Tucson Arborists Professional Services (TAPS) are licensed, insured, and certified. EXCELLENCE!…read more
We have a thirty-year old, 60' ft. Mexican Palm Tree. Through the years having it trimmed by different contractors, it has accumulated holes in its trunk from the spikes trimmers wear to climb tall palms. So this time I decided to hire a certified palm tree trimmer at Tucson Arborist Professional Services (TAPS). This company is quite unique: although they offer the usual palm tree trimming using spikes, they also offer "spikeless tree climbing." That's where they actually climb the tree without spikes using safety ropes, in accordance with the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), and use a special Japanese saw to manually cut the fronds and also shaves with a razor to make the trunk smooth. The end result is a beautiful regal palm pruned to the proper "10 o'clock and 2 o'clock position." I couldn't be happier!
The customer service is top-notch. For my free estimate the manager came with the tree trimmer and arrived promptly at the scheduled time. We then set my appointment for palm trim 9am Tuesday November 12, 2019 and again they arrived promptly on time. We confirmed the appointment via text the day before. This is important to me, as so many other contractors in the area are often late, and some don't show up at all!
The crew is clean, professional, polite, friendly, and speak fluent English. The manager (Bear Bailey) is very knowledgeable and he oversees the job onsite the entire time the trimmer is there. The trimmer (Gabriel Tadeo) is more than a trimmer, not only is he knowledgeable with years of experience, but he's an ISA Certified Arborist® and also an ISA Certified Tree Worker Climber Specialist®. He is healthy and fit and I was amazed to watch him climb 60 feet using just ropes! SAFETY is their #1 objective and they take time to set up and prepare the job site so everything goes smooth. They use a safety line for emergency personnel to easily locate them. They also communicate via walkie-talkie (this is important from high up 60 feet behind fronds).
They leave no debris behind and clean up as they go along. Gabriel used his special hand saw (not a chain saw), so there wasn't sawdust and chunks of palm fronds everywhere at the foot of my palm. Bear picked up the fronds as Gabriel sent them down so at the end there was no mess anywhere! At the foot of my palm I have succulents growing as ground cover, not one was smashed nor disturbed. It was windy out so some of the small pieces flew into my neighbor's yard but the crew made sure that was cleaned up too.
Their prices are competitive and affordable, but not cheap. Just remember, you get what you pay for. I've had cheap services in the past, where they disfigure the tree and leave a lot of mess behind. But not so with TAPS.
TAPS also provide other services like staking, bracing, transplanting, shrubs/bushes, landscaping, stump and tree removal, insect management, and maintenance. They can trim small, medium or very large trees; Mesquite, Pines, Eucalyptus, Fruit and trees of all kinds; and certainly the usual palm trimming using spikes.
Would I use TAPS again? YES! I already have them on my calendar for next year's trimming.
More links and info:
Gabriel Tadeo: ISA Certified Arborist® and ISA Certified Tree Worker Climber Specialist®
Gabriel's profile, info, photos, videos, including reviews at THUMBTACK:
https://www.thumbtack.com/az/tucson/tree-trimming/gabriel/service/282633070561158299
To verify certification of an Arborist:
https://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist/verify
International Society of Arboricultue (ISA):
https://www.isa-arbor.com/Who-We-Are/Our-Organization
Why have a trained certified worker trim your palm even if a non-certified tree trimmer has years of experience:
Article: https://bit.ly/2QfoqHF
Spikeless tree climbing: https://bit.ly/2pjVTFQ