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The Dangers Of Diagnosing Your Own Tree Issues

Becoming a homeowner means having a whole new set of responsibilities regarding maintenance and repairs on a home or property. While some projects are fine for homeowners to handle on their own, such as painting or cleaning gutters, other projects are best left to professionals to handle for safety and accuracy issues. Examples of this might include electrical repairs, plumbing issues, roof replacement, and tree diagnosis and treatment. In today’s Embark Services blog post, we discuss several reasons why it can be dangerous for homeowners to diagnose and treat tree health issues on their own, and why it’s best to have Certified Arborists tackle these projects instead.

Misdiagnosis Of Tree Issues

One of the biggest problems that comes when homeowners try to treat tree health issues is that most have no clue what issues could be plaguing their tree or what symptoms to look for. A homeowner might notice that leaves are falling early, but might fail to notice issues with the bark, soil, or roots. Homeowners are often ill equipped to properly diagnose a sick or damaged tree, or they might not be aware of warning signs the tree is displaying. Not diagnosing a sick tree or incorrectly diagnosing the issue can lead to delays in treatment, and ultimately tree death.

Incorrect Treatment

The other problem that arises when homeowners attempt to diagnose tree health issues on their property is that they could end up choosing a treatment plan that hurts tree health instead of improving it. For example, a homeowner might notice an insect infestation in their trees, but might use chemicals to kill the insects that end up killing the trees anyway. Additionally, a tree in decline might be given fertilizer to boost its health when the tree really needs an adjustment of pH levels or soil aeration.

Jeopardy To Physical Safety

Finally, homeowners that attempt to diagnose and treat their own tree issues could put their physical safety in harm’s way by doing it on their own instead of calling professional tree care experts. For example, a homeowner might notice a large dangling tree limb in need of removal, but they could fall and hurt themselves trying to prune it off on their own. In addition, homeowners could electrocute themselves trying to prune away branches and limbs growing too close to power lines instead of calling Certified Arborists to do it instead.

Regular tree care is important to maintaining property health and real estate values, but landscape and tree care professionals with expertise and safety training should handle it. Embark Services’s team of Landscape Professionals and Certified Arborists can perform Diagnostic Services on your residential property and identify problems and issues impacting your property, as well as safe and prompt treatment options to resolve them. Contact Embark Services today for more information about our Diagnostic Services, or fill out our online form for a free consultation!