It's Time to Get Serious About Hiring an Arborist --- You might think your trees are perfectly fine when they're actually sick. Having a certified professional on hand can help you keep them healthy, saving you thousands in the long run.

“Three giant horse chestnut trees, each over 80 feet tall, stand guard in front of my house. They are gentle giants, producing fragrant blossoms in spring and cooling the house in summer. They vanquish carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, a gas of which I am very fond. They provide homes for birds and squirrels and other woodland creatures. They can even communicate with each other, according to recent scientific research, which is both amazing and creepy. I love those trees.

 

I also hate them. When the wind blows hard, and their branches and boughs thrash and creak, I am convinced they will topple over and cleave my home in twain.

 

Trees have less dramatic ways to screw up your day: Their roots can infiltrate cracks in septic or sewage pipes, blocking the system and wreaking expensive, smelly havoc. Their curious tendrils can crack the foundation of your house, and push up the pavement on your driveway. Their leaves can block gutters, causing water damage to your home.

 

Which is why you should have an arborist on speed dial.

 

Arborists, like the Lorax, speak for the trees. They are not fooled by things that regular folk think are signs of health -- like lots of green leaves, says Kristina Bezanson, an International Society of Arboriculture board-certified master arborist and a senior lecturer in the Department of Environmental Conservation at UMass Amherst. Decay or disease can lurk within a seemingly healthy tree, turning it into a hazard. An arborist knows when a tree is hurt, sick or ripe to cause trouble.

 

Homeowners might also misinterpret the presence of mushrooms, which can indicate internal tree decay. "Once you see those growing on the tree, it's not a good sign," says Luke Brunner, a Detroit-based ISA board-certified master arborist with Davey Tree Expert. That's why, if you don't want your house cleaved in twain, diagnosing your trees is best left to a certified arborist.

 

Anyone can call themselves an arborist, but certified arborists must meet educational requirements set by the ISA. To make sure you're working with a qualified pro in your area, consult the society's directory at Treesaregood.org. Some states have their own arborist certifications as well.

 

Plan to have a long-term relationship with your arborist. Working with the same one over time will give them the chance to see subtle changes that can signal problems, Brunner says. A regular visit to monitor and treat the condition of your trees starts at around $85 to $500 per visit in his service area, he says. Costs will vary widely depending on your location, lot size and the number of trees on your property. Any treatments that are applied to the tree will cost extra.

 

Some companies, like Davey, offer free initial consultations to evaluate the state of your trees. If you prefer to work with experts who don't also sell the cure, hire a consulting arborist to do a full evaluation and provide a list of action items. You can then shop that list around to certified arborists who will do the actual work. It costs more overall, but the unbiased report is worth it.

 

Since healthy trees are less likely to get diseases, preventive maintenance is key. That means ensuring they are well watered, properly mulched, kept safe from harm from construction projects or digging, and are treated for potential pest infestations, says Brunner.

 

The cost for treating a tree that requires a fungicide injection, like in the case of oak wilt, depends on the tree's diameter at breast height, or DBH. In Brunner's service area, treatment for a 10-inch DBH tree would cost roughly $800 to $1,200 per treatment, which generally is done every two years.

 

If a tree needs to be significantly pruned or cut down, you will enter another stratosphere of cost. Brunner says it will depend on the tree size, location and the need for special equipment like cranes. We recently paid $1,000 for a tree to be removed from our property; it was easily accessible and felled by one person with a chain saw. But you could end up paying into the tens of thousands depending on complicating factors, and your market.

 

Tree-removal pricing can also vary dramatically between companies in the same market, so make sure to shop your tree removal around to three or more certified arborists. Don't cheap out on noncertified tree-removal arborists: a quick search on YouTube for "tree cutting fails" will illustrate the peril of choosing an unqualified service provider to fell a tree or, worse, of doing it yourself.

 

Before doing a single thing, says Bezanson, make sure you actually have permission to do it. There are HOA rules, local municipal codes, environmental overlays and restrictions that could govern exactly what you can do to your trees. Sometimes, confusing lot lines mean the tree you want to work on isn't even yours. But once you've sorted these details, you and your arborist can make your trees safer, healthier, more lovable, and less likely to cleave.” [1]

 

1. It's Time to Get Serious About Hiring an Arborist --- You might think your trees are perfectly fine when they're actually sick. Having a certified professional on hand can help you keep them healthy, saving you thousands in the long run. Frieswick, Kris.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 06 Feb 2026: M12.