Trees add a unique touch of beauty to a landscape, enhancing the environment with natural colors and life. But like all living organisms, trees will eventually die.
This typically doesn’t happen overnight, as some species are capable of living for more than a century. But external elements like pests, disease and decay can drastically shorten a tree’s lifespan, giving it a premature death.
When this occurs, the dead tree may pose a serious risk to you and your family.
What Happens When a Tree Dies?
To better understand the dangers of having dead trees on your property, you must first understand what happens to a tree when it dies.
In most situations, a dead tree will become dry and brittle due to the lack of moisture and nutrients. Living trees absorb moisture and nutrients through the ground via “feeder” roots. Moisture is absorbed by the roots and transported up through the tree, keeping it hydrated and healthy.
But dead trees don’t have this luxury, so they tend to become dry, brittle and susceptible to breakage.
Falling Limbs
Among the most common dangers associated with dead trees is the potential for falling limbs. Because the interior of the tree is dry and brittle, there’s less weight and structural integrity holding the limbs in place.
As such, even the slightest gusts of wind may cause a limb to break off, placing anyone underneath at risk for injury. And as time progresses, even gravity may cause limbs to break off.
Tree Falling Over
It’s not just the limbs that have a tendency to fall off of dead trees. The entire tree may fall over, as well.
Depending on exactly where the tree is located, it could pose a danger to both you and your home. This is why it’s important that homeowners monitor their trees on a regular basis, looking for signs of it being dead.
Signs of a Dead Tree:
- Bark peeled away
- Discolored leaves
- Broken limbs
- Large cracks and crevices in trunk
- Infestation of wood-boring insects
Dealing with a Dead Tree
DO NOT attempt to remove a dead tree without professional assistance. Doing so could increase your risk of injury, so leave this to the professionals. A professional tree removal company will come survey your tree and offer advise/quote on how to remove it.
The Woodsman Company offers tree removal and stump grinding as well as a tree wellness program.
If we can help with any of your tree care needs give us a call at 512-846-2535 or 512-940-0799 or
I have a large tree in my backyard that I think might be dead. Based on what you said here, I think it is probably a good idea that we get it removed before any limbs fall off of it. We will definitely get a professional to look at our tree. Do you have any idea how long it takes to remove a large tree? Thanks for the info!
I have a dead tree in my yard and I was planning on just trimming it down little by little. If it could really cause me an injury I will call the professional to come remove the tree. What is the average price of tree removal?
Definitely following this conversation and have the same questions as the above two gentlemen. Look forward to you all weighing in on this!
After reading your article I realize our home is surrounded by trees that are dying or dead. They are not in my yard, but I will need to consult with my neighbor about the dangers it poses on both our homes. Thank you for the helpful lesson in tree-life education!
Thanks for the post. This is really helpful information. I agree that you should not try to remove a tree on your own. I think hiring a professional is the ideal solution to removing your dead trees. I think they have the right equipment to remove the tree safely.
Wow, so there are dangers of having dead trees on the property. I happen to about three dead trees in my backyard. One of them is leaning a little bit too close to the roof of my house. Come to think of it I think my son mentioned to me how he saw signs of large cracks within the trunk of each of those trees. Him telling me that and reading the article of the danger signs of a dead tree had me thinking about finding someone to help me do a tree removal on all of the trees.
I wasn’t aware of the dangers associated with having a dead tree on you property. There is one on my front lawn that has a couple of these five signs of a dead tree. I could just be jumping the gun but I’d image the best thing to do would be to get a professional to come and check things out.
Yes, it’s always a good idea to consult with a professional, especially if you are dealing with large dead trees.
Recently we have had some severe storms and one of our trees was damaged. You mentioned that depending on exactly where the tree is located, it could pose a danger to both you and your home. It seems that having a professional come help remove the tree could be beneficial. Do they have different techniques for removing a tree?
The price of the tree removal will depend on many factors such as the type and condition of the tree! Always make sure to contact certified professionals such as Texas Tree Trimmers
I am glad you mentioned how dangerous falling limbs from a dead tree can be. My parents noticed the tree in their backyard is dead and just called a tree removal service. I appreciate the information on why dead trees can be dangerous.
Thank you for explaining that dead trees pose a problem for the homeowners because their limbs can fall off and cause injuries. I have to get the dead tree from the yard removed right away then. My kids are usually playing in the yard, and I cannot risk having a branch fall on them.
I really like that you mention the tree falling over and how depending on where it’s located may pose danger to your home. This is a problem that I have encountered recently. There is a dead tree in my front yard and I have been worrying that it will come down on my house one of these days. It would be a good idea for me to hire a tree removal service and have them carefully take it down.
I appreciate you helping me learn more about the risks of having dead trees on our property. We have this one huge tree in our backyard that is now discoloring its leaves. It also has large cracks near the roots. I think this happens because of the termites that are present on it.
My tree is looking dead no matter what I do to keep it alive. Thank you for letting me know that I should not attempt removing this tree without professional help. I knew it was dangerous, but it is smart to have someone help me who knows what they are doing. I will need to look into good tree removal services.
You mentioned that the slightest gust can knock down the branch of a dead tree because there is less structural integrity holding the tree and its limbs in place. Since the potentially dead tree in the large, if any of those large branches ever fall on my kids, I would not know what to do. I have seen some of its small branches fall off for no apparent reason. It might be best to call a professional to assess the tree and see if it is a candidate for removal.
Thanks for pointing out how the limbs of a dead tree can cause substantial injury to anyone underneath it. We have this really unsightly tree sitting just outside our fence. Its branches are hanging over my yard, and I think they are ready to give out to its own weight soon. My children run around the yard a lot, so I’ll be sure to reach out to reputable tree removal services that can remove it safely.
The part of your article that talked about the danger of falling limbs was really helpful to read. I can already see this happening to my property since my area has some pretty windy weather, and the trees around my property are said to be very old. I’ll take some precautions and look for a tree service expert in the area that can help us get some trimming done.