Tree removal in Logan, Utah

Who this is for

Tree removal is for a tree that is dead, dying, splitting or leaning further every year. It is also for a tree in the wrong place: too close to the house, lifting a walk, or shading out a garden that needs sun.

Remove it, or prune it?

Plenty of trees that look like they need to come out can be kept: the dead wood taken out, a crowded crown thinned, one bad limb cut back to a sound one. A tree that is dead, splitting at the trunk or leaning further every year is a different story.

When we come out to quote, we look at the tree with you and tell you which one it is. Removal is for the trees that can't be saved, or that stand where no tree should. If the honest answer is that it needs a pruning, that is the quote you get.

Signs a tree is past saving

A few things point to a tree that is failing. Large dead branches in the top, or a crown that is thin or bare while the neighbours' trees are in full leaf, mean the tree is in serious trouble. Bark that is peeling away in sheets, or a trunk with a long vertical crack, means the wood under it is no longer sound.

Mushrooms or shelf-like growths at the base or on the trunk are a sign of rot inside. So is a hollow that you can see into, or a cavity that has been growing year after year. A tree can stand for years in that state, and then fail on a calm day.

Lean matters when it is new. A tree that has started tipping, with soil heaved up or cracked on the side opposite the lean, is coming out of the ground. A tree that has always leaned and grown to match it is a different case. If you can't tell which yours is, that is a good reason to have someone look.

A tree that has already split

Heavy, wet snow before the leaves have dropped is the usual way trees break in Cache Valley. Whole limbs tear away, or the trunk splits where two stems meet. A tree that lost one limb is often fine with a clean-up cut. A tree that has split down the trunk or lifted at the roots can't be repaired, and it is the one to deal with soon.

Until someone has looked at it, stay out from under it and keep kids, pets and cars away. Don't cut into a leaning or split tree yourself, because the wood is under load and can move without warning. Photograph it from a few sides before anything changes, and ask your insurance company what they need. RedBud doesn't take storm or emergency jobs, so a tree that is an immediate danger needs an emergency tree service. For one that can wait for a visit, call about your next job or send the quote form, and tell us which tree, how it is leaning and what is under it. Eric works by appointment and will book a time to look at it.

If any part of the tree is on or near a power line, call your electric company first and stay away from it.

Trees near the house, fences and wires

A tree that is dropping limbs on a roof, pushing against a foundation, lifting a sidewalk or crowding a fence line is worth taking out before it costs you more. The same goes for one that sits under a wire, where it can't be pruned back without ruining its shape.

When you call, tell us what the tree is close to and which side you can reach it from. Access matters as much as size: a tree in an open back lawn is a different job from one hemmed in between a house, a fence and a neighbour's yard.

Wires are for the electric company. If branches touch a line, that part is the utility's job, and the rest of the removal can be planned around it.

Park strip trees and city rules

The strip between the sidewalk and the street has its own rules. In Logan, removing or planting a park strip tree needs a permit from the city forester, asked for at least 48 hours ahead. In Smithfield, park strip trees belong to the city even though the homeowner looks after them.

Other Cache Valley towns set their own rules, so check with your city before a park strip tree comes down. Trees in your own yard are a different matter from city trees, and a homeowners' association may have its own say, so check the HOA's rules if you have one.

The best time of year

A tree that is dead, split or leaning over something shouldn't wait for the right season. Say so when you call and we will book a time to look at it.

For a tree that is merely unwanted, the best window is late fall through winter. The leaves are off, so the branches are lighter and the structure is easier to see, and frozen ground is gentler on your lawn than soft spring soil.

What a visit looks like

Call or text, or send the quote form with the tree's location and a photo if you have one. Eric works by appointment, booked with him directly or through the website. We come out, look at the tree with you and walk through the options, including whether it could be kept. You get a free written quote and a price before any work starts, and there is nothing to sign.

Bring up the wood, the brush and the cleanup on the visit, so the written price covers all of it and nothing comes as a surprise afterward.

What goes in its place

A removal is also a chance to put in a tree that suits the spot. In Cache Valley that means thinking about how big it gets, how much sun it will see, how far it stands from the house and the wires, and whether it copes with the valley's alkaline soil. A tree picked well is still thriving decades later, and one picked badly is the next removal.

Spring and early fall are the usual planting windows. Planting is one of our services, and so is soil work for the spot, so the whole job can be handled in one conversation.

Where we work

We remove trees in Logan and the towns around it across Cache Valley.