When do I get rid of these?

[roberthathaway7]

I run a lawn and landscape business and do a little basic tree cutting. I ran into a whole lotta these at a large cemetary and have few other houses with the same and I thought to myself hmm... alright those really need to be gone, and I bet if I played my cards right I could get a sweet Stihl HT 131 paid for, which I've really been wanting for around the farm not to mention to make some money with. And I don't mix latters with chainsaws so it would be a nice addition. Anyways, when do I cut these suckers off? The trees (red oaks) put them on because a storm came through and knocked some branches off. I would think it wouldn't hurt to remove them by any means, but is there a time of the year that is more effective in keeping them from just putting on more suckers? I'm all about job security but I'm more about doing quality work so I want these things gone and gone if possible to keep that rep up. And what would you all charge/hour for this type of thing? I usually just charge 30/ man hour for all of my 2/stroke work (no chipper or booms or anything, I keep it simple. If I can't, I leave it to the experts). As far as disposal I just have to haul it to a brush pile in the back of the cemetary so I'm just lookin at flat hourly rate.View attachment 242485

 

[treeslayer]

hire a real arborist/climber to do it.
Bid $100 an hour. give him half the money. you labor for him and haul the brush. (and google oak wilt, BTW....... you live in Illinois.)

 

[treemandan]

I run a lawn and landscape business and do a little basic tree cutting. I ran into a whole lotta these at a large cemetary and have few other houses with the same and I thought to myself hmm... alright those really need to be gone, and I bet if I played my cards right I could get a sweet Stihl HT 131 paid for, which I've really been wanting for around the farm not to mention to make some money with. And I don't mix latters with chainsaws so it would be a nice addition. Anyways, when do I cut these suckers off? The trees (red oaks) put them on because a storm came through and knocked some branches off. I would think it wouldn't hurt to remove them by any means, but is there a time of the year that is more effective in keeping them from just putting on more suckers? I'm all about job security but I'm more about doing quality work so I want these things gone and gone if possible to keep that rep up. And what would you all charge/hour for this type of thing? I usually just charge 30/ man hour for all of my 2/stroke work (no chipper or booms or anything, I keep it simple. If I can't, I leave it to the experts). As far as disposal I just have to haul it to a brush pile in the back of the cemetary so I'm just lookin at flat hourly rate.View attachment 242485

I am not the brightest bulb in the sack of patatoes I know so someone is gonna have to tell me what this guy is talking about?

 

[no tree to big]

ok lets see here first you are not supposed to trim oaks in the spring summer or fall, that leaves winter only second why do you need anything gas powered? a simple pole saw is more then enough to handle that and well lets see if you charge 30/hr that would work out to about $2.50 and if you charge 100/hr that's about $8.33

 

[roberthathaway7]

I'll do it myself with a gas pole saw, because I've got the time, and I'll take all the money rather than split it, and as much as I like to do work there are way too many trees with these things to be wearin my shoulder cuff out on a regular pole saw. Those branches are just like 15 feet off the ground, so hiring a climber seems a bit like overkill. Although I do believe in consulting an arborist, but I don't know any around here off hand so I'm checking with you guys. I just want to know how to do a simple job right, thanks for the info on the timing though, I figured winter was the best just making sure. And I will google oak wilt. We had a handful of white oaks die on our farm randomly, that could have something to do with them too. What are you saying with your figures NoTreeTooBig? I couldn't follow. I'm charging 30/hour per man hour. I would charge more but I'm not as experienced and skilled/equipped like others so each job may take me longer than someone who charges 100. The way I look at it, a guy charging 100/hour may get the job done in 1/3 the time, but we still both charge $100 to accomplish the same task (lukcy for me i have less overhead). If it's beyond my skills to do the job RIGHT and effectively though, I just won't take the job. I don't do anything unless I can do it right. Thus my questions on when to cut these branches. If you all have any other info on how I should go about this let me know. It seems simple enough but like I said I want to make sure I do it right and put the tree and customer first.

 

[no tree to big]

my dollar figures are based on that being a 5 min job also being as I never heard of or used a gas pole saw for fine pruning you may make some ugly cuts or tear up the trunk if your not careful, its easy enough to leave a little chain rash when using a top handle chainsaw let alone a chainsaw on a stick( way less control)

 

[TheJollyLogger]

I am going to respectfully disagree with NTTB on this one. Taking those water sprouts off this time of year on otherwise healthy trees presents very little oak wilt risk, and a power pruner can def. get the job done faster, and make plenty clean cuts, IMO. Our standard is to only paint cuts 2" or over, and we trim oaks year round. We do try and postpone large oak trims march and april here, when they are most active, though. just make sure your chain is sharp, and you will tear through em. Jeff

 

[husabud]

Did you just say paint cuts? Leave the hardwoods for winter. Get a Silky pole saw and go make an extra hundred during the week when you really need it.

 

[no tree to big]

I am going to respectfully disagree with NTTB on this one. Taking those water sprouts off this time of year on otherwise healthy trees presents very little oak wilt risk, and a power pruner can def. get the job done faster, and make plenty clean cuts, IMO. Our standard is to only paint cuts 2" or over, and we trim oaks year round. We do try and postpone large oak trims march and april here, when they are most active, though. just make sure your chain is sharp, and you will tear through em. Jeff

trimming is trimming in my area none of the real co's will touch an oak or elm unless its a matter of life or death no matter how little the task

 

[TheJollyLogger]

We have a lot of oak blight down here, and the current standard from TX Forestry dept is to paint all cuts with just regular black spray paint, within 5 minutes of the cut. The theory is the solvents in the paint will keep the bugs away until the sap stops running. What can i say, we just follow their guidelines.

 

[mckeetree]

We have a lot of oak blight down here, and the current standard from TX Forestry dept is to paint all cuts with just regular black spray paint, within 5 minutes of the cut. The theory is the solvents in the paint will keep the bugs away until the sap stops running. What can i say, we just follow their guidelines.

"Oak blight???" Are you talking about hypoxylon canker? Black spray paint?

 

[limbwalker54]

In this area the "OAK BLIGHT" that the guys who haven't a clue but throw names at shiznit....is usually Bacterial Leaf Scorch (Xyella fastidiosa

I love made up diseases....they make me feel so much smarter!

 

[sgreanbeans]

Wait until winter, small, yes, but still will attract bugs. No gas pole saw on those, you WILL tear instead of cut. Jameson pole with a saw or pruner head or the like. No painting needed when done in winter. Think spray paint is way off course. There is a sealer made specifically for oaks, guy is a site sponsor on here. By the times the bugs emerge in the late spring, the tree has had time to compartmentalize the wounds.

 

[roberthathaway7]

ahh ok I got ya, it's not a 5 minute job because there are prob 20 of the trees like the one in the picture I posted, and besides I charge a minimum of 50 dollars to show up for any small job even if it does take 5 minutes. Those are the sweet ones. Although since my mowing is more streamlined and routine I charge a minimum of $30... I timed one of my small yards yesterday mowing by myself and it took me 15 minutes in and out =$120/direct man hour Now if I could just get a big line of those down one street..

Thanks for the info guys, looks like the consensus is wait til winter. So you al saw wait for hardwoods.. does that mean that softwoods are ok to trim in the summer because their sap runs a little quicker to seal it up and keep disease out? I'll prob grab some of that oak sealer and jump on a ladder to paint it on. If I can do it this summer at all I prob will because this drought has literally brought my business down to 20% volume so I'm barely covering costs as it is

I have a lineman friend who has told me about silky's. I may look into that, up my margin and skip on the toys for now. It's got to be better than this stupid craftsman extendable job I've got.

 

[husabud]

I worked for a small Landscape co after college. We were slammed for two months or so in the spring when dead for two or three as all the grass burned off. We decided to offer all the customers irrigation for the price of the parts. We worked for free installing it, except our 10% markup on parts. The following year there wasn't a slow month or even week for that matter. Think outside of the box. Silky all the way unless around wires then no way!

 

[Carburetorless]

If you're talking about the sucker growth on the trunk, use a pruning pole with a lopper on it. I can reach up to about 20ft with my 16 footer, those you could prolly get with a shorter one.

Looks like there are quite a few trees in that cemetery. I would make them an offer for doing all of them, and take out the dead wood too, not just the suckers on the trunks.

 

[Carburetorless]

my dollar figures are based on that being a 5 min job also being as I never heard of or used a gas pole saw for fine pruning you may make some ugly cuts or tear up the trunk if your not careful, its easy enough to leave a little chain rash when using a top handle chainsaw let alone a chainsaw on a stick( way less control)

I wouldn't even bother showing up for $8.25 even if it only took 2 minutes.

Anyway, looks like there are more than just one tree in there, so it's probably at least a day; How much would you charge for a day, $57.35? :cool2:

 

[no tree to big]

I wouldn't even bother showing up for $8.25 even if it only took 2 minutes.

Anyway, looks like there are more than just one tree in there, so it's probably at least a day; How much would you charge for a day, $57.35? :cool2:

he was talking about paying for a pole pruner like he was going to get rich off trimming suckers off a few trees and said he charges 30/hr, and that is a one two three job... yes I know you need to have a minimum charge bla bla bla but if there were 20 of those trees on one property I'd charge like 300 bucks and be in and out in an hour and a half by myself on a saturday afternoon

 

[mckeetree]

In this area the "OAK BLIGHT" that the guys who haven't a clue but throw names at shiznit....is usually Bacterial Leaf Scorch (Xyella fastidiosa

I love made up diseases....they make me feel so much smarter!

I did a consultation today behind some jackass that had told the client the aphid problem on her crape myrtles was "Oklahoma sticky leaf" and the post oak near the patio had "oak blight." I couldn't find anything wrong with post oak. Another tree he inspected, a large red oak, actually had hypoxylon canker. He had pronounced that tree in fine condition without any problems. Where do people find these morons?

 

[TheJollyLogger]

"Oak blight???" Are you talking about hypoxylon canker? Black spray paint?

I meant Oak wilt. and yes, spray paint. I don't know if it does any good, but it's the standard paractice in the Austin/ San Antonio area. They even sell paint can holsters for saddles, and can attachments for pole pruners.

Pruning Guidelines for Prevention of Oak Wilt in Texas

Hypoxylon is a whole other issue, Bastrop county has it bad

Texas Forest Service