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Although Arbor Care is not a legal service nor does it offer legal advice, we sometimes face having to cut down or trim a tree or trees that have been part of a recent legal dispute. Should you be facing a situation with a neighbor where a tree is becoming an issue, read on to learn more regarding your options.

Can I Trim Branches From A Neighbors Tree That Overhangs My Yard?

Under law you can indeed trim branches that go beyond the neighbors property line and infringe on yours. This means you cannot enter the property of the neighbor or trim the tree on the neighbors side of the property line. If the tree is harmed you may be found liable for a fine up to and including three times the value of the tree. Landmark trees or trees for ornamental purposes may have a very high value, so be careful before deciding on a course of action.

Can I Eat The Fruit From A Tree Overhanging My Property?

The fruit from the tree belongs to the owner of the tree and courts have gone back and forth on deciding whether fallen fruit belongs to the owner or the person whose property the fruit falls on. The laws will depend on your location.

My Neighbor Blows Leaves Into My Yard. Is This Grounds For A Nuisance Claim?

Sadly not. Leaves are a natural product and even if they cause clogging to drains or guttering you have no recourse. You can however trim the branches of a tree that is shedding leaves up to the edge of your property line.

A Neighbor Killed A Tree On My Property When Clearing His Yard. Am I Entitled To Compensation?

Anyone who engages in injury to the tree, tree cutting or tree removal without the owner’s permission is liable for compensating the tree owner.

A Storm Knocked Down My Neighbor’s Tree Limb Onto My Property And It Damaged My Car, House And Yard Furniture. Are They Responsible For The Damages?

In most of these cases, the courts will probably apply what is known as a reasonable care standard. If your neighbor was not derelict in their duties to take care and maintain the tree branch and would not appear in the view of a reasonable person to be threatening to fall, then it is probable a court would not find the neighbor responsible. If the event could not have been foreseen or action taken to avoid the event occurring, it will be deemed an “Act Of God” and the neighbor will not be liable.

My Neighbors Tree Looks Like It’s Going To Fall On My House. What Should I Do?

The responsibility of maintaining trees falls upon the landowner. They have two legal responsibilities. Firstly, they make reasonable inspections with the purpose of ensuring the tree is safe. If the neighbor does not or will not remove the tree and damage is caused, your neighbor can be held responsible. If, having spoken to your neighbor, they do not do anything, you do have some laws that may offer protection. The tree may be considered a nuisance when it interferes with the enjoyment and use of your own property. The court may order the removal of the tree is a court finds it is a nuisance. Most cities have ordinances prohibiting property owners from maintaining conditions that may be considered dangerous on their property. In such cases, the municipality where you reside may order the neighbor to remove the tree or they may take it upon themselves to remove it. It may also be that one of the local utility companies will want the tree removed if it threatens any of their equipment or is a potential fire hazard.

The Spreading Of Tree Roots On My Land Damaged My Neighbors Septic Tank. Do I Have To Compensate My Neighbors?

In most states, the neighbor who has been aggrieved may trim the tree or cut the roots and will not have a claim against the owner of the tree. Yet some states maintain neighbors may sue if at least one of the following criteria is met:

• A landowner may sue her neighbor to make that neighbor trims the branches of a tree that encroach the landowner’s property regardless of whether there is damage to the property or not.
• Serious harm caused by encroaching tree roots or tree limbs may give rise to a lawsuit. “Serious harm” usually requires structural damage.
• The neighbor may sue if an encroaching tree was planted.
• A neighbor may only sue if the tree is noxious and is causing damage. “Noxious” means that the tree must be inherently poisonous or dangerous.

If you have a stump on your property here in phoenix. Perhaps your tree was too close to the driveway or could have been causing safety issues. Whatever the case may be, the tree has since been removed, and now you have this stump sitting there and roots deep into the ground. As per everyone you probably do not like seeing this sitting around. What is the next move? Most thoughts go to, I need this stump “removed.” Understand what “stump removal” actually means, and this is extremely different than “grinding” your stump down. More often than not, the stump grinding option is your best bet.

Let us help you understand this procedure of ridding your life of this stump once and for all. Here we will answer all of your questions such as “what are the differences between stump grinding versus the removal process?”

 

What Are the Main Differences Between Stump Removal and Stump Grinding?

Most people who have a form of grass or yard that they genuinely care about will not want to go through with stump removal. When it comes to stump removal services this means not only removing the entire stump but along with the entire root system attached to it. In a result of this service, you will need a heavy-duty piece of machinery to accomplish this job, ex. A bobcat. Also, the entire root system may have run through the entire yard itself possibly ripping up your entire yard.

In short, you’ll probably end up churning up most of the dirt sitting on your property. When it comes to property owners, they only pursue full stump removal in the instance they are clearing massive lots for new buildings.

When it comes to stump grinding, this is such a more feasible route to take. Reason being that you will not have to remove the whole root system supporting the tree. Leveraging a stump grinder can easily grind your stump all the way down shaving away all the excess trunk left until it is entirely gone. When it comes to the dictionary definition of stump this says that it’s only what is remaining of your tree, and with this, the leftovers dive deep into the ground. Following through with the grinding procedure will leave a hole in your ground, but not as big as if you followed through with the removal process of the system entirely.

 

How Deep is The Stump Grinding Process?

This is a great question and the overarching answer would boil down to the machine that is being utilized. Typical stump grinders go as deep as 18 inches in the soil. When performing the service it is standard to continuously grind the stump all the way until there is no trunk visible any longer. You’re probably asking yourself how far into the ground does a tree stump even go? This really depends as well. The tree can have a shallow trunk compared to others. Generally, when it comes to a white oak trunk these can go way deeper than sycamore trees. Before even jumping into the guesstimation of how deep your trunk is, you can have a local arborist come out and visit the location and provide an estimate on the depth of the trunk.

 

What Happens to The Root System That’s Still underground? Do they have the possibility to Re-Sprout?

This question is asked a lot, put simply No. Tree roots cannot resprout after the stump has been ground this far down. Simply the root system will deteriorate in due time. Homeowners still have a fear that there will be a massive hole in their yard from this. This is simply not the case. Your roots will decompose into the ground never ultimately creating a cave-like sinking system under there. Also, this process takes so much time that if in the off chance something were to happen, it would take dozens on dozens of years to even take place.

 

Can I Plant A New Tree On Top Of Where My Old Tree Was?

In short Yes. Although it is highly advised not to do so. It is up to you as the homeowner to make this decision. It is quite common that some homeowners are said to have the tree removed. This being the case they replace this one with a brand new one in the same position.

The roots that end up remaining after the stump grinding procedure happens it will make a new tree pretty difficult to grow. Old roots tend to take up more space than average where your new roots would have sprouted. Along with this the decomposing roots excrete acidity into the soil. Resulting in your newborn tree having a difficult time sprouting as it should.

Also depending on the tree that was in the previous positions, it could release different types of toxins into the soil thus stunting the growth of your new tree that will be replacing the old one. You may even be able to see this if your grass does not grow all the way up to your tree. This is due to the tree releasing these toxins into the soil.

If you ultimately cannot live without something in place of the old one. Then follow the other method of the stump removal service. Then paired with this you’re going to need to help with the levels of toxins in the soil so go ahead and get your soil tested to see what you have to do to restore it to its ultimate level. Soil testing can cost around $25 and upwards, depending on the company you hire. They’ll give you guides on how to treat your soil to be prepared for your new tree.

This can be beyond time consuming and expensive. Hence why its recommended to find a different location to plant your new tree.

 

What about the Leftover sawdust from the stump grinding?

This is a common question often asked. After finishing the service of stump grinding it is highly advised to utilize sawdust to fill the hole that has been left. Even after doing this, you’re going to probably have sawdust left over after fulfilling this. Most likely the person that you hire will take the extra sawdust you have to a compost location for disposal. Eventually being turned into mulch. If you chose the route to not have your sawdust taken away, all the fresh shavings will most likely attract termites. So be sure that you remove the shavings at your earliest convenience.

 

In Conclusion

The main takeaways here are that you should now hopefully understand the differences between removal and stump grinding. The removal process can be quite intensive work when it comes to it. Hence why we typically recommend going though with stump grinding services. If you have any questions beyond what was answered here, feel free to reach out to us and we would be more than happy to help answer any questions you may have!