Five Tips To Prevent The Spread Of Disease When Removing Trees
One reason to remove a tree is due to disease. Care must be taken to ensure that removing the tree doesn't cause the disease to spread to other trees in your yard.
1. Protect Surrounding Landscape
The first course of action is to prevent tree debris from falling around or into nearby trees. Your removal service will likely limb the trees first, which means they will carefully remove the branches and lower them to the ground so that the branches don't fall into other trees. You may also want to lay tarps or dropcloths on the ground around neighboring trees. This way you can easily have any debris that collects when the tree is cut down removed from the immediate environs of the surrounding trees.
2. Remove Infected Roots
Some tree diseases can spread via the roots, which means even after the infected tree is removed its disease can still be contracted by neighboring trees. For smaller trees, it is possible to have the stump and root ball completely dug out. For larger trees, one option is to have the roots cut through around the stump, then have the stump ground down as deeply as possible. This can minimize the chances of the disease organisms from traveling through the remaining roots.
3. Don't Use the Mulch
Sometimes a tree removal service will offer you the mulch that is created when they chip the remains of the removed tree for disposal. Unless you are sure that the disease that killed the tree won't survive in the remaining mulch, it is best to decline. Otherwise, you could spread the disease organisms around all of your healthy trees, which may lead to a major disease outbreak in the landscape.
4. Avoid Replanting
Don't be tempted to replant a tree as soon as the diseased one is removed. Disease organisms can persist in the soil for quite some time. Instead, practice patience. Plant lawn grass or an annual flower bed over the removal site. Wait at least a few years before replanting a tree. When you do replant, choose a different species to further cut down on the chances of disease recurrence.
5. Proactively Treat Remaining Trees
Either right before or right after removal, treat the remaining trees in your landscape for the disease if possible. There may be sprays or tree injections available to combat the specific disease. In some cases, you may need to spray for a specific insect that is the vector for the disease that affected your tree. The removal service may also offer treatment services, or they may provide a referral.
Contact a tree removal service, like Pete & Ron's Tree Service, Inc., for more advice on preventing the spread of disease during tree removal.
