It is often very difficult to decide when to remove a tree from your backyard in order to improve the aesthetic value of the place. However, as a general rule, you should only remove a tree if it is dead or infected with some disease and you are afraid that it will spread to the other trees. Also remember, trees are like humans and they get sick over the course of their lives; diseases and even pests like termites can leave the tree weak on shaky grounds which may lead to falling. In such cases, you would have to go for tree removal and call the professionals to do the task for you. If you are still not sure, then here are a few things that you may want to look out for.
- Health:
The first thing that you need to determine would be the health of the tree; as mentioned earlier trees can be affected by various diseases and can even be subject to termite attack. It would be a good idea to call an expert to determine if the tree in question should be removed and if your home is located right next to the tree, then that may be a good enough reason to remove it. A tree that is weakened either by disease or pest infestation is more likely to fall over in case of a storm, so you may want to take remedial measures to prevent that from happening.
- Check Out the Trunk:
The trunk of a tree should give you a good indication as to whether it is healthy or not. If the trunk looks dead or appears withered, but the rest of the tree seems to be fine, that is still good enough reason to remove the tree. You need to carefully assess the trunk and determine if the damage is widespread across the trunk or seems to be localized in just one part. As long as the damage seems to be minimal, you do not have to be unduly worried about it. However, if the damage continues to spread to other areas across the trunk, then the tree has to be removed.
- Soil:
One other reason that you may want to consider removing the tree is the soil factor; while trees are able to anchor themselves to the ground quite firmly, there are enough cases that show how the soil settling down can help tilt the tree and may even cause it to fall down. So make sure that you check the soil in and around the tree to see that it is still firm and well packed.
- Tilt:
If the tree has developed a decided tilt because the trunk is weak and damaged, or the soil had settled causing it to tilt, then you may want to wait a little bit. If the tilt increases further, then that is a good indication that you would have to get in touch with a professional to get the tree removed before it tilts over completely on to your home.
These are some of the factors that you should consider when assessing whether you need to remove a particular tree from your backyard. Keep in mind that a good rain can further damage a tree and a storm can even cause it to fall down. So always make a point of check out your trees on a periodic basis to ensure that they are still healthy and choose to cut down only the damaged or dead trees for the betterment of the environment.