Tree service questions, answered

An independent local contractor that covers your part of the county. We take the request and pass it on. The crew you're matched with looks at the job, prices it, does it and answers for it. Your agreement is with them.

Nothing to send a request or get matched. You pay the contractor only for work you agree to. We may be paid by contractors for the jobs we pass along, which the how it works page explains.

Yes. This service doesn't vouch for any contractor's paperwork, so ask for a certificate of insurance and call the insurer listed on it. If someone says they're an ISA Certified Arborist, ISA confirms credential status to the public. It's a private credential, not a state license (ISA). Asking for a Brevard business tax receipt is fair too (Brevard Tax Collector).

That depends on the crew. Some will look at a tree from the yard if the gate is unlocked and they know which tree you mean. For the work itself, being reachable by phone matters more than being home, as long as the scope is in writing. Tell the crew about locked gates, dogs, cars in the driveway and sprinkler heads.

They go to the contractor matched to your job so they can contact you about it. We don't sell your information, and your mobile number and text opt-in are never shared with third parties for their own marketing. Photos are used to understand the job and are never published. Ask, and we'll delete them. The privacy policy has the rest.

It depends on who governs your address. Each city writes its own code, and the unincorporated county, Merritt Island included, follows Brevard Code Chapter 62. Melbourne requires a removal permit unless an exemption applies, and an existing one-, two- or three-family home is one (Melbourne LDC s. 9.272). Titusville exempts the owner of an existing single-family home, counting a home as existing one year after its certificate of occupancy (Titusville LDR s. 30-39). Palm Bay requires a permit for trees 6 inches or more in diameter, with exceptions (Palm Bay s. 175.014). The permit guide covers the rest.

Sometimes. Under Florida's section 163.045, a local government can't require a permit, fee or replanting to prune, trim or remove a tree on residential property when the owner has documentation from an ISA Certified Arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree poses an unacceptable risk (F.S. 163.045). Residential property there means a single-family detached home on a lot used as one. Vacant lots, multifamily buildings and commercial sites aren't covered, and mangroves are excluded. Keep the signed documentation. Palm Bay's exception, for one, requires giving it to the city (Palm Bay s. 175.014).

Usually people mean the documentation section 163.045 describes: an onsite assessment done under the ISA's Best Management Practices for tree risk assessment (2nd edition, 2017), signed by an ISA Certified Arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect. It has to find unacceptable risk, which the statute defines as removal being the only practical way to bring the risk below moderate (F.S. 163.045). This service doesn't write or sign these. Ask the crew you're matched with whether they can arrange one.

Outside city limits, Brevard's code measures trunk diameter 4.5 feet above grade. A hardwood is protected at 10 inches or more on the mainland or Merritt Island, a pine or other softwood at 14 inches or more, and either one at 1.5 inches on the barrier island. Invasive and undesirable species don't count (Brevard Code s. 62-4332). Single-family lots of 1.25 acres or less with a certificate of occupancy are exempt from the county's canopy and preservation requirements, as long as minimum landscaping stays (s. 62-4334). Cities set their own thresholds.

Read your covenants or ask the association before booking anything, because HOA approval is separate from any city or county rule. Watch the common areas too. Titusville's single-family exemption doesn't reach development common areas (Titusville LDR s. 30-39), and Cocoa's reading of section 163.045 leaves out HOA and condo common areas (Cocoa code, Appendix A s. 22).

Not without checking first. Bald eagles are protected by state rule and two federal laws, and before clearing or construction FWC recommends checking its historical nest map and keeping 660 feet from a nest. The map isn't complete and doesn't replace looking (FWC bald eagle FAQ). Removing an active hawk nest with eggs or chicks takes a USFWS permit (FWC raptor permits). The protected trees guide has more.

Only under the state's Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act, which relies on professional mangrove trimmers (F.S. 403.9329). Section 163.045 doesn't apply to mangroves. This service doesn't take mangrove requests.

June 1 to November 30, with most activity from August to October, according to NOAA's Hurricane Research Division. Trimming and removals are easier to schedule before that peak.

UF/IFAS rated trees on the Southeastern Coastal Plain after several hurricanes. Live oak, sand live oak and the cabbage palm, or sabal, rated highest. Laurel oak and sand pine rated lowest, and queen palm rated lowest in the subtropical table. No tree is wind-proof (UF/IFAS FR173). The sabal also happens to be Florida's state tree (F.S. 15.031).

Look for change. A new lean, soil cracking or lifting on one side of the trunk, dead limbs that snap instead of bend, a split where two trunks meet. Laurel oaks deserve a closer look, since UF/IFAS notes their trunks and big limbs often hollow from decay, and a small wound or bad pruning cut can start a decay column 10 to 20 feet long or more (UF/IFAS ST549). The tree risk assessment page explains what a closer look involves.

Get everyone out of the rooms under it. If a power line is down or touching the tree, stay well back and report it to your electric utility. Take photos from a safe spot showing the whole tree, the damage and how close it sits to the house. In unincorporated Brevard, photos, rough measurements and distance to structures are what the code asks for to document an emergency removal of a dead or badly damaged tree (Brevard Code s. 62-4334). Call your insurer about your policy, then call or text us.

The general rule in the UF/IFAS handbook on Florida fence and property law is that when a live tree falls onto a neighbor's property, the neighbor is responsible for their own damages. There's no Florida case law directly on a landowner's duty to remove dead or hazardous trees (UF/IFAS FE962). A 2025 bill that would have made owners liable when their trees fall on someone else's property died in committee (SB 724, 2025 session). That's general information, not legal advice. Ask your insurer or an attorney about your case.

That's a question for your policy and your insurer, and the answer turns on the details. This service doesn't file claims or talk to adjusters. Ask the crew for a written, itemized price you can share with your insurer.

Not a homeowner, and this service doesn't take those jobs. FPL says only specially trained line-clearing professionals should work around power lines, that trees touching lines should be reported to the utility, and that it clears main lines about every three years and neighborhood lines about every six (FPL tree FAQ). Under state law, local governments can't require permits for vegetation work inside an established electric utility right-of-way (F.S. 163.3209). On another utility? Call yours.

In Melbourne, up to 20% of a tree's canopy (Melbourne LDC s. 9.272). In unincorporated Brevard, allowable trimming and pruning aren't "land clearing" under the code (s. 62-4332), but improper pruning that hurts a tree's viability counts as land clearing damage (s. 62-4338). Other cities write their own rules, so check the code for your address.

For storm reasons, before the August to October peak of hurricane season (NOAA). Nests can move the date too. Removing an active hawk nest takes a USFWS permit (FWC), so if something is nesting, wait or ask first. The trimming calendar guide goes deeper.

Generally yes, back to the property line and at your own expense, per the UF/IFAS Florida fence and property law handbook. Taking down a healthy tree on the boundary without the neighbor's consent can create liability (UF/IFAS FE962). City tree rules and HOA covenants still apply.

That's your call, but here's the background. UF/IFAS assessed the queen palm as potentially invasive and advises using it with caution. A single fruit cluster can weigh over 100 pounds and carry more than 1,000 seeds, and those seeds sprout wherever they land (UF/IFAS ST609). It also rated lowest for wind in the subtropical table of the UF/IFAS hurricane study (FR173). See palm tree trimming.

Not always. Some crews cut the trunk low and leave the stump, others include grinding. Ask, and ask whether the grindings get hauled off or left as mulch. Sunshine 811 must be notified at least two full business days before digging (Sunshine 811 FAQ), so ask whether the crew calls in a locate before grinding. The stump grinding page has more.

Pickup schedules and pile rules come from your city, or from the county if you live outside city limits, and they're announced after each storm. Check those notices before stacking anything at the curb. If a crew is doing the work, ask whether haul-away is in the price. The storm debris guide has more.