We’re going to get serious here because this subject matter demands it.

Arborist Work and other Tree Climbing Work is ridiculously dangerous.

According to this article, Cal/OSHA reported that Tree Workers are 56 times more likely to die from work-related injuries than in other industries.

We are not exactly sure how that information was collected, but we do know that without a doubt Arborists put their lives on the line doing incredibly dangerous work every day of the week.

We have an immense respect for Tree Workers and want to make sure that people are staying as safe as possible, so we have compiled a list of safety tips that we have learned from Arborists and Arborist Organizations.

Related Article:

Top Five Chainsaw Lifehacks: A Guide To Lanyards And Terrifyingly Dangerous Tools

1. Bring Your Brain, Bring Your A Game & Go Home In One Piece

The two most important pieces of Tree Climbing Gear out there are the people on your crew and your own brain.

Make sure you are sleeping right, eat a good breakfast, drink your coffee, and stay alert. It takes a fraction of a moment of a climber or a groundworker losing focus for things to go wrong.

2. Inspect Your Gear Like Your Life Depends On It

If you are a certified Arborist, you should have heard the term “Cycles To Failure” before. If you need a refresher or are new to Tree Work though, this refers to the number of times you can use a piece of gear before it runs the risk of failing you.

The Cycle To Failure is no joke, and you don’t want to test it out while you are working. You are gonna want to take a good look at every piece of gear you are using before any climb. Do a visual check, test it out as much as you can.

Some Things That Will Wear Down Your Gear:

• Dirt
• Water
• Knotting
• Hitching
• General Use

3. Treat Your Chainsaw Like The Instrument Of Death That It Is

First of all, don’t buy a cheap chainsaw. Ask your coworkers and buddies about what kind of saws they recommend.

Second, keep up your chainsaw maintenance. You don’t want your chain to be too tight. You don’t want to use a saw that is going dull.

Tips For Chainsaw Safety:

• Hold Your Chainsaw To Your Left
• Avoid Over Tightening Your Chain
• Keep Up With Your Bar Maintenance
• Keep The Oil Hole Clean On Your Saw
• Always Hold Your Saw With Two Hands

On a side note, in addition to keeping up with your chain saw, you will want to invest in a hand saw that will help you get out of sticky situations where your chainsaw simply isn’t the right tool.

4. Cover Your Tracks - Beware Of Kickbacks

Chainsaw Kickbacks, where your saw gets pinched or snagged and comes jolting back toward you, are one of the most common causes of serious injuries in Tree Work.

Ways To Avoid Kickbacks:

• Cut One Piece Of Wood At A Time
• Always Hold Your Chainsaw With Two Hands (Yeah, We’re Saying It Again Here)
• Keeping Your Chainsaw Sharp To Decrease The Amount Of Time That Wood Is Under Tension

5. No Glove, No Love

Honestly, if you don’t wear gloves on the job while handling those ropes and lanyards, your hands will get so raw that you will not be likely to make that mistake twice.

Beyond that, wearing good gloves on the job will greatly reduce the risk of serious injuries to your hands from a chainsaw. Even if you just get disposable gloves, you will definitely want to protect your hands.

6. Inspect Your Ropes, Respect Your Ropes, Replace Your Ropes

You spent a lot of money on that dang rope. It should hold up, right? The truth is even expensive, high-end ropes will eventually get silky and milky.

When it comes to saving money, climbing ropes are really not the area where you want to save a couple bucks. You want an Arborist Climbing Rope that is thick enough, has low stretch, and has the right strand count for your level of expertise.

Inspect your ropes before every climb. If there is visible wear, milking, or strain on the rope, it’s not worth the risk. Consider the fact that creating eyes in your rope will decrease its breaking strength. Think about the damage that comes with putting knots in your ropes.

7. Your Life Is On That Limb - Inspect The Tree As Well

No matter how cool your gear is, that limb may not be strong enough to hold you. There may be rotting, there may be pests that are damaging the tree, there may be bacteria that is weakening the tree.

Things To Look Out For When Inspecting A Tree:

• Ice
• Rot
• Decay
• Spotting
• Weak Limbs
• Bark Damage
• Electrical Lines

8. Don’t Lose Your Hearing

What did you say?

I couldn’t hear you.

Joking aside, invest in some ear muffs and some earplugs for when your helmet is going to make muffs impractical. Effective noise cancellation will save your hearing and get you through your day without a literal headache.

9. Create A Wedge Between Yourself & Tree Set Backs

Get a wedge and use it to increase your control when felling trees. This will protect you from the tree setting back and falling on you or your coworkers. It can also protect property and make clean up easier.

10. Connecting To The Dream Of Safety With Carabiners & Snaphooks

It is sort of easy to take carabiners, snap hooks, and other connectors for granted. You will have more of them than you can count at some point. You will dream of carabiners floating over your head at night.

With all of that being said, it’s important to use high-quality carabiners and snaphooks when you are climbing. Consider the security that comes along with self-closing and self-locking hardware. Depending on where you live, they may even be required.

Things To Look At In Carabiners:

• Use Self-Locking And Self-Closing Hooks And Biners
• Tensile Strength Should Be At Least 5,000 Lbs (23 kN)
• Check Hardware Ahead Of Time To Make Sure It Functions Correctly
• Inspect Them For Burs And Sharp Edges That May Cause Rope Damage

Live To Climb Another Day

This article is just a very short introduction to safety while climbing trees. The issue of job hazards is something that Arborists and other Tree Workers have to keep in mind every single day that they work.

We hope that above all, you stay safe and healthy. Make sure to consult workplace regulations and communicate with supervisors and coworkers. It is simply not worth putting yourself and your crew in unnecessary danger in a job that is already risky.

We want to see you live to climb another day without serious injury.