Trimming and pruning your trees is a regular part of maintaining them. It prevents the spread of tree diseases and helps the plants you love most live long and healthy lives. However, trimming them on your own is dangerous and exposes both you and your lawn to some potential problems. Find out which hazards are common and how you can prevent them when pruning your trees.

Electrical Hazards

While you expect to encounter some electrical hazards inside your home, you might think you’re fine outside in the open air. Electrical lines run through the air and from one pole to the next. In most areas, professional tree trimmers are the only ones capable of pruning trees within 10 feet of electrical lines. Not only do you risk breaking the law, but you also risk cutting through one of those lines and electrocuting yourself. Stick to trees and branches that are close to the ground. Hire a professional for the others.

Personal Injuries

Electrocuting yourself is just one potential injury you face. Others occur when heavy objects hit you or someone else. This might be a tree branch or even an entire tree. There’s even a chance that you’ll lose the grip on your chainsaw or another tool and cause it to brush against your body, which can cause the loss of a limb, a serious cut, or possibly a concussion. Knowing how to use the equipment and tools is important, but you can also let an expert prune any trees that are bigger or hard to reach.

Improper Pruning Practices

Before you grab a pair of pruning shears and get to work, keep in mind that improper pruning practices can do a lot of harm. You need to know both where to cut and how much to remove. Cutting off the wrong branch or taking too much can cause the tree to die. On the other hand, not removing enough can cause as much damage because the tree has problems getting its needed nutrients. Either read up on your trees and the pruning they need or work with a local tree company.

Tree Diseases

Improper pruning and trimming can also cause tree diseases to run rampant in your yard. This is common among homeowners who focus only on trees that look dead or dying and ignore those that have deadwood inside or show no visible signs of disease. It takes an expert to remove diseased trees and prevent the spread of that disease. This requires the removal of the entire root system, which is often difficult to do alone.

By following these prevention guidelines, you can avoid injuring yourself and others or damaging your trees. Get more help with one phone call to Curtis Point Tree Service in Spokane, WA to ask us any questions you have before scheduling tree trimming and pruning.