Homeowners often mistake a certified arborist and a tree service as the same thing. After all, both provide the same benefits in pruning, planting, and caring for trees, right? Well, not exactly.
The significant difference lies in the level of expertise and education. Besides that, several other distinctions exist. Homeowners and property owners need to understand that while both offer removal, planting, caring, and pruning services, only certified arborists actually have the education and training to protect a tree’s health adequately.
But who or what is a certified arborist?
A Certified Arborist- What They Are
Let’s begin with an arborist. This is an individual who can perform any service regarding tree care. From removing a tree to trimming and preserving its health, an arborist can do it all. On the other hand, a certified arborist has an ISA Arborist Certification, demonstrating their education, training, and expertise in the tree care field.
The ISA arborist certification establishes an individual as a professional in the international standard practices of tree care. Once an arborist earns their certification, their education does not stop. They continue classes to keep up with evolving techniques and procedures in tree care. A certified arborist’s credentials also renew every three years or so.
But you must note that certification is a voluntary and nongovernmental process. The responsibility of enhancing their knowledge base rests upon the individual in the tree care field. However, this certification also proves a person’s knowledge level in tree care science and art.
Tree Services- How They Are Different from Certified Professionals
Now you may wonder if it is so important to hire a “certified” arborist. If so, then who are the other individuals representing tree services? You see, you will find many tree experts offering their services under various titles.
Some of these include “tree expert,” “tree surgeon,” and others, but in reality, tree enthusiasts anoint these titles upon themselves. They do not receive any proper education or training for it and certainly do not sit through rigorous examinations to earn the ISA certification.
All that they know about tree care comes from their personal knowledge and passion. Nevertheless, it lacks the finesse of a qualified individual. These service providers may be hardworking and possess some skills, but they do not have the advanced training and education necessary.
When you hire such a professional from a tree service, you have no way of knowing what you’re getting. You cannot rely on the authenticity of the knowledge and expertise the individual claims to have. As a result, you may end up suffering more harm and damage to your landscape just because you settled for an uncertified difference.
In fact, people often overlook the necessity of finding a certified person because close family and friends recommended another “skillful” person. You must remember that for many people, basic trimming and pruning skills suffice, but in your case, your trees may need more. Hiring any tree person instead of a certified specialist means that there is no guarantee of the results.
Many companies also advertise their experts as arborists, but again, they’re not the same as “certified arborists.” Plain arborists do not have the same values and credentials that an ISA qualified professional would have.
You may only delegate certain low-level and less risky tasks to tree technicians. However, when you have bigger projects, such as consultations on construction projects, proper tree maintenance, and tree health plans, then it is best to choose a qualified expert.
Let’s look at the factors why you should hire a certified arborist versus a tree service.
1. Superior Education
Certified arborists have superior education in the local species and tree health. They have to pass a challenging exam after a rigorous certification program under the ISA (International Society of Arboriculture.
A person devoid of this certification lacks a high level of knowledge, training, and understanding of tree biology, multiple tree diseases, and how local species work.
The certification program’s education and training process include extensive study of tree biology and how optimal tree health depends on ideal climates, appropriate growth patterns, etc.
2. Training for Assessment
With a certified arborist, your trees have better chances of appropriate diagnosis and treatment. You see, certification equips the professionals in assessing trees for hazards and identifying areas of decay and sickness; even your trees bear no physical signs of these.
Their qualification enables them to protect you from potential property and personal damage, in addition to having the right PPE to conduct an examination. Most often, tree services lack the level of expertise in identifying risk factors and protecting you from them.
Uncertified persons will also not have the proper protective gear or follow safety procedures and could add to damage and injuries. If you wish to avoid all liability issues, it is best to hire a certified arborist.
3. Training in Delivering Services
Tree services do not have the right training regarding the appropriate depth for planting different species, the right degree of pruning, and other factors. On the other hand, certified arborists maximize the lifespan, appearance, and health of your trees with their specialized training.
They know the right depth for planting each specimen, how deep to plant a specific tree, and how to make ideal conditions for saplings’ growth. With their extensive training, they know the best techniques; they also have the best cutting standards, such as ANSI A300.
With all this, certified professionals can best stimulate growth and promote tree health in your property.
4. Certified Plans
If you have ever worked with a Seattle tree service, then you’re perhaps aware of how the municipalities mandate working with a certified arborist in construction projects. This is a common requirement in several cities worldwide, but do you know why this is so?
The reason is that certified individuals have the right education to guide in the right ways of protecting trees when developing land. You will note how certified professionals evaluate trees thoroughly on construction sites.
They work with civil engineers, developers, landscape architects, etc., to create concrete protection plans for trees. You may never find this level of expertise with tree services that do not have certified and trained people.
Certification renders individuals capable of recommending proper pruning, making appropriate tree-planting plans on sites, and enhancing your site’s economic benefits, value, and beauty.
5. Untrained Tree Services Can Cause More Harm
Untrained services lack training and education and can likely recommend services that may harm your trees beyond repair. For example, a tree service may ask you to top your trees, but do you realize what repercussions you may suffer?
You may end up sending your trees into a state of shock by topping them. This happens when you cut the top branches of your trees or prune them inappropriately. When a tree suffers this fate, it makes efforts to overcompensate for its significant energy loss.
Hence, the tree then channels its resources into growing tiny shoots or water sprouts from its branches to produce food. As a result, your beloved tree stands defenseless against insects, decay, and other stressors.
6. Tree Services Remove Trees Prematurely
Tree services with uncertified individuals may remove correctly healthy trees, bearing potential prematurely. If they spot anything out of place, their first recommendation is usually taking the tree down, not realizing that they can preserve it with the right care and treatment.
Trees have unparalleled benefits, both in monetary and health terms. Because they do not have the education or training to excel in tree care, they may take down trees without offering you options to save them.
Final Thoughts
An arborist and a tree person offer the same services, but we cannot consider them the same. Tree service and certified arborists’ significant difference is in the education, training, expertise, and high qualification.
Certified arborists earn the ISA certification after studying rigorous programs and passing challenging examinations. Only when they have given all the requirements, do they achieve the accreditation. This enables the certified professional to offer services, tree health, treatment and preservation plans, etc., that maximize the lifespan, health quality, and appearance of nature’s greatest gifts- trees.
Certified arborist, Elite Tree Care is your trusted source for tree, shrub, hedge removal and pruning services in the Puget Sound. Contact us today for a free estimate.