Climbing spikes on a live oak - am I the only one who used to do this without thinking?

I spent my first two years climbing trees with spikes on every single job. That's just how my old boss taught me - strap on the gaffs, bite in, and get up there fast. But last summer I had a client follow me around a 150 year old live oak in Savannah. She pointed to every gash I left in the bark and asked if that hurt the tree. I brushed it off at first, but that night I did some real research. Turns out I was basically wounding the cambium layer on every climb. Now I only spike dead trees or removals. Pruning climbs are hands and rope only. Is there a line between being fast and being a hack, or do most of you skip spikes for live work too?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_clark2d ago

Yeah that bit about "that's just how my old boss taught me" really hits hard. Same here. My first crew lead had me spiking every oak and maple we touched. Called it "the professional way." Took a certified arborist chewing me out on a job site for me to realize I was damaging trees every single day. Now I look back at all those old pruning climbs and feel bad. Those wounds never fully heal. Trees just compartmentalize the damage and keep growing around it.

alex_taylor101d ago

Yeah that guilt sticks with you.