Tree Removal in Reno, NV

Tree removal is the last option, not the first, but in Reno it is often the right one. A pine that has gone brown from the top after a dry summer, a Siberian elm with a split fork over the bedroom, a cottonwood whose roots are lifting the driveway or a tree planted three feet from the foundation will not get better with time. Removal takes the risk away for good, and done carefully it leaves the yard ready for something better suited to the high desert.

Signs a tree should come down

• Most of the crown is dead, or the top is browning and moving downward, which in pines often means bark beetles.
• A large crack or split runs through the trunk or a main fork.
• Mushrooms, soft wood or cavities appear at the base or in the root flare.
• The tree has started to lean after wind, and the soil on the far side is heaving.
• Roots are lifting a foundation, walls or hardscape and cannot be cut back without destabilizing the tree.
• It stands where it cannot grow: under the service line, against the house, inside a defensible-space zone.

Why Reno trees fail

Many Reno yards were planted with fast-growing, weak-wooded trees: the City of Reno now keeps Siberian elm, cottonwood, silver maple, willow and box elder out of its right-of-way for reasons that include brittle wood, limb failure and invasive roots. Those trees are now mature. Add years of drought stress and the valley's strong winter wind, and wood that was marginal becomes dangerous. Dead trees are a separate concern: once a tree dies it dries out quickly in this climate and gets brittle, so climbing and rigging it gets riskier the longer it stands.

How removal is done on tight lots

Few Reno trees can be felled in one piece. Most come down in sections: a climber or a lift takes the limbs and then the trunk in short pieces, lowering them on ropes so they do not hit the roof, the block wall or the neighbor's yard. Where a tree leans over a house and there is no safe place to swing a piece, a crane is sometimes the safest way to lift sections out. Access matters as much as size, and side yards, slopes and gates decide what equipment can get to the tree.

Check ownership and wires first

If the tree is in the city right-of-way, the City of Reno requires a Tree Work Permit, and removal permits are issued only for trees that are dead, diseased or a public safety hazard. If a tree is near the high-voltage lines between poles, NV Energy handles that work, often at no cost to you. We check both before quoting.

Every removal quote lists the tree, how it will come down, what happens to the logs and brush, and whether the stump is ground. Call (775) 600-6504 for a free estimate.