Contents (Click To Jump)
- 1 What Are the Most Common Tree Issues in Mesquite?
- 2 Does the City of Mesquite Provide Any Assistance in Tree Removal Problems?
- 3 Who Is Responsible for Fallen Tree Removal in Mesquite?
- 4 How Does the Soil Affect Trees in Mesquite?
- 5 Does Weather Affect Tree Health in Mesquite?
- 6 What if Dead Trees Are Near Power Lines in Mesquite?
- 7 How Much Does Tree Removal Usually Cost in Mesquite?
What Are the Most Common Tree Issues in Mesquite?
Several diseases threaten the Mesquite trees, but these are the ones that can cause the most damage.
Hypoxylon canker
This oddly named disease looks as strange as the name, but it’s deadly serious for Mesquite trees. It kills any tree it infects, and there is no remedy once a tree has the disease. Hypoxylon canker attacks trees that are already weak and can’t fight it off, and usually occurs during droughts. Since droughts happen just about every summer in North Texas, sick trees are at risk pretty much every year. It typically hits oak trees, but can also infect sycamore, pecan, and elm trees.
If you see peeling bark on a tree trunk or branches or dark spores on the trunk, that’s a sign of hypoxylon canker disease. Another sign is when leaves start to fall off the higher branches.
Oak wilt
Oak trees are also vulnerable to oak wilt, a fungal disease that’s spread by a tiny beetle. Red and live oak species are particularly vulnerable to oak wilt, although white oak trees are somehow immune. Oak wilt has decimated trees in the Texas Hill Country and is moving into the suburbs like Mesquite. Oak wilt is a treatable disease, but you need to catch it early to treat it successfully. The signs of oak wilt are leaves that turn brown and then fall off.
Fire blight
A bacterium causes the disease called fire blight; it has nothing to do with fires. It’s called fire blight because the affected leaves look like they’ve been scorched with a hot iron. Other signs of the disease are a sticky goo that oozes from the branches. Fruit trees are most at risk for fire blight, and the disease spreads through the birds and the bees. Seriously.
Sometimes trees simply decay from old age, or finally succumb to disease. These are the signs that a tree is decaying and needs to be removed.
- Vertical cracks on the trunk
- Rotting branches
- Fungus growing on the tree
- Exposed or damaged roots
- Rotting branches
Does the City of Mesquite Provide Any Assistance in Tree Removal Problems?
The city will remove a tree that’s blocking a public right-of-way or is deemed hazardous. If one of your trees falls into a street during a storm, the city will clear it as far as your property line. From there on in, it’s up to you to remove the rest of it. If this happens to you, let your insurance company know right away.
Who Is Responsible for Fallen Tree Removal in Mesquite?
When a tree falls over in Mesquite, somebody’s got to remove it. The burning question is usually this – whose responsibility is it? Common sense would say the tree owner is on the hook for removal services, but Texas law (and most other states, to be honest) says that whoever owns the property where most of the tree landed is responsible. But this is a law, so there are lots of caveats to that pretty simple statement.
If you’re a homeowner?
The law assumes that a toppled tree is the result of an unforeseen event – storm, high wind event, or other weather things – and that the property owner could not have foreseen that giant live oak falling over onto the neighbor’s dining room table. The reality is that the affected party’s homeowners insurance will pay for the tree removal, and they will turn to the property owner’s insurance company to recover their losses.
The exception to this law is if a tree falls over onto your property for no reason, except that it is diseased or dead. In this case, the tree’s owner is negligent, so they have to pay. If you try to plead that you didn’t know the tree was dead, that just amplifies the case for negligence. Take your lumps and file the claim with your insurance company.
If you’re a renter?
Tenants are not responsible for tree maintenance, but they often do need to maintain the lawn and landscape plants.
If you’re a landlord?
Any trees on your property are your responsibility to maintain. If you expect your tenants to do it for you, you are opening yourself up to a lot of liability if they are injured cutting down a tree.
If you’re a neighbor?
If a tree from an adjoining lot has moved in on your property, you do have the right to prune back the tree to the property line. You do not, and we can’t stress this enough, have the right to damage the tree with uncontrolled chainsawing. If you think that’s not such a big deal, think about this. The state will fine you as follows for hurting a neighbor’s tree
- Replacement value of the tree, either as was or replacement.
- Punitive damages if your neighbor can prove trespass. Here’s a tip – you did and there’s concrete evidence.
- Attorney fees for the law firm who proved you acted punitively, and for your attorney who had a really weak case.
The financial burden for taking out your frustrations on the neighbor’s tree proves that everything really is bigger in Texas.
How Does the Soil Affect Trees in Mesquite?
If you’ve ever wondered why your magnolia trees aren’t gracious and gorgeous, it’s because the soil in Mesquite is singularly unsuitable for them. The soil here is what’s called Blackland Prairie, and it’s made up of a lot of clay, ranging in color from black to light grey. It’s also extremely alkaline, with a pH level over 7. What this means for your landscape is that acid-loving plants, such as hydrangeas, azaleas, and lorapetalum, need a lot of lime to lower the pH and make the soil more acidic.
It’s tough to amend this highly alkaline soil with enough lime for trees to really thrive, so you should plant specimens that love this kind of dirt. Your best bets are the following:
- Silver maple
- Buckeye
- Hackberry
- Green ash
- Honey locust
- Ironwood
- Austrian pine
- Burr oak
Does Weather Affect Tree Health in Mesquite?
The overall climate in Mesquite is typical for the Southern Plains of the U.S., meaning it’s humid and subtropical. There are really wide temperature swings, and the area is also the southern end of Tornado Alley, so residents here are accustomed to extreme weather. Wind events are the most common in the area, but the snow and ice this past winter killed or damaged thousands of trees in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area. This is creating additional risk for Mesquite trees as summer approaches, with the usual droughts and excessive heat.
The weather here is great most of the year, but having dealt with extremes in recent years really emphasizes the importance of planting native trees that can withstand all the craziness of the climate.
What if Dead Trees Are Near Power Lines in Mesquite?
With all the dead trees from the winter storms, there are certainly some that are close to power lines and need to come down. There are also perfectly healthy trees that are growing to close to the lines for safety, and must be pruned back to meet the electric company guidelines.
If you have a dead tree near the lines, call your electric provider and they will contact Oncor to remove the tree. Be aware that if Oncor cuts down a dead tree, they will not remove the carcass; that’s up to the homeowner.
Tree branches hanging over the lines are a safety risk for both line crews and the public. When tree branches are covered with just a coating of ice, the weight of the branches is enough to crash through the lines, taking out the power for any number of residents. This is why the power providers are so militant about ensuring trees meet the distance regulations.
To avoid having Oncor giving your trees a trim that would pass military muster, make sure that the limbs are no closer than 10 feet from the main pole-to-pole wire and 7 feet from secondary wires. The arborists that prune trees for them are certified, but their job here is to prune for business, not for looks. If the appearance of your trees matters at all, avoid losing control of the pruning process by making sure the limbs don’t encroach on public space. Our team can help with this.
How Much Does Tree Removal Usually Cost in Mesquite?
Tree removal costs are difficult to estimate without our tree expert inspecting the tree in question, but the average cost is Mesquite is about $700, with a low of $250 and a high of over $1,900. These are the three main factors that our arborists consider before they give you an estimate.
Tree Size
The height and diameter of a tree matter when you’re cutting one down. The bigger and taller it is, the more crew and equipment are necessary to take it down safely.
Tree Condition
How diseased is the tree? Is it already dead? Our crew can’t climb a sick or dead tree as the branches won’t support the weight, so it has to be done from a bucket truck with a bigger crew. The average three-man crew in Mesquite is about $200 per hour.
Tree Location
The location of the tree really matters. A tree with good clearance for our crew to work is easier, therefore less expensive to remove than one that’s close to the house or other structures.
