Pull down a high widow maker.

[shooterdon]

Interested in seeing how people suggest getting a rope up there and tying it off. I have no clue.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Very hard to see from the picture, I would be afraid to pull branches off that are only fracture or half broken they would damage the tree further... From the picture it looks like a few trees could get flat out cut out... Is renting a man lift / genie a option ? it could be cheaper then hire it out.

If its just stuck in other branches then yeah a rope and a object secure at the end would pull these off but if they are still attached to the tree and you want them to stay alive cutting them would cause less arm to the trees.

This are your options, rope and try to get them down, rent a Genie, hire it out or you just let nature do its thing and you let it be....

Good luck.

 

[BlueKnife]

In the arborist world, that is called a Throw Rope. It's a paracord with a weight on the end that you throw up in a tree or shoot up in a tree and then use that to increase the rope diameter to yank the limb out. They also use it to set their climbing ropes so arborists without hi-ranger equipment that have to physically climb a tree.

I was an arborist for 20 years. That is called a throw line and there are several options available. The line is somewhat stiffer and slicker than paracord and is available in a variety of diameters. The weight is usually an 8-16 oz cordura bag with lead shot in it, although there are also hard rubber balls available. As the name implies, they are typically thrown into the tree, but there are other options, the most popular of which is a device that resembles a large slingshot that is braced against the ground. The use of a bow to set lines is very unusual and is almost exclusively limited to recreational climbing in the very tall conifers of OR and CA.

Setting a throw line is a skill, like most, that can be developed through practice. It's also something, like many of the things that arborists do, that can be very hazardous if done incorrectly. We need more information from the OP, ideally to include pictures. He might be just fine, or he might be likely to injure/kill himself and/or cause property damage. To start, it'd be good to know what "high" means, in the OP's mind. The definition of that word varies wildly from person to person.

 

[2manyrocks]

With it being the tree tops, it's going to be very difficult to throw the bag where you want it and hoist the bull rope up where you want it. Every nearby tree branch could snag the throw line.

It's a reasonable concern whether pulling will do more harm than good.

 

[Rockbadchild]

one thing that hasn't been mention... do it the American way, a shotgun with a box of bird shot and shoot them off...

 

[BlueKnife]

With it being the tree tops, it's going to be very difficult to throw the bag where you want it and hoist the bull rope up where you want it. Every nearby tree branch could snag the throw line.

It's a reasonable concern whether pulling will do more harm than good.

I just saw the OP's picture after my post above. With the tops broken out like that he'd be better off just taking the broken ones down.

 

[thclimer]

Lots of them that look like this. They are most all maples that cracked off branchings at the crown. They are in areas we use. I'm thinking a long rope tossed up, tied and tethered to the tractor a good distance away. Then see if I can pull them off and down. This is just one, I have about seven others that look the same. I could just cut all the trees down, but I want to save them. None are near utilities or structures.
View attachment 855817

If the crowns are broken off like the tree in this picture there is no saving it. It might live for a while but the other trees would benefit more from its removal. However, its removal can be challenging.

I'd probably wait to see if the broken branches will fall out on there own before I'd attempt to cut that tree down.

If I had to cut it down I would only partially cut it leaving a substantial hinge and then pull it down with a cable using my tractor. I would not want to be at it's base when it falls and while I was cutting it I'd only be looking up for branches falling and I'd have a number of exit paths to get out of the way if needed.

In general, many people have been injured or killed cutting trees down. Its a pretty dangerous activity because of how many things just don't go as planned. Situations like this only amplify the risks involved.

 

[oosik]

I'm sure that is one reason the original homesteader chose this site. Safe from falling limbs and trees. My house is right where the homesteaders house was.

200 large pine trees. Man!! Now that is a real project. Around here - I'd put out a call for those who burn firewood. I know pine is not the best. But when it's all you have............

 

[JasperFrank]

I'm coming around, that most likely, these maples are never going to recover in the way that they broke down under the ice load. They tore apart with long vertical fractures making all these widow makers. The conifers survived much better. They just dropped certain branches with clean breaks off the trunk.

 

[BlueKnife]

I'm coming around, that most likely, these maples are never going to recover in the way that they broke down under the ice load. They tore apart with long vertical fractures making all these widow makers. The conifers survived much better. They just dropped certain branches with clean breaks off the trunk.

That is correct. Those maples may last for a while, but they'll never be strong. Red maples are kind of weed trees anyway. They're weak, but can live a long time while rotting and falling apart. You'd be better off thinning them out considerably and letting your pines fill in.

 

[Hay Dude]

in MY area Ash trees are the widow makers. There are hundreds of thousands of them standing dead in our area. The branches are noted to be brittle and snap off violently.

One could start an entire business here just taking down and cleaning up dead Ash trees.

 

[gstrom99]

One could start an entire business here just taking down and cleaning up dead Ash trees.

The state is finally working on all the dead ash trees, along the state roads, here. After some big winds the other day, I find I have a pine tree in my grove broken at the ground and leaning/hung on another (has been dead for several years). I'll wrap a long strap around the base and drag it down with my tractor. I'm afraid to walk under it now...

The OP's maples DO present a problem. I think I'd get a towable man lift to get up/in there, or hire it out.

 

[Torvy]

it's 2024. Use a drone to carry a line up to the right place.

Personally, I use oosiks method unless it is too close to something important.

 

[terraformer]

We have shot some of these where a dead tree leans on another. Usually on a hill.

Our best option is to get out an old Mauser or other surplus rifle and several boxes of surplus ammo and start blasting. Lots of fun. Mauser is a bit better penetrating than a Mosin Nagant with factory loads with our experience.

We have tried pulling with the tractor on a chain at 6' up but that has hardly ever worked on a 17" dia tree.

Don't stand there with a chain saw trying to be brave.

 

[olenjohn]

Try hitting it with your purse .

 

[BlueKnife]

Our best option is to get out an old Mauser or other surplus rifle and several boxes of surplus ammo and start blasting. Lots of fun. Mauser is a bit better penetrating than a Mosin Nagant with factory loads with our experience.

Ever heard the phrase "what goes up, must come down"? Those bullets are coming down somewhere. Couple years ago, back where I used to live in Ohio, a guy fired his muzzleloader into the air to clear it and killed a kid a mile or so away.

 

[pacosperson]

Use a bow and arrow. Tie a small long rope to the arrow, get it over the branch, and then pull a larger rope as required to attach a larger rope.

I've done that for years. Bought a CHEAP fiberglass bow and a few arrows and shoot fishing line over whatever. The fishing line is still on the pole. Then Masons string, then 1/4" paracord, then 1/4" aircraft cable and lots of it. When you do get to pulling on that cable you don't even want to be in the same zip code.

 

[JasperFrank]

For some reason I can't start a fire pile. I did all my old methods, that use to work, but on these piles nothing is working. I think because this is all green wood with too much moisture . No one else here can get theirs started either. The 3 to 1 gas Diesel isn't working.

 

[newbury]

So did you get them down?
If so how?

 

[terraformer]

Interesting that you, Blue Knife would think that a fellow tractor owner who you don't know would shoot at the tree up in the air. We always aim level or down at the base from a direction that gives us a good backstop. The Mauser will penetrate about 14" of oak with surplus ammo A MN maybe 12'.

Not going to stand under a tree that is intertwined with another and broken at the base. and hope that I can predict which way it will fall or jackknife.