Tree service in San Antonio

The city's tree ordinance fact sheet (April 2021) draws a clear line. If you live in a home where all construction is done, removing a tree needs no permit and no sign-off from the City Arborist. A homeowner can prune or remove trees on their own property, but a hired contractor must hold a valid Tree Maintenance License from the city. The fact sheet is from 2021, so confirm the current license terms with Development Services.

When San Antonio tree permits apply

The ordinance (UDC Sec. 35-523) is aimed at development. It covers private property in the city limits and the extraterritorial jurisdiction, which reaches about 5 miles beyond them, and it needs a tree affidavit or permit, filed through BuildSA, before any clearing, construction or tree removal on land being developed. Fees and mitigation may apply. The sizes it protects, measured at 4.5 feet:

If you're building an addition, adding a detached building or clearing a lot, ask the tree company whether the trees in the work area cross these sizes before anything is cut.

San Antonio crews set their own prices; HomeGuide's national figures give a benchmark. Removal averages $400 to $1,200, from about $200 for a small, easy tree to $3,000 for a large or complex one. Trimming runs $400 to $900 per tree, and stump grinding $120 to $400 for the first stump plus $30 to $60 for each extra one. Texas sales tax applies to tree removal, pruning and spraying, so expect it on the invoice.

Ask whether haul-off is included. The city's curbside brush collection comes only twice a year, piles must be no more than 8 cubic yards and be out by 7 a.m. on the Monday of your collection week, and plastic-bagged leaves don't go in brush piles, so price the haul-off. HomeGuide notes debris removal can add $75 to $250 to a trim. The Texas cost guide and hiring checklist are on our tree service hub.

Oak pruning timing in San Antonio

For San Antonio oaks, the state forest service's no-prune window runs February through June, the season of highest oak wilt risk, and its advice is to paint every oak wound at any time of year. Book oak trimming for July through January, and ask the crew to carry wound paint.

San Antonio tree work near power lines

Texas law bars anyone from working, or bringing tools within six feet, of a high-voltage overhead line without safety arrangements with the line's operator, and work closer than that needs at least 48 hours' notice to the operator. In San Antonio that operator is CPS Energy, the city-owned utility. A tree service that plans to trim near lines should tell you how it will handle that.

San Antonio tree credentials to ask about

ISA Certified Arborist is a professional credential from the International Society of Arboriculture, not a government license. Spraying trees for pests for hire falls under TDA's lawn and ornamental pest control license, so a company offering treatments should hold one.

Before storm season, pair this with roofing companies in San Antonio. The city's other rules are on the San Antonio guide, and you can compare tree service in Boerne.