Attack of the Zombie Trees

Halloween is upon us! Do you know what’s spooky? Zombie trees.

Zombie trees are those that are still standing upright but are dead inside from a variety of environmental factors; disease, insect infestation, improper pruning and lack of water. They might look alive but these ticking time bombs will eventually topple over, posing a real danger to both the public and your property. If you have a zombie tree, a strong wind could easily send it toppling over and cost you thousands of dollars in damages – to your yard, roof, vehicles or wherever it may land.

Symptoms of a zombie tree:

• Bark that is decaying, missing or showing breakage
• Loss of leaves
• Dead and/or falling branches

“Because we have early fall snows and high winds in Colorado, Denver residents should always be mindful of the health of the trees on their property,” said Sara Davis, Urban Forestry Program Manager in the Office of the City Forester.

If you live in Denver and own property, you are responsible for:

• Cleanup of debris from trees on private property and from trees within the public right-of-way adjacent to their property. (Limbs on the ground are considered debris. Property owners can hire any company to haul limbs away – for this type of work, the company does NOT have to be a licensed tree contractor.)
• Pruning needs of private property trees and trees within the public right-of-way adjacent to your property.

Unfortunately, there are times when the safety of the public necessitates that the work be completed immediately and Denver Forestry cannot allow time for the property owner to find a licensed tree professional. When a tree or limb is blocking safe access to the street or right-of-way, Denver Forestry has an on-call contractor remove the limb or tree and bills the property owner for the work.

There are many tree professionals that are licensed by the Office of the City Forester who can safely remove a zombie tree from your yard, sparing you the costly expense of a fallen tree. Before you hire someone to remove your zombie tree, ask if he or she has a Colorado State Department of Agriculture tree service license.