Ash Tree Removal in Denver Clear Answers for Dying or EAB-Infested Trees

Here's the hard truth about ash trees in Denver right now. Emerald ash borer showed up in our state a few years back, and it's been working its way through our urban canopy ever since. Once a tree's infested, removal usually isn't a matter of if. It's a matter of when.

So what do you look for? A few things stand out fast once you know what you're seeing:

• Thinning canopy at the top of the tree, even in the middle of summer when it should be full
• D-shaped exit holes in the bark, about the size of a grain of rice
• Bark splitting vertically, sometimes with woodpecker damage right below it
• Sprouting at the base or trunk, called epicormic growth, which is the tree panicking
• Dead branches in the upper crown that snap off in wind instead of bending

We see this every single week. A homeowner in an older part of Denver, where ash trees were planted decades ago as street trees, calls us because half the canopy died back over one winter and they figure it's drought stress. It's not drought. It's the borer, and by the time the damage is visible from the ground, the tree's already lost a big chunk of its structural wood.

That's the disqualifying question too, though. Not every stressed ash needs to come down. A tree with minor dieback and no exit holes might just need pruning and monitoring. But a tree that's lost more than half its canopy, or one leaning near a house, driveway, or power line, is past the point where treatment makes sense. Waiting on a dead ash near your roofline is how a calm Tuesday turns into an emergency call after a windstorm.

Not every ash tree needs to come down. We say that as an ISA Certified Arborist company, not as a sales pitch. Thomas Fraser has spent 30 years telling people the truth about their trees, and sometimes the truth is "leave it alone."

A healthy ash tree with no structural damage and no confirmed emerald ash borer infestation can often be saved. Early signs of stress, like thinning at the top or a few dead branches, don't automatically mean removal. They mean it's time for a real look. We offer tree health maintenance and tree disease treatment for exactly this reason, so you're not stuck choosing between "do nothing" and "cut it down."

Here's a scenario we run into a lot. Someone calls us worried because their ash tree dropped more leaves than usual in August. Often it's drought stress, not borer damage, especially after a dry Denver summer. A quick look at the canopy and bark tells us which one it is.

Some of Denver's older neighborhoods, Park Hill and Congress Park among them, still have mature ash trees planted decades back as street shade trees. Many of these are structurally sound and just need regular pruning, not removal. Age alone isn't a red flag.

So how do you know if yours is one of the lucky ones? A tree risk assessment settles it. We check the canopy, the bark, the base of the trunk, and look for the telltale signs of emerald ash borer versus ordinary stress. If the tree's salvageable, we'll tell you that. If it needs to come down for safety, we'll tell you that too.

Here's what happens once you call us out for ash tree removal. First, our team walks the property with you. We look at lean, root heave, nearby structures, power lines, fences - anything that could turn into a problem mid-cut. Thomas Fraser, our ISA-Certified Arborist, has spent 30 years reading trees like this. He can tell you within minutes whether the tree needs a full ground-up removal or a more controlled piece-by-piece takedown.

Once the plan is set, the actual work follows a pretty consistent sequence:

1. We rig ropes and set anchor points if the tree sits near a house, garage, or fence line.
2. Our crew removes limbs in sections, lowering each one instead of letting it drop.
3. The trunk comes down in controlled cuts, working top to bottom.
4. We clear the wood and brush off your property the same day.
5. If you want, we handle stump removal or stump grinding right after.

Emerald ash borer changes this process a bit. Infested wood is brittle in ways healthy wood isn't, so a limb that looks solid can snap without warning. That's why crews rig more, climb less, and lean on equipment instead of guessing. Denver's older neighborhoods with big mature ash canopies over driveways and detached garages make this part non-negotiable.

Cleanup matters just as much as the cut. We're licensed and insured, and every job wraps with debris removal so you're not left staring at a pile of brush for a week. That's not a small thing when the tree came down over a fence or garden bed.

Is this the same as what a neighbor with a chainsaw and a rented lift can do? Not really. The difference shows up in the parts nobody sees until something goes wrong.