Are you going to send your “bread winner” up that tree?

Some people try to save a little money by doing some of the home chores themselves.  And I do the same whenever I can, but doing one’s own tree pruning is cutting into a living organism without the necessary training or experience can make the tree more susceptible to insect and disease damage, structural damage and death.

Now, for a moment,  forget the health of the trees, what about the health of the home owner, the family’s bread winner, going up in a tree once every two or three years, with a saw.  Consider just the past few month’s data for non-treecare persons compiled by TCIA:

                MONTH                                        DEATHS                        SERIOUS INJURIES

• November 2011                                3                                              2
• December 2011                                 6                                              4
• January 2012                                      1                                              1
• February 2012                                   6                                              1

This is winter time deaths and injuries, the numbers are considerably higher annually for spring, summer, and fall.

Before you climb that tree on Saturday remember the need to go to work on Monday.