Tree Risk Assessment (TRAQ) – Hire ISA Certified Arborists

It’s essential that you go for a professional when it comes to taking care of your trees, especially dealing with issues that need proper handling. Without experience and training, it’s tough to assess specific situations regarding your trees and determine if your tree needs to go through certain measures like trimming, pruning, removal, or other emergency services. 

That’s why to make sure that your trees grow correctly and in a healthy manner and to take care of all the problems they might go through, you need to go for professional arborists. You can’t just go for any arborist and appoint them to assess your tree’s situation and make decisions. It’s crucial that you go for arborists that have a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification or TRAQ. 

tree risk assessment
Tree Risk Assessment

TRAQs are important to determine the qualification of an arborist. In this article, we will look into the reasons you should consider an arborist with a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification. 

What is a Tree Risk Assessment Qualification(TRAQ)?

Arborists and property owners often suffer injuries from dangerous trees. The Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ) was developed by the ISA to solve this problem. By providing a defined and organized procedure for evaluating tree danger, TRAQ enhances the safety of people and property. The findings of a tree risk assessment can give a person the knowledge they need to make wise choices that will improve their trees’ benefits, health, and longevity.

Arborists will acquire the skills necessary to detect and evaluate tree danger through education and training systematically. Through TRAQ, they will-

  • possess proficiency in limited visual and fundamental tree risk assessment techniques, as described in ISA Best Management Practices: Tree Risk Assessment.
  • comprehend the fundamentals of cutting-edge diagnostic methods for evaluating tree danger.
  • assemble and combine the data required to evaluate tree danger.
  • make logical decisions and suggestions for reducing the identified risk.

A certified arborist must complete a two-day course, pass a difficult 100-question test, and complete a one-hour live tree examination to get a TRAQ. An arborist learns the most effective ways to assess and calculate tree danger during the course. A TRAQ provides an arborist with a defined method and form to fill out when evaluating the risk associated with trees and the surrounding environment.

They learn how to accurately and concisely provide this information to the client in both written and spoken forms by quantifying a wide range of characteristics, including species, tree weight, lean, tree structure, the impact of decomposers like mushrooms and insects, wind forces, and soil conditions.

Why Hire an Arborist with Tree Risk Assessment Qualification

ISA Certified Arborists offer a range of services, including planting, trimming, and removal, as well as assessments, expert witnesses, and emergency tree care, to help you keep the investment you’ve made in your trees.

Pruning

An ISA-certified arborist knows when and how to prune trees to maintain or enhance their general safety, aesthetic appeal, and health. Your trees might require pruning so that-

  • Young trees can be trained to grow a robust framework.
  • Removing limbs and branches that are damaged.
  • Eliminate limbs that obstruct structures or cause injuries by rubbing against one another.
  • Remove any limbs that are weak, sick, or dead.
  • Improve structure to lessen the risk of storm damage.
  • Take off any extra weight at the branches’ ends.
  • Improve the shape of a damaged tree.

Planting

Arborists can advise on how to plant trees correctly and the best tree for each location. Issues that can often arise from insufficient growing areas, pests, illnesses, or poor development are usually the result of planting the wrong tree in the wrong place. Planting large trees takes specialized tools and knowledge. In order to ensure that older trees recover from the move, an ISA Certified Arborist can provide advice on optimum planting depth and general care.

Tree Health Care

Preventative care and maintenance ensure a tree’s sound structure and health. Regular and proper maintenance will help your trees better defend themselves against insects, illnesses, problems linked with site circumstances,  and specific situations in urban contexts that can be stressful to trees. Arborists recommend actions to maintain good health, including-

  • A proactive study or assessment of tree health and safety.
  • Using sprays or injections to treat specific pests or diseases.
  • Help enhance root development.
  • Bracing or cabling can be used to strengthen weakly attached branches.
  • Remedial pruning.
  • Fertilization.
  • Seasonal watering.

Emergency Services for Trees

Tree branches or entire trees can fall during a storm or an earthquake, potentially harming people, other trees, buildings, structures, or automobiles. Due to their extreme weight, downed trees are hazardous to remove or prune. An arborist can help to complete the work safely while lowering the potential for additional harm to people or property.

Additionally, it’s important to be cautious around trees and limbs caught in power lines during a storm or something else. Trees can carry electricity and can be exceedingly dangerous when they come into contact with live utility wires. You should always call your neighborhood power company when electricity lines involve fallen or damaged trees.

Removal

Tree removal is a last resort, yet it is necessary in many cases. A large number of ISA Certified Arborists are also qualified in tree risk assessment (TRAQ). These people are especially suited to evaluate risks and offer choices for risk minimization, such as removal. Tree removal can be done effectively and safely with the help of arborists and their tools. A tree might need to be removed if it-

  • Determined to be permanently dangerous by a certified arborist.
  • Being changed with a better suitable specimen.
  • Damaging or overcrowding other trees.
  • Dying or dead.
  • Risky with circumstances that other approaches cannot mitigate.
  • Inappropriately placed near a building or on a development site.

Other Services

Other tree care services offered by arborists include a wide range of the following-

  • Tree risk assessment.
  • Value assessment of a tree.
  • Lightning protection systems are being installed in some areas.
  • Log grinding.
  • Ideas for protecting existing trees on development sites.

Necessary Skills for Tree Risk Assessment

Here are the necessary skills that an arborist need for tree risk assessment and other related tasks-

Years of Experience

It is vital that the arborist you are hiring to take care of trees has a significant amount of experience. If they don’t have much experience, then make sure they have the proper qualifications. In this case, you should ensure they have the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification or TRAQ.

Has Access to Required Equipment

An arborist with TRAQ will have access to the equipment needed to deal with the various issues your tree might be going through. That’s why you should hire an arborist with this qualification.

Knowledge of Tree Biology

While an arborist goes through the entire process of getting the Tree Risk Assessment Qualification, they get a lot of knowledge regarding tree biology. This knowledge helps them assess a tree’s various situations and make proper decisions about dealing with those problems. That’s why it’s important to hire such arborists. 

Knowledge of Climate

Arborists with Tree Risk Assessment Qualification also have the knowledge of climate, which they can use to understand what kind of tree is suitable for a particular place and which tree won’t be able to grow there. This way, they can prevent unpleasant issues. 

Time Management

It’s important to do the tree trimming, pruning, removal, and other tree service works in a timely manner, as such work depends on doing them properly. If they aren’t done at the suitable and designated time, they won’t be successful, and the tree will be harmed. An arborist with proper training and qualifications will know how to manage time effectively. 

Saves Money

If you hire an arborist with proper qualifications, then you will be able to save money too. As they will be able to deal with the issues at hand effectively, and you won’t have to face those problems any further. While an unqualified arborist won’t only be able to do it effectively, they will do more harm than good for your trees and cost you a further fortune. You will, in the end, have to hire a professional and qualified one anyway, so it’s best to get one at the beginning. 

A tree health assessment can help you identify problems early, so you can take action to keep your trees healthy. The assessment involves looking at the tree’s leaves, branches, and trunk for signs of stress or disease.

When Should I Get My Trees Assessed?

A tree should be examined twice a year, once in the winter and once in the summer. Arborists can spot weak branch structure, animal-cavity openings, and probable degradation throughout the winter. Arborists can also examine the color of the tree’s leaves and twig growth over the summer. By skipping a complete tree assessment, you risk allowing minor problems to worsen and threaten the health of your trees.

A professional and certified arborist can identify possible issues with trees that the average homeowner cannot. An arborist can identify issues with insects, infections, and regular wear and tear that will deteriorate the tree’s state and possibly cause it to collapse. A falling tree on your property poses a high risk of severe injury or death as well as significant property damage. The top causes for having your trees inspected twice a year are as follows:

Safety

A falling tree or even a tree branch poses a significant risk to your property. Annual tree examinations will significantly lower the danger by identifying problems that could lead to a tree or tree limb collapsing.

Tree Aesthetics

Based on tree assessments, fertilization, trimming, and suggested treatments for insect and disease infestations all contribute to enhancing the aesthetic of the tree.

Tree health

If a person is not trained to look for diseases or dangerous insects, they can easily miss their impact. Professional arborists can swiftly spot the symptoms of an infestation or illness and apply the necessary treatments immediately.

What Are the Advantages of Using an Arborist with a TRAQ?

A TRAQ certifies the arborist’s ability to do all three tasks at the highest level, even though all certified arborists are capable of risk assessment, treatment application, and client communication to some extent. Here are five reasons hiring a TRAQ Arborist could help you avoid spending money, worry, and legal issues.

  1. Confidence Building

Untrained arborists can probably tell you whether a tree is dangerous, but with a TRAQ, they can answer with more assurance whether the threat is slight or severe. You can feel more at ease if they state there is a very low danger of failure rather than if an untrained arborist is fairly certain there is a low risk. By standardizing the procedure, arborists will be less likely to make mistakes during assessment and treatment, putting you and them at a lower chance of suffering harm and financial loss.

  1. Precise Treatments

With a TRAQ, an arborist might be able to suggest a treatment to reduce risk to a manageable level without entirely down the tree (by focused pruning or a fungal treatment, for instance), saving you money and the pain of a needlessly destroyed tree. Additionally, they can better safeguard trees from storm and fire damage by doing this. The difference between a tree remaining upright in a high wind event or falling over could be as simple as trimming a few branches from the crown to lessen air resistance.

  1. Consistent and Clear 

A TRAQ provides the arborist with the means to explain risk to you in terms anyone can comprehend. In contrast to confusing you with jargon or a vague understanding of the issue, this will offer you trust in the arborist’s approach.

  1. Less Climbing

By precisely identifying the tree’s failure spots and evaluating the risk, the arborist can confidently remove the tree without needing a time-consuming climbing procedure, thus saving you money. If the arborist must climb, they can do so more quickly and safely if they don’t second-guess the risk profile.

  1. Legal Protection

Your arborist will use the same terminology as attorneys and insurance providers in the written report, which can be advantageous to you if the tree causes damage and gives rise to a legal or insurance dispute. You are more likely to escape punishment if the risk is deemed to be extremely low, according to the TRAQ assessment. It’s possible that a non-standard risk assessment won’t hold up in court.

Hire ISA Certified Arborists

tree risk assessment qualification
Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ)

It is advised to have your trees inspected twice yearly, once in the summer and once in the winter. But professional tree service providers are available 52 weeks of the year to conduct inspections and offer advice. If you think there might be a problem with your trees or shrubs, you should call a qualified arborist. To restore the health and integrity of your trees, they will thoroughly analyze the issue and suggest a proper remedy. Proactive tree assessments can help maintain your trees and save money by minimizing property damage and the need for tree removal. 

If you are looking forward to finding professional and experienced arborists, Atlas Tree can help you with that, as Atlas Tree is home to many ISA-certified professional arborists with Tree Risk Assessment Qualification (TRAQ). 

Contact an ISA-certified arborist at Atlas Tree today or call (800) 478-7966 for all your tree health care needs.

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Final Words

Without taking proper care of your trees, they won’t have healthy growth, and you won’t be able to get the benefits properly either. It’s always best to assess your trees regularly and look for any issues they might have. In that case, always make sure to hire professional and seasoned arborists with the Tree Risk Qualification Assessment so that you can get the best possible service and your trees can get the proper care they need.