None of us like to see our beautiful trees get infected and/or die off entirely. Yet damaged and dying trees not only provide a visual nuisance but are safety hazards as well. Nobody wants to wake up one morning and find that your tree has fallen on their garage or home. Six questions will help you keep an eye on your trees and decide whether to remove your trees or keep letting them grow green.
#1 Dripping and Oozing is a Sign of Sickness and Disease.
If your tree is dripping or oozing from its branches or crotches, then it is likely that your tree has slime flux. This generally occurs the most between May and August when the tree is growing the most. See our article on wetwood slime flux to learn more about this problem. The wetwood slime flux problem is very common in Ogden and Layton Utah trees. Unfortunately, this problem is especially common in elm trees, cottonwood trees, poplar trees, box elder trees, russian olive trees and ash trees.
#2 Fungus Growth is a Sign that a Tree is Unhealthy
Fungus in essence are parasites that grow on living or dead trees. They sap the nutrients and eat the tree. If you tree has fungus growing on it, then it should be looked at by a tree expert to determine if it needs to be removed and treated or if the tree is too far damaged to fix the problem.
#3 Pest on Trees is a Problem
In Ogden and Layton Utah metropolitan areas, the elm beetle is a big problem. These beetles usually hatch near the trunk of the tree and eat their way up. They are capable of completely defoliating a tree. They usually don’t kill the tree but instead weaken it, thus making the tree susceptible to other diseases.
#4 Trees with Bad Roots
Bad roots are roots that get in the sewer/septic system, go up your rain gutters, break your water pipes, lift sidewalks, and come up through the grass so that the lawn is unpleasant to walk on.
#5 Branches in the Way
Tree branches can be over your house and drop lots of leaves on your roof and in your rain gutters. These leaves rot and eventually deteriorate your roof and clog your rain gutters. It is best to keep trees away from your house. Their roots can damage the foundation. My rule of thumb is that I don’t like to see any tree closer than 10 feet to a house.
#6 Bad Tree Species Need to Be Removed
Trash trees are generally softwoods. Softwoods grow fast but they are also short lived (lifespan of 25-50 years) and are prone to breaking in a wind storm. They also create a bunch of dead wood that drops all over the ground. Willow trees, poplar trees, cottonwood trees, siberian elm trees, sumac trees, box elder trees are all very common in the Ogden and Layton Utah areas. These trees often exhibit root problems (see #4) are are always in constant need of tree trimming because they have so much dead wood. They do provide shade but often their negative traits outweigh the positives.
#7 Wind Damaged Trees May Need to Be Removed
On September 7, 2020 Ogden, South Ogden, Layton, Bountiful, Washington Terrace, North Ogden, Pleasant View, Riverdale, Clearfield, and the surrounding areas were hit by a record windstorm of over 100 mph that toppled thousands of trees and created millions of dollars worth of damage.
When a tree is suffering from wind damage and the damage is sever, it is best to get the tree removed and start fresh.