Tree Loppers vs Arborists - Must Know Differences Before you Hire

Last updated: 15 December 2020

An arborist by definition is someone who cares for and maintains trees. A more common name for an arborist is a “tree lopper”, but they are worlds apart. The education levels and knowledge of arborists these days are astounding.

You would only phone a company for tree lopping if you are looking at felling a tree from the base on a vacant block of land. But you would call an arborist aka “tree doctor” for a whole range of tree work including; arborist’s reports, identifying and treating pests and diseases in trees, dead-wooding, crown lifts, specialized pruning and of course tree removal.

Obviously, there is a world of difference between a qualified tree service professional and your local ‘handyman’ who happens to own a chainsaw and advertises himself as a “tree lopper”.

…..but what does that difference mean for you?

There is no doubt that getting a tree lopped by an unskilled worker for a cheaper price, can look like an attractive offer. You think, what could possibly go wrong right?

This is an extremely dangerous profession. The biggest risk you face is not the tree damaging your property during the lopping process, but a worker injuring themselves in the process, and not been covered by insurance.

This leaves you wide open to litigation.

Professional arborists need to charge more because they have greater overheads such as public liability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, plus specialist equipment and not to mention the years they spend studying Arboriculture.

So the reward is you save money, but what’s the risk?

You don’t need me to tell you that removing a tree is dangerous work. You have a guy swinging from a rope and harness 30 feet up in the air with a running chainsaw, dismantling the 2 tonnes plus structure and trying to bring it down to the ground safely without injuring himself, his crew or your property….but just how dangerous is it?

It’s in the top 10 most dangerous professions in Australia, but if you look at the injury or death figures per 1000 workers it is 3 times deadlier than mining. (Mining being the DEADLIEST industry in Australia)

The risk you run trying to save a few hundred dollars is that the person you hire may get injured on your property (that’s a can of worms right there) or you risk tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage to your property with a company that does not have the insurance cover to repair the damage.

Yes, you do stand to save hundreds of dollars if you don’t get your tree removal job done by a professional, but you run a very large risk of property damage or worse, injury or death on your property by one of the workers.

Don’t risk it, get a pro in and get the job done right.