden correctly then all of this excess growth ought to be reduced at least once a year, and if you have the inclination and time this is something that you may do by yourself if you are fit and healthy, or you can get your local tree surgeon to pay a visit every six months or so to make certain it is looking good. The control of vegetation is a must if you are to maintain easy and safe access to every section of your property and if this is ignored the plants and vegetation can pretty quickly get out of control and take a lot of the enjoyment out of your garden. Besides anything else your garden will look better when properly maintained. (Tags: De-Vegetation Services Kent, Vegetation Management Aylesford, Vegetation Control Kent)

Coming Soon:

Stump grinding machines - article 678.

Tree Surgery Tasks Aylesford

Aylesford tree surgeons will likely help you with hedge laying in Aylesford, domestic tree care, tree work, landscape clearance, tree shaping, vegetation management Aylesford, root flare exposure, hedge trimming, woodland clearances, tree lopping in Aylesford, tree maintenance, safety inspections, tree surveys in Aylesford, retrenchment pruning in Aylesford, tree replanting Aylesford, root pruning, tree cutting, tree lightening protection, hazard assessments, tree health monitoring, forestry management, coppicing, woodland management, crown lifting, shrub maintenance, staking, crown removal, damaged tree removal, tree pruning, airspading Aylesford, waste removal, cabling, root grinding Aylesford, formative pruning Aylesford, dead wooding and other tree surgeon services in Aylesford, Kent. Listed are just a selection of the tasks that are undertaken by local tree surgeons. Aylesford professionals will be delighted to keep you abreast of their whole range of services.

Tree Surgeons Near Aylesford: Also find: Quarry Wood tree surgeons, Birling tree surgeons, Barming tree surgeons, Allington tree surgeons, Leybourne tree surgeons, Larkfield tree surgeons, Burham tree surgeons, Ditton tree surgeons, West Malling tree surgeons, Sandling tree surgeons, Mill Street tree surgeons, Penenden Heath tree surgery and more. All of these places are serviced by local tree surgeons. Aylesford property owners can obtain estimates by clicking here.

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