Dead & Hazard Tree Removal in Rock Hill, SC

Dead and hazard tree removal is different from removing a healthy tree. Dead wood dries, cracks and loses strength, so limbs can snap when a climber puts weight on them, and a trunk with decay at the base may not hinge the way a sound one does when it is felled. In Rock Hill the trees that end up in this category are mostly pines killed by beetles or drought, water oaks that have rotted from the inside, ash trees in decline, and trees that cracked or lost roots in a storm or a construction project.

Pines killed by beetles

Pine bark beetles, including southern pine beetle and Ips engraver beetles, attack pines that are already stressed by drought, lightning, storm damage or root injury from construction. Signs include small popcorn-like blobs of resin on the bark, fine reddish boring dust in the bark crevices and at the base, and needles fading from green to yellow to red. By the time the crown is brown, the beetles have usually left, but the tree is dead and will become brittle quickly. A dead pine near a house should come down while the wood can still be climbed or rigged.

Water oaks and hidden rot

Clemson Extension notes that water oak does not resist decay well and that trunks often begin to rot by about 50 years of age. Plenty of water oaks in Rock Hill's older neighborhoods are at or past that age. Warning signs include mushrooms or shelf-like conks on the trunk or roots, cavities, dead limbs high in the crown, and bark falling off in patches. A hollow trunk can stand for years and then fail in an ordinary thunderstorm.

Ash and emerald ash borer

Emerald ash borer has been found in York County, according to Clemson's Home and Garden Information Center. Green and white ash are the common species here. Look for D-shaped exit holes in the bark, lighter patches where woodpeckers have flaked off the outer bark, thinning from the top down and sprouts along the lower trunk. Clemson notes that heavily infested trees likely can't be saved. Dead ash becomes brittle quickly, which makes it more dangerous to take down later.

Other warning signs

• A new or worsening lean, especially with soil heaved or cracked on one side
• A deep crack or split running through a fork
• Roots cut within a few feet of the trunk for a driveway, foundation or utility line
• Large dead limbs over the roof, driveway or play area
• Half the crown leafing out late or not at all