AFFORDABLE TREE REMOVAL SERVICE IN Livermore, CA

What Are the Most Common Tree Issues in Livermore?

There’s nothing more dynamic than Livermore weather — a place you can both enjoy hot and dry summers and wet and cold winters in a year. The weathered appeal of the city alone can pull you in, but there are also some great natural attractions worth seeing. To name a few, there’s the Del Valle Regional Park, Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation, Sycamore Grove Park, and so much more. As we all likely know by now, it’s certainly a sight to see.

In fact, the forestry in California is vast, despite the state mostly being known for its cities, beaches, and deserts. Not only do our forests cover nearly one-third of the state’s 100 million acres (19 million acres of which is publicly maintained), but approximately 2 million acres are reserved in wilderness areas and state and national parks.

That means we have plenty of thriving trees in the area, including native Livermore trees like:

• Coast Live Oak/Interior Live Oak
• Red Willow
• Fremont Cottonwood
• California Buckeye
• Blue Oak
• Black Elderberry/Blue Elderberry
• Western Sycamore
• Western Hoptree

On the other hand, we also have several common tree diseases that also enjoy our landscapes. Some of the most common include the following.

Fire Blight

Among the apples and citrus fruits native to California is a Fire Blight disease that risks the potential of wiping out entire orchards and spreading through nearby landscapes. 

To avoid these sorts of catastrophes, keep an eye for the most common sign of scorching or fire burns (typically in the color of brown or black) on branches, twigs, leaves, etc. The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC-ANR) adds that “branch and trunk canker symptoms can appear as soon as trees begin active growth” in the spring, and “open flowers are the most common infection sites.”

Anthracnose

Anthracnose is a group of fungal diseases that prey on trees in warm areas, mainly ash, oak, maple, and sycamore. It is usually fatal when infected and can spread easily throughout the landscape via infected debris and unsanitized gardening tools.

The UC-ANR also notes that “symptoms vary by plant host and due to weather conditions,” and the leaves are typically “very young when infected [becoming] curled and distorted with only a portion of each leaf dying.”

California pest infestations

Another problem for trees in Livermore involves the pests in the area that live off our trees. While their intent is simply to live, it nearly always leads to the vulnerability or death of our landscapes.

According to APHIS, the following pest diseases are problematic in our area:

• Citrus Greening/Asian Citrus Psyllid — The fatal citrus tree disease called Citrus Greening is effortlessly spread via infected insects like the Asian Citrus Psyllid. These insects destroy the quality of the tree’s health and the quality of the fruit it produces (often leading to poor productivity and sales for the farmer or property owner). 
• Sudden Oak Death — also considered a fatal tree disease, SOD is considered especially dangerous because it can take down a variety of tree species, spreading quickly through landscapes via insects, rainwater splashes, wind, etc.
• Palmetto weevils — these read, and black-winged insects are known to kill California trees rather quickly, making your palm trees wilt and leaves, twigs, and branches prematurely fall.
• Oak worms — these tiny buggers are problematic to our oaks, oftentimes eating up all their leaves.

Does the City of Livermore Provide Any Assistance in Tree Removal Problems?

The City of Livermore doesn’t provide any assistance for private property owners having tree removal problems — they don’t perform services that our professional tree expert can do.

However, they provide tree assistance for tree removal problems concerning public property (i.e., right-of-ways, alleys, parks, streets, etc.). The code publishing reports that the “Director shall have the exclusive authority and responsibility, except as hereinafter provided, to plant, remove, prune, inspect, maintain, root-prune, or otherwise alter such street trees.”

Who Is Responsible for Fallen Tree Removal in Livermore?

Tree removal isn’t an easy process and usually isn’t a small expense either. For this reason, we’ve laid out who is responsible in Livermore — given the scenario.

If you’re a homeowner?

If you’re a homeowner, the responsibility of removing a fallen tree on your property is put on your shoulders. It can be a challenge to keep up with the expenses that come with owning a home and property, but setting aside money in savings and/or having homeowners insurance can make a big difference for you financially. 

If you’re a renter?

If you’re a renter, you’ll be happy to hear that you don’t take any responsibility for tree removal on the property you’re living on. This is because it is not technically your property, and therefore, the big responsibility is given to your landlord.

Nonetheless, you should always be quick to inform your landlord of any troubling signs of a dead or dying tree to ensure action is taken quickly and efficiently before any damage or harm can be done.

If you’re a landlord?

If you’re the landlord, your responsibilities are the same as a homeowner with one big difference — you’re in charge of the safety of ALL your tenants on your property. This means you should be vigilant and quick to fix the problem because a fallen tree may be expensive to remove, but damage and/or injuries to your renters will cost you much more.

If you’re a neighbor?

This situation can get a little trickier, but it’s still pretty straightforward. If your neighbor’s healthy tree falls onto your property because of some sort of natural occurrence, then it is your responsibility to remove it (and vice versa). However, if the tree fell because of negligence and lack of care, then your neighbor is at fault and becomes not only responsible for removing the tree but also paying any expenses (i.e., property damage, injuries, etc.). 

How Does the Soil Affect Trees in Livermore?

According to a Livermore Soil Survey, the soil series in our area is described as a mix of “fine sandy loam, silty fine sandy loam, gravelly sandy loam, loam, clay loam, and a clay.” Soil Series adds that they are “very deep, somewhat excessively drained soils.”

This means water is not well-retained, and considering we’re prone to droughts — not many plants and trees can thrive in our soils. On the other hand, our native trees are not negatively affected by our soil because they’re acclimated to a drought-friendly landscape.

The City of Livermore suggests “replacing your lawn with California native or drought-tolerant landscaping” to reduce the amount of water waste needed to keep your landscape safe and healthy.

Does Weather Affect Tree Health in Livermore?

If there’s one thing many people know about California, it’s that natural disasters are almost inevitable in the state — Livermore is no exception. The most common in the state are fires, floods, and earthquakes, but there have also been droughts, severe storms, and more. There have been as many as 284 federally declared natural disasters since the ’80s.

What this means for our trees is that even if they’re accustomed to our temperatures and typical climate, a natural disaster is always likely — threatening the health of all your trees, weak and strong.

What if Dead Trees Are Near Power Lines in Livermore?

If dead trees are near power lines in Livermore, you are required to get ahold of your electrical company to take care of the issue. This is because there are a lot of dangers associated with power lines (i.e., electrocutions, fire, etc.), and unqualified and untrained homeowners are not allowed to try to do the job themselves. 

Livermore electric companies like Synergy Power are either qualified to get the job done or are partnered with a third party qualified to get the tree removed safely without taking out any power lines or touching them. They can also take the tree down without the property owner’s permission if they see fit.

How Much Does Tree Removal Usually Cost in Livermore?

Before you jump into removing any tree on your property, you must first identify its species and ensure is not one that is protected by the city. According to the City of Livermore, “a permit is required to remove or encroach into the drip line of a protected tree.” There are 109 trees in the city labeled as protected and define a protected tree as:

• Any tree with a circumference of 60 inches or more;
• Any California native having a circumference of 24″ or more; and
• Any tree in an open space, riparian, or habitat area having a trunk circumference of 18″ (diameter of 6″).

With that in mind, the average cost of removing a Livermore tree is around $715, with ranges going from as little as $605 to as much as $820. However, your total could be as high as around $1,800. The following cost factors can cause that number to increase or decrease dramatically.

Tree Height

Tree height is very important to consider because it adds a lot of unexpected costs to your final bill if you’re not aware of its influence on pricing. This is because a significantly taller tree will take much more labor time, workforce, equipment, and be much more difficult than taking down a much smaller tree (even of the same species). 

On average in Livermore, you can expect to pay between $13.28 and $27.92 per foot more of your tree height after the standard average for a 30-foot tree ($715). 

Tree Position (i.e., Still Standing/Fallen Over)

The position of your tree, as in whether it’s still standing or has already fallen over, is another cost factor worth considering. This is because a tree that is still standing can cost almost 50% more than one that is not in many cases. After all, it takes us significantly more labor time, workforce, and equipment to take down. A fallen tree means most of the job is already done.

Additional Services — Land and Lot Clearing, Tree Protection, etc.

Additional services are never required, although they can be extremely helpful and convenient. When it comes to tree removal, the most popular services added to it are stump removal and tree protection.

Stumpe removal typically adds around $150 to your total, and tree protection costs an extra $50 per tree injection and ensures your replacement and/or surrounding trees are protected.