Dead Branch Removal In Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Why Do Trees Drop Dead Branches?

A tree cuts off circulation to a failing branch well before that branch ever comes down, so the danger builds quietly for a long time before dead branch removal ever gets called. Season after season the wood dries out and turns brittle, and once it finally gives way on its own, what was a routine dead branch removal becomes an urgent one.

Getting dead branch removal booked before that point beats letting the limb pick its own moment to fall onto whatever's parked or standing below, which is the whole point of scheduling dead branch removal proactively.

Why Are Dead Branches So Common On Ash Trees Here?

The emerald ash borer has worked its way through most of Ontario, and this city has plenty of ash trees affected by it. Once an ash begins to decline, dead branch removal is often needed every season rather than every few years, because the crown thins out from the top down and keeps producing more dead wood as it goes.

Pale patches where woodpeckers have stripped bark chasing the beetle larvae underneath are a common sign that dead branch removal is due, and so is a crown with far fewer leaves than a healthy tree of the same size nearby.

How Does A Winter Of Snow Load Leave Dead Wood Behind?

A branch that survives a heavy lake-effect snowfall or an ice glaze without breaking clean off is often left cracked or partly separated, still hanging in the crown by a strip of bark, and it needs dead branch removal even though it hasn't fallen yet. That branch is not going anywhere on its own schedule you can predict, and it is now weaker than it looks from the ground.

Dead branch removal after a bad winter often turns up more of this hidden damage than the one obvious limb that prompted the call, which is why every dead branch removal visit checks the whole crown rather than only the branch you noticed.

Which Dead Branches Should Be Removed First?

Not every dead limb needs emergency dead branch removal. One that's already cracked but hasn't fully detached is going to fall eventually regardless, and what really matters is what's parked or standing underneath it right now.

We treat these as urgent dead branch removal cases:

- A snapped limb still hanging in the canopy, held on by nothing but a shred of bark - Dead wood over a driveway, a walkway, a doorway or a parked vehicle - Dead wood hanging above a walkway or the road itself - Anything making contact with, or hanging near, an overhead power line

A dead limb hanging over bare grass, nothing of value below it, generally doesn't need an emergency response - a normal scheduled dead branch removal visit handles it fine.

How Can I Tell If A Branch Is Dead?

A few warning signs are visible without ever leaving the ground, and spotting any single one justifies a call:

- A single bare limb in July or August on an otherwise leafed-out tree - Bark peeling away in flakes, showing pale wood underneath - Shelf fungus or mushrooms growing on a branch or at the base of the trunk - Small round holes or stripped patches of bark on an ash, left by woodpeckers feeding on borer larvae

Not sure if it's actually bad enough to need removal? We'll swing by and take a look, no charge either way.

What Happens During A Dead Branch Removal Visit?

We check the entire tree once we're there, past whatever single limb prompted the call, since dead wood is rarely limited to just the one spot. Clearing it all in one visit runs cheaper than a second trip out.

Where dropping a limb would damage something below, it comes down on rope instead. Everything then gets chipped and hauled off, or stacked the way you asked, and the site gets tidied up before the crew heads out.