Not only should an arborist your hire understand how to work on trees, but he should also understand how trees work. Trees have built in defenses against decay and an arborist who works with these defense mechanisms can improve any tree worth saving.

The arborist you hire must understand basic tree biology. He must know what to do and what to avoid. Tree science changes daily, so your best bet is to hire an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA): to become certified, an arborist must pass a comprehensive test, and in order to maintain his certification, he must keep up to date with the latest techniques and discoveries.

Proper pruning is often only visible to the trained eye. Bad pruning is very noticeable, and often a homeowner sees this as the norm.

As a consumer, you should at least demand the following basics of good pruning:

• Prune To Laterals
• Directional Pruning
• NO Climbing Spurs
• No Flush Cuts or Stubs
• Maintain Branch Collars
• NO TOPPING

A professional arborist will understand these terms and will be able to discuss them with you.

Also, any arborist you hire should maintain liability insurance to protect you in case of an injury or accident.

When you hire a Tree Service or Arborist, you entrust to him the result of years, decades, or even centuries of tree growth. You believe you have a problem he can solve, and you are willing to pay for his time, knowledge, equipment, experience, and courage.

Remember, a man with a chain saw can do an amazing amount of work in just a few moments: he can either improve the tree's situation, or he can cause irreparable damage to your trees such as topping.

How do you decide whom to hire?

Educate yourself. At the very least, understand how trees should be pruned.

To further educate yourself you should understand what work on a tree causes the least amount of damage, and works with the tree's natural defenses.

Experience is hard to measure. There is a great difference between 20 years of experience and one year repeated 20 times.

Salesmanship is part of the business, but in tree work anything beyond what is needed is likely to be harmful. Be open minded, not gullible. If an arborist finds additional work beyond what you have requested, wait to negotiate about other work until you have found a good arborist. Let your arborist sell you on quality, not quantity.

Here are a few old tricks to look out for:

1. The tree service finds out what the client thinks should be done, and then recommends as a good practice no matter how harmful it may be to the tree.



2. The tree service advocates outmoded practices such as topping, flush cutting, painting cuts, and shaping.



3. The tree service encourages you to let him provide TLC for old trees that have outlived their beauty and usefulness, and are becoming dangerous. Anyone who does this is looking for a deep pocket, not an intelligent customer.



4. The tree service advertises and claims to have liability insurance, but does not. If you hire him and something goes wrong, you will pay for it.



5. The service offers a lower figure than your other estimates. You should be wary of this also and ask if they are removing all debris and wood from the property. Ask for proof of insurance.



6. Do not be deceived by flashy ads and meaningless credentials. Although most tree care companies are honest, there are at least two companies in Hendricks County that use the ISA Logo illegally. Some even operate from cell phones and do not publish their address.



7. When you do hire a tree care provider NEVER pay in advance, only when the job is completed. This is one of the most common rip-offs in todays world.