What does being a tree surgeon involve?

If you are lucky enough to have trees in your garden, then you have probably already realised that it takes a lot of commitment to keep them looking healthy and beautiful.

Many people underestimate the amount of work that looking after a tree involves, and may try to maintain them themselves. However, a professional tree surgeon is often the best person to undertake this task. But what does a tree surgeon do and what equipment do the use to do it?

Tree surgeons are so much more than just tree cutters, they need to have skills in a wide variety of areas. Not only do they plant trees, maintain and care for existing trees, but they also can identify tree diseases and pest attacks, and are even skilled at looking after trees that have been damaged by storms.

As you can see, the daily tasks of a tree surgeon is varied and wide-ranging.

A tree surgeon will use a lot of highly specialised equipment to care for and maintain your trees, and most of it you will not have access to at home.

Tree surgeons require such specialised equipment because they have to undertake tasks such as climbing the tree safely and handling heavy branches.

A lot of the tasks involved in tree clearance, for example, require tree surgeons to use equipment such as chainsaws, wood chippers, and shredders. They may also require a mobile elevated work platform, depending on the size of the tree.

A tree surgeon’s daily tasks, therefore, will also require them to look after this equipment and make sure it is in good working condition at all times.

One of the most important pieces of equipment in a tree surgeon’s toolkit is their climbing harness. This is the equipment they will use to enable them to secure themselves safely to the tree when they are working in the tree above ground level.

Many tree surgeons use more than one type of harness to complete the job, including work positioning harnesses and full body harnesses. They may also use other climbing equipment such as karabiners, ascenders, and descenders.

A piece of tree pruning equipment that is often overlooked is the lopper. This is a tool that looks a bit like scissors, and which has extendible handles, so that the tree surgeon can reach the higher branches more easily.

Bow saws are also used for pruning, especially when the pruning needed is horizontal to the tree itself. A bow saw has a curved c-shape frame which fits a variety of blades.