Tree Service in Dunwoody, GA

The aging-pine problem

Many Dunwoody yards have loblolly pines that have been growing for decades. The Georgia Forestry Commission says pines in urban yards are at higher risk from pine bark beetles, usually after drought, overcrowding, construction damage, or a lightning strike, and that the beetles can kill a pine within weeks in summer. Most people notice only when the needles turn red.

Southern pine beetles leave small white pitch tubes in the bark crevices; Ips beetles leave pinkish ones on the bark plates, sometimes too high to see from the ground. Neither can be stopped with insecticide once inside the tree, because the beetles carry a blue stain fungus that clogs it. The Commission's advice is to remove an infested pine as soon as the needles start fading and to chip it or haul it, not stack it as firewood.

Dunwoody's 75-foot stream buffers

Many Dunwoody streams carry a 75-foot buffer, and no tree comes out of it without permits. Georgia's Erosion and Sedimentation Act restricts land disturbance and even trimming within 25 feet of creeks, streams, and most lakes and ponds. Dunwoody adds 50 feet more, for 75 feet of undisturbed area. In general, no land disturbance or tree removal is allowed inside it without permits from the state and/or the city, and unpermitted work can bring citations of up to $1,000 per violation or up to six months in jail.

• Find your buffer: the city's SmartMap shows the 75-foot buffers, and the 25-foot state buffers, across Dunwoody.
• Do not trust the ditch: the city warns that what looks like a ditch, carrying water only after rain or in winter and spring, may be a protected stream.
• Ask first: for questions or to request a permit or variance, contact Dunwoody Community Development at permits@dunwoodyga.gov or 678-382-6821 before any work in or near a buffer.
• Talk to an arborist: the city's own advice is not to cut or remove trees in a buffer without first consulting an arborist.

Who picks up the limbs in Dunwoody?

DeKalb County Sanitation, not the city. Dunwoody's own site says DeKalb County Sanitation handles trash, yard waste, and recycling for the city, and DeKalb's collection rules are strict about wood:

• Limbs: cut to 4 feet or shorter, bundled and tied, with no piece over 25 pounds.
• Bigger wood: tree parts more than 3 inches across need a special collection, for a fee.
• Contractor wood: limbs cut by professional contractors are on DeKalb's "not accepted" list.
• Questions: DeKalb County Sanitation Customer Care, 404-294-2900.

So when a tree service takes down a tree, hauling the wood away has to be in its quote.

Dense hardwood, managed well

It is not only the pines. Big oaks close to the house need watching too, because stressed oaks are where hypoxylon canker shows up: bark sloughs off in patches to reveal a tan, gray, or black crust. The Forestry Commission says a tree showing those fruiting structures will not survive, regardless of treatment, though pruning a branch with a local infection can slow it.

For healthy trees, the goal is structure, not a haircut. The International Society of Arboriculture recommends removing no more than about 25 percent of a crown at once, cutting just outside the branch collar, and skipping wound paint. Our tree trimming page covers timing, and tree removal in Marietta covers costs and the hiring checklist.

Common Dunwoody questions