How Tree Pruning Keeps You Safe Around Your Tree
If you and your family spend lots of time in your backyard, near one or more trees, it's a good idea to keep those trees well pruned. Although trees provide a whole host of benefits, they can become dangerous over time.
As your trees grow and mature, like any living thing, they go through changes. But not all these changes are beneficial. This is especially true for urban trees, which don't have the freedom and space to grow that rural trees have.
So if you haven't pruned your trees recently, consider doing so. Even a little pruning could help keep you and your family safe.
Pruning Keeps Branches From Touching Utility Lines
When a tree branch touches a utility line, it creates a channel for electricity to reach the ground. Anyone touching that tree thereafter could receive a serious injury. As such, even if your tree's branches appear to be far away from utility lines, they could still touch them during storms and windy weather. Consider pruning tree branches that are within several metres of utility lines.
Pruning Keeps Dead Branches From Falling
Tree branches die from infection or pest infestation. They also die if a tree chooses to cut off their food supply because it no longer needs them. These dead branches are dangerous because they can fall without warning.
If you haven't pruned your tree before then, consider hiring someone to remove the dead branches in its canopy.
Pruning Protects Your Home During Storms
How sure are you that your tree's branches won't damage your home during a storm? Tree branches that are in close proximity to a house can do great damage to a home's windows, roof and siding during severe winds. Anyone in the vicinity when this damage occurs could suffer injury as a result.
And if a branch breaks off during a storm and blows into your home, it could cause destruction and chaos. If your tree is close to your home, consider pruning it, especially if its branches look like they have seen better days.
Pruning Keeps Your Tree Healthy
An unhealthy tree, with lots of dead wood, can attract pests. Many of these pests sting or bite. The last thing you need is for carpenter ants to build a colony in your tree when your children like to play in the back yard. Snakes also nest among the roots of dead or dying trees. Pruning your tree regularly can help it get the oxygen and sunlight it needs to flourish.
If your trees have seen better days, hire a professional to prune them. Pruning can prolong the life of a tree and ensure the safety of anyone that enjoys spending time near that tree. Contact a local tree care service to learn more.
