Finally changed my mind about climbing spikes on removals

Ngl I used to think spikes were fine for any takedown, even on healthy trees. But last month at a job in Portland I watched a guy strip the bark off a mature oak just getting up to the first branch. The homeowner called us out on it and I had to admit he was right. Has anyone else had to switch up their climbing style after a customer called them out?

3 comments

3 Comments

wren6383h ago

I was on a job in Eugene two years ago where a lady came out with a tape measure and asked me what I thought the DBH was on her walnut. I said 30 inches, she measured it and it was 32. She then asked if I was going to spike it and I said yeah, and she just shook her head and went inside. I climbed it anyway and she came back out 10 minutes later with her phone recording me. That was awkward lol. But honestly she was right, I could have used a ladder to get to the first few branches. Now I always try to lanyard in or use a bucket for the first 15 feet if the tree is healthy.

paige3312h ago

What about the risk of spreading disease between trees with spikes?

ellioth371h ago

Yeah the disease thing is real, but people don't think about it much until something goes wrong. You see the same pattern everywhere not just tree work like how people share earbuds or drink from the same cup without washing it first and then wonder why they get sick. Spikes basically act like dirty needles between trees if you're going from an infected oak to a healthy one across the yard. The bigger issue is that most climbers just wipe them down with a rag and call it good which isn't enough to kill stuff like oak wilt or Dutch elm disease. It's one of those things where the risk is low most of the time but when it hits you feel pretty stupid for not taking thirty seconds to spray some bleach water between trees.