Signs that mean call someone this week
- A new lean, especially with cracked or mounded soil on the side away from the lean. The root plate is moving. Old leans that a tree has grown into are different from new ones.
- A crack running up the trunk or through a fork, or a fork with bark pinched inside it (included bark) that has started to open. Silver maples, Bradford pears and some oaks do this.
- Mushrooms or shelf fungi on the trunk or over the roots. Conks are the fruit of decay already inside the wood.
- Dead limbs over 2 inches thick in the crown, bark falling off in sheets, or a top that did not leaf out. Dead ash and dead beech shed limbs without wind.
- Recent digging within a few feet of the trunk: a foundation, a sewer lateral, a driveway. Roots cut on one side make a tree that stood for 80 years fall in the next storm.
- Water standing around the base for days after rain, which in Bergen County means the Saddle, Passaic and Hackensack river streets, the Pascack and Tenakill brooks and the Meadowlands edge.
Signs that usually do not mean removal
Leaf scorch on oaks in August (bacterial leaf scorch is chronic and slow; the tree can be pruned and kept for years). Bare patches in a spruce from mites or bagworm. Yellow leaves in a dry summer. Surface roots. Woodpecker holes alone. Moss. A tree that is simply big. None of these is a reason to pay for a removal without a licensed opinion first.
What an assessment involves
A Licensed Tree Expert (New Jersey's license, above the Licensed Tree Care Operator level) walks the tree: root flare and soil, trunk for cracks, cavities, conks and old wounds, the main forks, the crown's density and dead wood, and what the tree would hit. Many use a mallet to sound for hollows and a probe for decay; a resistance drill or sonic tomograph is used on valuable trees when the trunk is in doubt. The result is a risk rating and a recommendation: leave it, prune it, cable and brace it, or remove it. Expect to pay for an expert's time when the visit is separate from a removal quote; many companies fold a basic look into a free estimate.
Why the letter matters in Bergen County
Nearly every Bergen municipality exempts a "hazard tree" from permit fees and replacement planting, and most define it the same way: dead or dying, diseased or infested, damaging a structure, blocking sight lines, or declared a threat by a certified arborist or Licensed Tree Expert. Mahwah requires the expert's certification on the form; River Edge, Lodi, Park Ridge and Hasbrouck Heights ask for photos or an expert's statement; Fort Lee only approves removals that meet the criteria. Without the letter, a dead oak in River Edge is a $100 permit plus up to $3,000 in lieu of replanting; with it, no fee and no replanting (and a required stump grind). See the permit table.
Bergen County's current killers
Beech leaf disease was first found in New Jersey in Bergen County in 2020 and now affects beech across the county; Rutgers describes mortality in two to ten years and no cure. Emerald ash borer has killed most unprotected ash. Bacterial leaf scorch is widespread in red and pin oaks, chronic rather than sudden. Spotted lanternfly does not usually kill mature trees but its host, tree of heaven, is worth removing. Hemlock woolly adelgid has finished most hemlock hedges. A dead or dying tree from any of these is a hazard tree on paper and should be documented as one.
Hazard tree questions
How much does a tree risk assessment cost in NJ?
A stand-alone visit from a Licensed Tree Expert is typically billed by the hour or as a flat consultation fee; many tree companies include a basic assessment in a free removal or pruning estimate. Advanced testing (resistance drilling, tomography) costs more and is used on valuable trees.
Can my town make me remove a dangerous tree?
Yes. Most Bergen codes (Dumont, Bergenfield, Lyndhurst, Oradell among them) let the municipality order a dead or dangerous tree dealt with and, if the owner does not act, do it and bill the property. Elmwood Park's 2025 ordinance puts the duty to remove a hazard tree on the owner in so many words.
My neighbor's dead tree leans over my yard. What can I do?
Put your concern in writing to the owner with photos and, if you can, an expert's letter; an owner who knows a tree is dangerous and does nothing can be liable for the damage it does. You may prune branches back to the property line yourself. If nothing happens, the town's property maintenance or code officer can inspect.
Is a leaning tree always dangerous?
No. A tree that has leaned for decades and grown reaction wood to compensate can be stable. A lean that is new, that has increased, or that comes with cracked or heaved soil on the opposite side is an emergency.
How it works
- Describe the tree. Your town, what is wrong or what you want done, and a photo from the street if you can get one. A minute on the form.
- We hand it to one company that works your town. An independent Bergen County tree business registered with the NJ Board of Tree Experts and insured, picked because it actually covers your municipality and knows its permit.
- They come out and price it in writing. The company calls or texts you, looks at the tree, and gives you a written quote with no obligation. From there you deal with them directly.