Falling trees or branches each year cause tragic deaths, injuries, and tens of millions of dollars in property damage. Fearing for their lives some homeowners think they should get their trees taken down to protect themselves, but if the tree is healthy this isn't necessary unless it poses a hazard in your immediate vicinity. A single large tree has been known to add thousands onto one's home value while its canopy can save you hundreds on air conditioning costs with all that shade providing relief from an otherwise sweltering summer day. Plus there are so many other benefits like how lovely these greenery creatures make our world feel just by being present around us every day!.

It can be difficult to tell when a tree is going through some tough times. Some trees are just hardier than others and have natural occurrences that may or not indicate potential problems, while other trees seem healthier on the outside but could still need help from an arborist's expertise. When you know what to look for in your tree's health, such as thinning branches with dead leaves at their tips, it can become much easier to identify underlying problems that may need attention.

Looking at the tree as a whole

It's easy to overlook the big picture when you only focus on one little part of it. So take some time and look at your whole tree before deciding what exactly needs trimming, or maybe the removal of an old branch is in order.

Is the tree leaning hard in a certain direction?

Is your problem tree leaning toward any buildings or structures? Has the lean been there for a long period of time or has it gotten worse recently? Is the tree's lean in an easterly direction, because trees that are leaning towards the East are more vulnerable to falling as most of the strong winds come from a westward direction

Tree branches

When you inspect the suspect tree can you spot any dead branches or limbs? Are there lots of dead tree branches? Are the dead branches sited on a lower area of the tree, or just on one side of your tree?.

Are there parts of the tree where no leaves are present at all? Does your tree have sparse leaf coverage? Are the leaves falling at a much earlier time than usual as opposed to the other trees that are of the same species close by? If there is leaf coverage on the ground, do these leaves look different in any way shape, or form? Also, inspect the tips of the branches, do the tips look like they are dying?

If you answer “yes” to any of the above questions, then your tree may be in trouble and could be in the process of decline, sick in health, susceptible to falling over, or indeed already dead. My advice would be to get the suspect tree inspected by a specialist tree arborist straight away, as it could well be a health and safety issue and cause devastation if it happened to fall in the future.

Make sure to check your trees regularly and stay safe!