Help Find an Arborist

M

mh9162013

Location
Earth
I live in western Kentucky and have a nice back yard with a lot of tree cover around the property boundaries. I'd like to have an arborist or other tree professional come out and help identify what trees we have and maybe do some heavy trimming or select felling to give the yard a bit more sun light. So my questions are:

- Any recommendations on who I could hire in this area?
- Any questions or key points I should ask or look for when deciding on who to hire?

Thanks!
 
In most cases, don't go for the lowest bid. Sometimes it's solid, good peeps, often though you get what you pay for. And to point out the obvious, make sure they are properly insured!
 
Thanks for all the advice!

Edit: Follow up question - I know there are a lot of tree service companies in my area, but they are not on the ISA website. Does that mean I should probably stay away from them?
 
Not necessarily. Get referrals, check your BBB and ask questions about their industry involvement. Those that avail themselves to ISA chapter conferences and events like tcia expo should have a little more knowledge than the average bear.
 
Let Google help you out too

Search on the company name and the owner too

Find out how they've learned to take care of trees. University degrees aren't mandatory or a deal breaker. Find out when they've gone to a workshop or conference to keep up with current trade practices

At this time of year any sales rep should be able to give you plenty of referrals If they him and haw about not being able to get any for you...think hard about hiring them. Call the referrals.

Same with certificates of insurance for liability and workers comp. the sales rep should be able to call their agent and have a currently dated certificate emailed while you wait. Don't be talked into waiting for a cert. get it dated too. I had a client that told me when I did the estimate that they wanted a cert from my agent in the day that I did the work. Makes sense. I could have insurance on the day I bid and then cancel

Once you get estimates be sure to come back here for a peer review. As you've seen there are some really helpful and passionate arborists willing to help you

Welcome to Treebuzz
 
Tom, is calling references a practice you've used recently? I'm not sure if that would fly for us, larger clients like munis and hoas I think would be willing but our average residential I would be inclined to not bother them with calls from prospective clients. Online reviews seem to be the modern referral. i could be way off.
 
I would agree that the online aspect is probably the first place folks are going to look but a very big job might entail calling some referrals.
 
Thank you all for the great advice. When I get estimates, I will try to post them here and get some feedback - thank you for the offer for peer review!

EDIT: What's considered a "big job?" $3,000 or more? $10,000 or more?
 
@Levi.CO

LOL

Maybe I'm showing my age too much. That said...If I'm a consumer or service provider I'd sure want someone to be able to let me know who they worked for in the past few weeks. Gauging a reaction to the request is a subtle way of getting an insight into character and establish integrity. We all know any references are going to be high-graded.
 
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