Tree trimming is so essential for growing healthy trees that the tree trimming industry is worth a staggering $26 billion.
Giving your trees routine maintenance by trimming them on a regular basis is vital to taming rogue and dangerous branches and keeping trees in good shape. Now, if you were to start trimming trees, what tree trimming tools would you use?
There is a wide array of trimming tools out there, all of which have specific uses. Some of them are safe to use at home, while others are better left to a professional tree trimming service. Let’s look at some common tree trimming tools and how they’re used.
Pole Tree Pruners
Tree pruners are some of the most important tree trimming tools because they’ll keep you from dangerous situations. When pruning back high tree limbs, keeping your feet on the ground is incredibly important because it assures your safety. Tree pruners are designed with a curved head and two blades that make it possible to efficiently cut limbs or branches from the ground.
For most homeowners, these tree trimming tools are quite tricky to use because they need to be carefully hooked to cut branches.
Additionally, they are designed with a rope that needs to be pulled on to operate the second blade, which ultimately cuts the branches. The operation motions require, and the height at which you may have to operate means hiring a professional tree trimming service may be a better option.
Tree Cutting Saws
There are several types of tree cutting saws, one of them being the pole saw. One of the best things about it is that you can also operate it from the ground to cut through thick limbs and branches without using a ladder. They are designed with serrated blades and use an attached rope to operate the saw.
There are several types of pulses, and you can choose between electric pole saws, gas pole saws, and battery-operated cordless pole saws. These tools require a lot of upper body strength to operate, and you may get tired quickly as some of them are heavy. Apart from pole saws, there are also chainsaws.
Chain saws are quite the popular portable mechanical saws that cut through thick wood with ease. With these tools, you can trim or cut down a tree fast and seamlessly. There are many types of chainsaws, and homeowners can purchase smaller ones, which are also very powerful.
That said, chainsaws can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. The last thing you want to do is risk deadly injuries.
Hire a professional tree trimming service instead and have them cut down thick branches or cut down trees for you. Experts know how to trim a tree and the best tree trimming tool for every situation.
Loopers
Loopers are some of the most common tree trimming tools and some of the easiest to use, even for homeowners.
Loopers are designed to cut small branches and twigs and are suitable for regular tree and shrub maintenance. They are designed with the two handles like scissors but feature very sharp blades that cut through branches quickly.
The handles are long, and you need to operate them using both hands to maintain control. New looper models in the market come with other various features, such as ratchet drives, that add more power and make cutting branches even easier.
Pruning Shears
Pruning shears are also known as hand pruners. They’re very small, come in a similar size with pliers, and are designed to cut the smallest of leaves and twigs from trees and shrubs. They’re light and easy to operate with one hand, making them one of the safest tree trimming tools.
Even though they are relatively small, they are designed with enough strength to cut through hard branches that are about an inch in diameter. Hand pruning shears come in different types of materials, such as stainless steel and carbon steel. Stainless steel shears are some of the best because they are corrosion resistant.
However, they don’t possess the same longevity, and you may have to replace them sooner. Carbon steel pruners, on the other hand, are much more durable. However, they are prone to corrosion and staining, meaning they’ll get damaged if you constantly use them in damp conditions.
If you want them to last longer and remain efficient, buy those coated in titanium as they’re corrosion-resistant and maintain their sharp edges.
Hedge Shears
Hedge trimmers are useful for people who have green live fences, shrubs, and trees that overgrow with thick leaves. There are two types of hedge shears, which are manual and motorized hedge trimmers. You can opt for any of them depending on how much work you’re looking at and how often you’re going to be using them.
Hedge shears are the perfect tree trimming tool for cutting back thick overgrowth when your trees grow a lot. They are inexpensive, quite easy to operate, and you can use them on ornamental grasses or blooming shrubs.
Hand Saws
Unlike pole saws and chainsaws, hand saws are handy to have because they will help you tackle branches that are closer to the ground. It’s not always that you will be pruning branches from tall trees or those that are high above the ground.
It’s also important for you to own a hand tree trimming saw that would help you tackle most of the trimming, especially if you have smaller trees and shrubs but need regular grooming.
Hand saws are designed to operate on the push stroke, the pull stroke, or both. The push saw is the one that cuts while you’re pushing the saw away from you.
Similarly, the pull saw will make the cut when you pull it towards you. Tree professionals recommend pull saws for those who intend to use ladders because it keeps them from pushing away from the tree.
Various Types of Tree Trimming Tools Explained
If you’re looking to purchase tree trimming tools, it’s essential to understand what’s available first.
These tree trimming tools listed above are the most common for home use and will serve you well when maintaining your trees and shrubs. However, some can be dangerous, like the chainsaw, and you might want to consider hiring a tree trimming service for certain tasks.
If you think using all these tools sounds like too much work or dangerous for you, we’ll be more than glad to take the job off your hands. Please give us a call, and we’ll arrange how we can trim or cut down your trees for you.