Michigan
Tree Removal and Tree Service in Michigan
Emerald ash borer was first identified near Detroit in 2002, and Michigan has been living with invasive tree pests longer than anywhere else in North America. The practical results are a firm oak pruning calendar, rules on moving wood, and a great many dead trees still to come down.
When can oaks be pruned or removed in Michigan?
Avoid wounding oaks from April 15 through July 15. That is the high-risk period identified by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, when sap beetles carry oak wilt spores to fresh cuts.
- Safest window
- After the first hard frost through the end of winter.
- If an oak is damaged in spring
- Cover the wound with pruning sealer or latex paint right away. This is the one case where wound paint is recommended.
- Removals
- A dead or dangerous oak can come down at any time. Stumps and wood from infected red oaks need careful handling.
Recent Michigan storms and their tree damage
| Event | Area | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Late March 2025 ice storm | Northern Lower Peninsula | Days of freezing rain broke or bent trees across millions of acres of forest and left some communities without power for weeks |
| February 22, 2023 ice storm | Southeast and southern Michigan | Around half an inch of ice. Several hundred thousand outages from broken limbs. |
| August 24, 2023 | Lower Michigan | A line of storms with several tornadoes and widespread straight-line wind |
| December 2013 ice storm | Lansing to Flint | Outages lasting more than a week in mid-Michigan |
Oak wilt and its lookalikes
Red oak drops leaves in July
Leaves are bronze or brown from the tip and edges inward, with green remaining near the stem. Death follows in weeks.
Several oaks dying outward from one tree
The fungus moves through grafted roots. Trenching may be needed to stop it.
White oak declining slowly over years
May be oak wilt, which white oaks tolerate longer, or another problem. Have it tested.
Leaves chewed to the veins in June
That is spongy moth feeding, not wilt. Healthy oaks usually releaf.
Quarantines, dunes and local ordinances
Michigan has no arborist license and no general state permit for removing a tree on private land. State rules reach tree work in two specific ways.
First, plant pest quarantines. An interior quarantine for hemlock woolly adelgid restricts moving hemlock material out of several counties along the Lake Michigan shore, and state guidance on oak wilt asks that wood from infected trees be debarked, chipped, or covered until it dries.
Second, the dunes. In designated Critical Dune Areas along the Great Lakes, removing trees and other vegetation is a regulated use that generally requires a permit from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Many townships add woodland or shoreline ordinances of their own, and cities treat trees in the lawn extension by the street as public.
Twenty years after the ash borer
By the time the beetle was identified it had been in southeast Michigan for a decade or more. Tens of millions of ash died in the Lower Peninsula within a few years, and the infestation has since reached the Upper Peninsula.
Most yard ash from that first wave are long gone. What remains are woodlot and fence-row trees that died later, plus young ash that sprouted afterward and are now being attacked in turn. Dead ash along drives, trails and property lines is still a routine job.
Beech is the current concern. Beech bark disease has already killed many large beech in the northern Lower Peninsula, and beech leaf disease has been confirmed in the southeast. Dead beech snaps mid-trunk, a failure foresters call beech snap.
Shoreline, city and up north
- Lake Michigan shore
- Sand, wind and dune rules. Hemlock treatment and quarantine in several counties.
- Metro Detroit
- Large silver maples and elms on small lots. Alley and wire constraints.
- Mid-Michigan
- Ice exposure and widespread oak wilt pockets.
- Northern Lower and the Upper Peninsula
- Long distances, seasonal road limits and cabin properties visited only part of the year.
Michigan tree service questions
Is it illegal to prune oaks in summer in Michigan?
It is not illegal statewide, but the Department of Natural Resources strongly advises against it from April 15 to July 15, and some communities restrict it. A responsible company will decline non-emergency oak pruning in that period.
Can I keep firewood from an oak that died of oak wilt?
Yes, with care. Keep it on the property, and either debark it or seal it under plastic buried at the edges until it has dried for a year, so beetles cannot reach the fungus.
Do I need a permit to remove trees on a Michigan dune lot?
If the lot is in a designated Critical Dune Area, vegetation removal generally needs a state permit. Check with the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy or your township before cutting.
What should be done with trees bent by an ice storm?
Wait before deciding. Young, flexible trees often straighten over a season. Remove broken limbs with clean cuts and have split trunks assessed. Trees that lost most of the crown rarely recover.
Tree service in Michigan, by phone
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