Dead, storm-damaged, leaning or simply in the wrong place: we take trees down safely on tight city lots and open suburban yards, and we check Madison’s tree rules before a saw starts.
Tree removal is the last tool we reach for, not the first. A sound tree is worth keeping, and plenty of worrying trees only need pruning. These are the situations where removal is the right call.
The tree is dead or dying. Dead wood dries out, loses its strength and starts dropping limbs without warning. The longer a dead tree stands, the fewer safe ways there are to take it down, because a climber can no longer trust it to hold a rope.
The structure has failed. A deep crack in the trunk, a cavity through much of the stem, two trunks splitting apart at a tight fork, or a new lean with the soil lifting behind it all mean the tree can no longer carry its own weight in a storm.
It is an untreated ash. Emerald ash borer has been in Madison since 2013, and an ash that was never treated is on borrowed time. Once about half the crown is gone, treatment no longer works and the wood turns brittle quickly.
Storm damage took too much. A tree that has lost most of its crown, or whose main trunk has split, rarely grows back into a safe tree. After the windstorms of 2022, 2024 and 2026, a lot of Madison yards still hold trees in this condition.
It is in the wrong place. Roots lifting a foundation or crowding a sewer lateral, a trunk pressing on a garage, a volunteer tree growing up through the service wires, or a healthy tree standing exactly where an addition is going.
Not sure it has to go? That is the most common call we get. We would rather prune a good tree than remove it, so have a look at tree trimming and pruning first. For a close call on a large tree near the house, a written risk assessment from one of the area’s certified arborists is the right next step, and we will tell you so.
The method depends on what is underneath the tree and how far the wood can still be trusted. Professional tree removal is mostly planning: where each piece lands is decided before the first cut.
Where there is open ground at least as long as the tree is tall, with nothing to hit, we notch the trunk and lay the whole tree down along a planned line. It is the quickest method and the easiest on the lawn, and it is common on the larger lots in Fitchburg, Verona and the newer parts of the far west side.
Most Madison removals are not like that. On the isthmus, the near west side and the older east side, trees stand between houses, garages, fences and wires. A climber goes up on ropes, removes the limbs one at a time and lowers each piece on a rigging line controlled from the ground, then brings the trunk down in short sections. Nothing free-falls, so nothing lands on the garage roof or the neighbor’s landscaping.
Dead ash trees, storm-split trunks and trees with heavy decay may not be safe to climb or to rig from. Those come down from a lift, or are lifted out in pieces by a crane, so that nobody’s weight depends on wood that might fail. We will tell you at the estimate if your tree is one of these, and why.
Every job is run to the ANSI Z133 safety standard for tree work: helmets, eye and hearing protection, saw-resistant leg protection, a marked drop zone, and a ground crew whose job is to keep people and pets out of it.
Most private trees in Madison can be removed without a permit. The exceptions matter, and checking them is part of our estimate, not your homework.
If the trunk stands between the sidewalk and the street, it is a City terrace tree. On streets without sidewalks the public right-of-way can run 10 to 13 feet back from the pavement, so a tree that looks like yours may not be. Only Urban Forestry can remove it: call 608-266-4816. We check the lot lines before we quote. More in our guide to terrace trees in Madison.
Under City ordinance MGO 23.40(7), any work on an oak inside the City of Madison between those dates needs a free permit from Urban Forestry, on private property too. Fresh oak cuts attract the beetles that spread oak wilt. We schedule oak removals for the cold months whenever the tree can safely wait, and apply for the permit when it cannot. See oak wilt and the oak work permit.
The City protects roughly 10,000 public ash trees with trunk injections. Private ash trees are the owner’s decision. If yours was never treated and the crown is thinning, plan the removal now. Dead ash gets too brittle to climb, which narrows the safe ways to bring it down and makes every season of waiting harder on the crew and the yard.
If the trunk straddles the property line, treat the tree as shared and get your neighbor’s agreement in writing before anything is cut. For a neighbor’s tree that looks hazardous and an owner who will not act, the City’s Building Inspection office takes reports at 608-266-4551.
The full picture is in our guide to tree removal permits in Madison.
Six steps, the same on a small ornamental as on a big silver maple over a garage.
We confirm which trees go and which stay, where the truck and chipper park, and anything fragile underneath: a new patio, a vegetable bed, a playset.
Mats or plywood go down where equipment crosses the lawn. Planters and furniture move out of the way, and the air conditioner and window wells get covered if they are close.
Cones and rope mark the area where pieces will land. If limbs hang over the neighbor’s side, we knock on their door first.
Felled in one piece where there is room, or taken apart from the top and lowered on ropes where there is not.
Brush goes through the chipper. Trunk wood is cut to length and loaded, or stacked where you want it if you are keeping it.
The stump is cut low, the yard is raked, hard surfaces are blown clean, and we walk the site with you before the truck leaves.
Written into the quote, so there is nothing to argue about later.
A removal leaves a stump, and you have three choices: leave it, grind it, or take it out completely. Stump grinding is right for lawns and planting beds. Full stump removal is for places where buried wood would cause trouble later, such as under new concrete, a footing or a fence line. Either can be done the same day as the removal or booked later.
If you plan on planting a replacement, set the new tree several feet away from the old stump and pick a species that fits the space when it is fully grown. Look up for wires and out toward the house before you choose. Madison lost much of its ash canopy in about a decade, and a yard with a mix of species is how you avoid the same thing happening twice. If the tree you lost stood on the terrace, replanting it is the City’s job; ask Urban Forestry.
Storm damage that can’t wait for a scheduled visit is handled through our emergency tree service.
Not for most trees in your own yard. You do need a free City permit for any work on an oak between April 1 and October 15, and terrace trees between the sidewalk and the street belong to the City, so only Urban Forestry can remove those. We check both before we quote.
Yes. Tight removals are taken apart from the top and lowered on ropes, so nothing free-falls. We work around the service line to your house. Anything touching MGE’s primary lines has to be cleared by MGE first; their power line number is 608-252-1111.
Most single trees are down and cleaned up the same day. Very large trees, several trees at once, or removals that need a lift or a crane can run longer. You get the expected schedule in writing with your quote.
We lay mats or plywood where equipment crosses, lower pieces on ropes instead of dropping them, and rake out any ruts before we leave. Frozen winter ground is the gentlest time for heavy removals, which is one reason we like cold-season work.
Yes. Tell us at the estimate. Logs can be cut to firewood length and stacked, and wood chips make good mulch for beds and paths. If the tree was an ash, keep the firewood local: moving it is how emerald ash borer spreads.
Start with a conversation, and put your concern in writing so there is a record. You can generally trim what overhangs your side. If the owner won’t act on a tree that looks dangerous, the City’s Building Inspection office takes reports at 608-266-4551.
Yes, and for many jobs it is the best time. The ground is frozen, the crown is bare and easy to read, and oaks can be cut without a City permit from October 16 through March 31.
Tell us what you’re looking at and we’ll call to set a time to walk the yard. If a tree is down or hanging, call instead.
