How to Tell If Your Tree Surgeon is Qualified

Tree surgery is not done using tiny razor blades in controlled environments, it is done by brave men and women who have the courage to climb let’s say a 60-foot tree chainsaw in hand. Operating a chainsaw, machete or any other tree cutting tool is dangerous work. You could fall, lose a limb, suffer serious injury, or die.

The issue is if someone gets injured or dies while working on something on your property you may be held liable. For example, assume that you hired your neighbor’s teenage son to climb a tree and cut some branches. You thought “I’ll give this kid $100 to get the job done”.  The truth is if he falls and injures himself, you are not only looking at child labor charges you may also have to pay for damages out of pocket or face time behind bars.

The work of a tree surgeon is to plant, maintain and perform hazardous tasks such as trimming trees and hedges. They trim, prune and sometimes bring down trees. This kind of work requires a disciplined and physically fit person.

Certified arborists or tree surgeons charge higher rates than people who learn the trade on the job because they pay a lot of money for their ongoing training. Although it may cost you more, it is safer to hire a certified tree surgeon.

Can the person operate a chainsaw and other dangerous equipment?

You don’t need a diploma or degree to become a tree surgeon, that’s because most learners learn the trade while on the job. Here you are looking for experience i.e. how long has the person been doing the job? There are training programs available for this line of work but as mentioned above most tree surgeons get their experience in the field of tree removal in vancouver.

Generally, the person needs the following qualifications:

• Physical fitness
• Ability to safely operate dangerous equipment
• Climbing experience
• Use of a chainsaw from rope and harness

It is advisable to ask for references, ask the surgeon to provide you with examples of their previous work. If they have a website, blog or social media page look at the testimonials. Find out if previous customers are happy or if they are complaining. An even better option is to get references from friends and neighbors. You should also make sure tree stump grinding services are properly accredited.

Do you have insurance?

Remember that old scam where you hire someone and he or she gets injured intentionally while working on your property?  The result of that is you get sued or pay hush money to keep the scammer quiet. Insurance is important because it protects you from liability i.e. if the person gets injured the insurance company pays not you.

Generally, to be safe you should:

• Hire a specialist
• Ask for accreditation and membership
• Check essential qualifications
• Make sure that the tree surgeon is insured

Generally, it all boils down to experience i.e. the more experience a surgeon has the better the outcome. There is no guarantee that nothing will go wrong, but the benefit of hiring an experienced tree trimmer and tree surgeon is the possibility of things going sideways is lower.