A balance must be found between esthetics and hazard reduction. The cost of treatments and availability of trained personnel also influence the intensity and type of treatment used. These and other designated hazard trees should be removed in a manner that will cause the least amount of damage to the remaining trees. Limbing or topping a tree before felling it can reduce wounding of nearby trees. Wounding the lower trunk and roots of residual trees during skidding should be avoided.
Trees are especially prone to such wounds in spring when bark is most easily knocked off.
Opening up a stand by removing hazard trees can make the remaining trees more liable to windthrow, sunscald, and dieback. All these side effects of tree removal should be considered when recommending hazard tree treatments. Several treatments can be used to reduce hazard and still retain the tree. They generally require more specialized equipment and training than tree removal, but saving the tree may warrant the extra investment. Broken, dead, or split branches should be pruned if they are located near a target area.