On my raw land parcel is this standing dead tree (log? snag?). It is being held up only by the branches of the neighboring tree and the bottom of it is rotting away. I am concerned that at some point the rotted base will cause it to shift and/or the supporting branches will give way and it will fall. Next to this tree is a multiuse clearing (storage, parking, picnic canopy) that would be at risk. We have no utilities on site. How might i handle this? I could call an arborist or other professional, but would prefer to avoid the expense if there is a safe way for me to deal with it myself. Any suggestions or experience out there?
by Mutagon7e
5 Comments
Can you get a truck to it?
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I grab at the base with a long rope and pull with my tractor or truck depending where it is.
This is advice on how to cut it down. If you have a bobcat, tractor, or excavator, it may make sense to just push it over. If you’re wanting to pull it down with a truck, this is likely complementary advice. It looks to already be falling one direction. If you’ve got a way to pull it that way easy and pull it out of the tree, try that first.
Step one: get prepared. Get your chainsaw out, helmet on, chaps, and good boots on. Remove any debris that could trip you in the immediate area.
Step two: plan your cuts. You’ll want to plan according to the rot of the tree. I’d cut about waist height,notching about 1/3 to half the tree on the left side of the image, but I’m not there. The tree is quite rotted and hung up top, but that looks like the cut most likely to make it fall straight away from other branches or hangs.
Step three: make your cuts, ditching your saw if required, and running in a planned safe direction as the tree falls.
Personally, I’d back cut after the notch to try and pull the tree away from the others using the hinge wood, but with something that rotten and that hung up, it may just all fragment or the planned hinge may be rotten. A jack or use of wedges may be required. I’d try to use wedges here just for safety’s sake.
It is also hung up top, so it’s likely to buck the hinge and simply crater or buck strangely. If this happens, don’t risk sticking for the saw. Get out and come back after stuff has settled. Regularly back out with your saw and try to keep it to just the tip on your cuts, identifying where the tree is pulling. It’ll pull strange because of the hang. It looks to be already on its way out to the left, so that’s where I’d notch.
Step four: clean up.
Watch some YouTube videos on chainsaw safety before using a chainsaw. I’d recommend [essential craftsman](https://youtu.be/kzuijFHquQk?si=mGHesP3gW3EBanuq). Start with his safety videos, then watch some others.
Be prepared to run while cutting. Nobody will be there to mock you running and ditching when you don’t have to, but a tree to the face will kill.
Be prepared to just leave it and get the truck if it doesn’t come down due to the hang. After you make the cut, wedge it, and back it, particularly if the tree craters, this may be your best bet.
Be prepared for the tree to simply crater vertically or buck slightly then crater. Run out of the way.
Safety first. If you’ve not felled trees before, this shouldn’t be your first one. This is a tricky mess.
It looks like it’s leaning the opposite direction of the clearing.
Dead, standing trees are actually super important and ever-rarer parts of a local ecosystem, you can see spots where different bugs/birds have gone to town on that thing.
Unless the clearing you’re looking to protect is on the other side of the brush the tree is leaning towards, I’d personally recommend leaving it if you’re comfortable.
Either it takes out a branch on the live tree, which I doubt it will anytime soon, or eventually (and not for a while) it’ll rot and snap near the top, and fall without severely damaging the other tree.