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How To Immediately Protect Your Home From A Leaning Tree

A leaning tree can quickly become a serious risk, especially if it's leaning as a result of storm damage. While leaning trees can sometimes be straightened, in many cases the safest solution is to have it removed before it falls. Here's how to protect you and your home from injury and damage as soon as you notice signs of trouble.

Clear the Area

Before anything else, it's important to clear the immediate area as soon as you can. This includes anything that might be in the direct path of the tree, but to be on the safe side, clear away everything from all sides. Trees can sometimes fall unpredictably, especially during inclement weather. Move any vehicles, garbage bins, pet houses, and anything else you can reasonably move without requiring you to get too close to the tree or stand under it at any time.

It's also important to avoid doing anything that might cause the tree to fall further. This includes trying to cut away branches that are touching your home; a leaning tree can easily fall if it's moved or cut.

Have it Staked

If you aren't able to have your tree removed immediately, one thing you can do is have it secured to prevent it from falling further. This process, usually done by staking, guying, or cabling, secures the tree with ropes or cables and posts in the ground, and while this is often done to correct a leaning tree, it can also be used to hold one in place if it's in danger of falling.

Because this can be precarious work, it's best to have this done by a professional, especially if the tree is large. Since it's a little less involved than removing the tree entirely, you're more likely to be able to find someone who can do this for you even if the tree can't be immediately removed.

Schedule a Removal

Once any immediate danger is taken care of, you can schedule its removal. For this, it helps to have an estimate of how large your tree is, what species it is, and where in your yard it's located. It also helps to provide information about the surrounding area to inform your tree care specialist about any potential obstacles they can plan around.

When you opt to have a tree removed, you have a few different options, such as leaving the stump in place, having it ground down, having the tree cut up and removed from your property, or having it left safely on the ground once it's cut down. These options can come in handy if this removal is an emergency and you don't have the budget for a complete removal. Talk to your tree removal specialist to see how they can meet your needs while protecting your home.