Too Much Rain And Your Healthy Tree: Why It's A Bad Combination

The last thing you would probably worry about with a large, healthy tree in your yard is the risk of that tree coming down. Sure, there's always the risk of a natural disaster or a lightning strike bringing it down, but what about heavy rain? You might be surprised to learn that a seemingly healthy tree can be heavily damaged by excess rain. Here's a look at what you need to know about rain saturation and your tree.

What Does Rain Have To Do With It?

If your area has been affected by persistent, heavy, soaking rain, it can actually lead to oversaturation of even the healthiest tree. This is particularly a risk if you have a tree that has split partway up, as that opens up the trunk to direct rain exposure, which can further saturate water deep within the tree.

A tree that is heavily saturated with water becomes weakened, even if it is otherwise healthy. All it takes is a heavy wind storm to take down a limb if that happens. Once one limb comes down, the tree is weakened and at greater risk of further damage.

Will Insurance Cover It?

If there's any damage to your property from a tree limb in this type of situation, your homeowner's insurance may cover the cost of repairs. Depending on the terminology of your policy, this may be considered an exception that is included in your coverage. Most tree falls might not be if the tree was obviously dead and you neglected to deal with it, but in a case like this, it's a healthy tree that you had no reason to suspect would fall.

How Do You Treat The Rest Of The Tree?

Once your tree is damaged and a limb falls, you need to deal with the rest of it to avoid any further damage. And, since the tree has been shown to be weakened, any further damage is likely to be denied by your insurance company. Talk with a tree removal company like Vista Tree Service right away about how to deal with cutting down and removing the tree from your property. It's best to have the work done by a professional instead of trying to do it yourself once the tree has been damaged like this because doing it improperly or without the right equipment could result in damage to your property or even injury to yourself and anyone else helping you.