Two steps to take if you discover a diseased tree in your garden

If you have discovered that one of the trees in your garden has developed a disease, there are two steps you will need to take. Read on to find out what these steps are.

Take measures to avoid the spread of disease

If you have other trees in your garden, it is absolutely essential to avoid touching the trunk or walking over the visible roots of the diseased tree, as this could lead to the harmful bacteria or fungi present on its bark being transferred to your feet or hands.

If you then wander over to the other healthy trees in your garden and brush past them or walk across their roots, you could accidentally transfer the harmful pathogens on your shoes or hands to their bark.

If you have children or pets who regularly play in your garden, it might be difficult to prevent them from coming into contact with the diseased tree. As such, it might be worth building a temporary fence (out of, for example, wire mesh or plastic netting) around the affected tree trunk; this physical barrier should prevent your pets or young children from accidentally touching the bark and potentially transferring the disease to the other trees in your garden.

Call a tree removal specialist

By the time a tree is showing visible signs of disease (such as cankers and peeling bark), it is usually too late to save it. As such, you will need to arrange for a tree removal specialist to cut it down.

This is not something that you should postpone, as, in addition to looking rather unsightly, a diseased tree could also present a risk to you, your family and your property.

Trees which have, as a result of a pathogenic infection, developed a structural weakness, are more susceptible to toppling over when exposed to strong winds.

Given this, if you wait several weeks to have the diseased tree cut down and a storm happens to occur during this time period, the tree could fall over onto your house and cause major damage, or worse still, could fall onto you or one of your family members and leave you with severe injuries.

Whilst the process of having a tree removed can be somewhat time-consuming and will, of course, cost money, it could actually save you a tremendous amount of stress, expense and hassle in the future, by preventing the diseased tree from damaging your property or hurting your family.