HOUSTON – Hurricane season is less than two weeks away, and one of the biggest threats to your home might already be standing in your backyard.
KPRC 2 spoke with Brad Phillips, an ISA Certified Master Arborist with 26 years of experience — the highest credential in the field — to talk about what homeowners should be looking for right now, before the storms arrive.
His advice? Don’t wait.
“Go out and inspect your trees — look at your branches, leaves, trunks, and roots. Start from the top and work your way down. Look for anything unusual. You can even take photos. Many arborists can do initial inspections from photographs,” Phillips said.
If your tree is starting to lean — or you notice it really sways when the wind picks up — Phillips says that’s your cue to call a professional. He recommends having a certified arborist take a look at least once a year.
Don’t make this common trimming mistake
A lot of homeowners think thinning out their trees before a storm is the smart move. Phillips says it’s actually one of the worst things you can do.
“One of the most important things to understand about pruning trees is that trees do not need to be thinned. That just allows the wind to whip through the canopy at full force and speed,” Phillips said, “causing limb failure and breakage to occur at an even higher rate.”
He explains that trees are built to handle wind — but only when their canopy is intact.
“Trees have evolved to be thick and to have heavy crowns where they’re dense. The wind then pushes against the tree, and the tree absorbs that shock as a full organism,” Phillips said.
And if you’re thinking about hiring just anyone to do the work, Phillips also has a warning.
Something as simple as using climbing spikes — which untrained workers commonly use — can cause serious, lasting damage to a tree.
“If you were taking a tree care class on day one, they would tell you never, ever, ever climb a tree with spikes unless you’re cutting it down,” Phillips said. “Those spikes significantly damage the tree. The most important part is immediately underneath the bark. That’s where the vascular tissue is — the veins and arteries of the tree. So that would be very similar to piercing your own skin with a dirty object. Obviously, the risk of infection is significant.”
What about your neighbor’s tree?
If you’re eyeing a tree on your neighbor’s property and wondering who’s responsible if it falls, the answer depends on the condition of that tree.
“Generally speaking, the failure of a tree is going to be an act of God event, and nobody is going to be liable for it,” Phillips said.
But that changes if the tree shows obvious signs of decline — rot, falling bark, dead branches — and neighbors have already raised concerns about it.
“If you are the person with that dead tree and your neighbors are talking to you about it, you’re stepping into liability territory,” Phillips said. “I typically suggest people get things in writing as much as possible. Obviously, nobody wants to approach their neighbor with a certified letter at the first conversation. It’s always best to have a conversation first, but it is also very important to follow up those conversations if needed.”
The biggest mistake Houston homeowners make
Phillips says the single most common mistake he sees every year is simple: people wait too long.
By the time a hurricane is already spinning in the Gulf, every tree crew in town is booked solid — and there’s nothing left to do but hope for the best.
The time to act, he says, is right now.