Contents (Click To Jump)
- 1 What Are the Most Common Tree Issues in Irving?
- 2 Does the City of Irving Provide Any Assistance in Tree Removal Problems?
- 3 Who Is Responsible for Fallen Tree Removal in Irving?
- 4 How Does the Soil Affect Trees in Irving?
- 5 Does Weather Affect Tree Health in Irving?
- 6 What if Dead Trees Are Near Power Lines in Irving?
- 7 How Much Does Tree Removal Usually Cost in Irving?
What Are the Most Common Tree Issues in Irving?
Trees add character and curb appeal to your Irving home. When the temperatures soar, you enjoy the shade they offer. The area has a diverse selection of trees, with some being native while others are non-native. Here are a few of the most common trees in the area:
- Sugarberry
- Cedar elm
- Post oak
- Afghan pine
- Bird of paradise
- Chinese pistache
- Pecan
- Texas mountain laurel
The oak and pine trees can grow to gargantuan heights and thickness. When you have massive trees in your Irving yard and one of them needs to be removed, you might wonder what happened. Here are the most common tree issues that we deal with in the area:
Storm Damage
Everything is bigger in Texas, and this includes the violent storms we get in the area. When a thunderstorm arrives, it brings lightning. Occasionally, lightning will strike a tree, leaving the tree in your Irving yard damaged or dead. In some cases, lightning splits a tree in half.
Some thunderstorms are precursors to tornadoes. Between 1950 and 2010, the Irving area saw 127 tornadoes, which is an average of a little over two each year. Depending on the category, a tornado’s funnel can bring winds of up to 300 mph.
A twister can pull the roof off your home or a tree by its roots. You might think your trees are safe if your home isn’t in the direct path of a tornado, but a debris field can extend up to 50 miles behind the twister and up to a mile on each side. This is a lot of space for damage.
If you think one of the trees in your Irving yard was damaged during a storm, our team can evaluate it and recommend a course of action to treat or remove it.
Damage from Insect and Pests
While insects and other pests are part of the local ecosystem, they aren’t as benevolent as Pixar movies portray them. These critters can opt to make your trees their home or food source. They can damage or destroy a tree in a short amount of time. The insects that we see most often in the area include:
- Asian gypsy moth
- Asian longhorned beetle
- Coconut rhinoceros beetle
- European cherry fruit fly
- Spotted lanternfly
In a perfect world, insects would choose only a single tree to damage. If you see insect damage on one tree, these pests are probably already working on others in your Irving yard. It’s possible to treat an insect infestation and possibly save the tree, but you need to catch it early. Here are some signs that you have a pest problem:
- Visual confirmation of insects on the tree
- New leaves and limbs that are smaller than normal
- Discolored and misshapen leaves
- The canopy looks less full than normal
- Missing patches of bark on the trunk
- Areas where the tree has sunken in on itself
- Areas of weakness, typically between a tree limb and the trunk
When you see signs of an infestation, it’s time to act. Our team is ready to evaluate your insect infestation and offer recommendations for treatment or removal.
Does the City of Irving Provide Any Assistance in Tree Removal Problems?
The city of Irving takes excellent care of the trees on public land, and this includes an area of an easement on your land. The city will tend to these trees, prune them, and remove them when necessary. However, when a tree is on private property such as your yard, they don’t provide any assistance with tree removal.
Who Is Responsible for Fallen Tree Removal in Irving?
Our team receives many phone calls that start with a person talking about their particular situation and end with them asking who is responsible for removing the fallen tree. We’ve put together this section to review the situations that we hear about most often.
If you’re a homeowner?
As the Irving homeowner, it’s almost always your responsibility to remove a fallen tree from your yard. Sometimes, the city or a utility company retains the right to use a portion of your yard for public purposes. In this area of an easement, the entity should remove any fallen trees. If you suspect that a fallen tree is in one of these areas, contact the city.
If you’re a renter?
Some renters in Irving take care of the regular yard work. You might take care of mowing the grass and pulling the weeds. However, there’s nothing routine about removing a fallen tree. It’s the responsibility of the homeowner; however, you are responsible for telling the homeowner when you see an issue with a tree.
If you’re a landlord?
Even if you have a renter living in your Irving home, you’re responsible for removing a fallen tree. It’s too large of a project to expect a tenant to take care of while living in the home.
If you’re a neighbor?
You expect that a tree might fall in your yard, but sometimes, your neighbor’s tree might fall and land in both yards. This isn’t entirely unexpected, given how densely packed the homes in Irving are. When your neighbor’s tree falls into your yard too, you’re responsible for removing the part that’s in your yard.
Every once in a while, it comes to light that your neighbor knew the tree was diseased or damaged and failed to remove it. This makes them negligent and liable for any damage to your yard or home. They will also be responsible for removing the tree.
Before you start planning your court case, it’s always a good idea to talk to your neighbor first. If you can work out a solution, you can remain on friendly terms in the future.
How Does the Soil Affect Trees in Irving?
The most common soil type that we see in the Irving area is alfisol soil. Alfisol soil is clay soil and helps to keep nutrients flowing to the trees in your yard during a hot, dry summer since it doesn’t drain as effectively as some other soil types.
Does Weather Affect Tree Health in Irving?
Yes, the weather in Irving can have a significant effect on your tree’s health. The violent storms that move through the area can bring lightning and tornadoes that can damage or kill an otherwise healthy tree.
In Irving, the winter temperatures tend to be moderate, but there is always a week or two of freezing temperatures. Winter temperatures that fall below freezing for a few days can create a hard freeze.
A hard freeze can deprive trees of nutrients. You might find in the spring that one of your trees fails to start growing again due to the damage from this period of extended freezing temperatures.
What if Dead Trees Are Near Power Lines in Irving?
A dead tree near a power line is the responsibility of the power company to remove if it sits on an area of an easement. If the tree isn’t on an easement, then it’s the Irving homeowner’s responsibility to contact us to remove it.
When you see a dead tree lying on a power line, it’s a life-threatening situation. Go back into your home and call emergency services to deal with it safely. Sometimes, a dead tree is only near the power line. You don’t want to attempt to remove it yourself. You need to hire a professional service like Tree Triage to safely remove it without the tree falling on the power line.
How Much Does Tree Removal Usually Cost in Irving?
This is the question that we hear most often from Irving homeowners. Unfortunately, we won’t know the final cost until we visit your home and see the tree. The cost of tree removal runs between $155 and $1,925, with an average cost of around $540. There are a few cost factors that go into your final quote:
Tree Removal Permit
Before the work of removing a tree from your yard begins, there first needs to be a tree removal permit issued by the city of Irving. In some cases, our arborists need to evaluate the tree before the permit is issued. This takes extra time and money, thereby increasing your costs.
Other Services
Some homeowners want additional services with tree removal. The most common are removing the stump, splitting the wood, and creating wood chips. Wood chips are a great resource to use as mulch around your yard, but these services cost more.
Tree Location
Irving has some homes that sit very close together. When a tree is located near a home, we have to work carefully to ensure that there isn’t any damage to your home during the removal process. This takes additional time and safety equipment.
