Denali Tree Service

Denali Tree Service

Hazardous Trees

 

How Safe Are Your Trees?

Any tree within striking distance of your valued property has the potential to become hazardous...

Denali Tree Service can evaluate your trees for stability and safely bring down hazardous trees around your property.

Indications of Hazardous Trees

SIGNS OF MATURITY, INJURY, PESTS, AND DISEASE

Most of the trees located in the Mat-Su Valley are members of the Alaskan Boreal forest, mainly white spruce, black spruce, birch, aspen, and poplar. All of these trees have  a limited lifespan and when they reach maturity they begin to decompose. In developed areas trees compromised by damage, injury, insects, and disease often threaten the safety of people and property.
 
Indications of a hazardous tree can be difficult to spot with an untrained eye. Older trees may have large amounts of rotten heartwood but still maintain a healthy crown. Early signs of disease and insect infestation are also difficult to identify and without intervention the pests can quickly spread to other trees.
 
DTS can help you identify, evaluate, and remove hazardous trees around your property. Homeowners should also learn to identify pests and indications of unstable trees around their property. Any tree that has cracks or splits, circumferential bark damage, broken branches, cankers, insects, conks, or mushrooms should be evaluated be a tree professional for stability.

 

STORM DAMAGE AND TREE INJURIES


Tree injuries are common in the harsh Alaskan climate and high winds and heavy snow loads cause stem and branch failure in weakened and even healthy trees. "Widow makers" (broken limbs) are common after storms and should be removed for both your safety and the health of the tree. Preventative thinning and deadwood removal increases the ability of trees to withstand future wind and snow events.

 

TREE AND ROOT DISEASES

There are countless disease agents found in the Alaskan forest. The majority of diseases are fungi and include internal wood decays and several root diseases. Common indications of disease include the presence of conks, mushrooms around the base of the tree, and discoloration of the tree's heartwood. By the time these advanced symptoms of disease are obvious the damage is often irreversible.

 

HARDWOOD CANKERS

 

Hardwood cankers look like gashes or open wounds and may occur on the trunks and branches of birch, poplar, aspen, and cottonwood trees. A variety of fungi cause cankers on Alaskan hardwoods and infection occurs primarily through wounds. Any tree with obvious cankers should be evaluated for stability and associated decay.

 

This tree has a large canker and its trunk is totally decayed. e

 

CONKS
There are many types of conks and they can develop on both living and dead trees. Conks cause pockets of decay in the stems of affected trees. Trees with multiple conks are usually in a late stage of decay and are very susceptible to trunk breakage.

Tinder Conk

Artist's Conk

Birch Conk

 

INSECT INFESTATIONS

 

Many different types of insects can infest, damage, and kill trees. The most destructive tend to attack trees already weakened by maturity or disease - a good reason to remove over mature trees before they become a warehouse for pests. The insects causing the greatest damage to local trees include the bark beetle, clearwing birch borer, and the carpenter ant. Treating trees infected with insects can be difficult and complete removal is often the best way to prevent further infestation.


Beetle infestations in Alaska have destroyed entire forests.e

 

BARK BEETLES

Adult Spruce Beetle e

Bark beetles are one of the most destructive groups of forest insects occurring in Alaska and the spruce beetle in particular has caused extensive damage to Alaskan forests. White spruce are the most susceptible to attack in south-central Alaska and weakened or over mature trees are common targets. Bark beetles tunnel through a tree's phloem, or inner bark, and are capable of killing a healthy tree in as little as two years.

 

CLEARWING BIRCH BORERS

Birch Borer (Larva & Adult) e

These wood boring insects tunnel through the infested tree's phloem (inner bark) and hamper the tree's ability to transport nutrients. The borers also leave open wounds in the tree which act as entry points for fungi and other decay causing agents. Borer infested trees are susceptible to trunk breakage and should be evaluated for stability.

Our mission is to help Alaskans maintain a safe environment around their home, care for and manage their trees, and utilize their trees in harvesting lumber and firewood.