Tree Service in Cumming, GA

Tree Service in Cumming is mostly a conversation between you and the tree company, not the county. Forsyth County's planning office states that tree removal by homeowners on their own property is exempt from the requirements of its Tree Ordinance; the ordinance is aimed at commercial and industrial sites and major residential subdivisions. Cumming is the county seat and the only incorporated city in Forsyth, so many 'Cumming' addresses are actually in unincorporated county land. If you are inside city limits or in a subdivision with an HOA, check those rules too.

Pines and drought

The trees that cause the most worry around Cumming are pines. UGA Extension's Forsyth County office published a 2017 article by University of Georgia forest entomologists explaining that pine engraver beetles, mainly Ips avulsus, were killing drought-stressed pines across Georgia's Piedmont after a dry 2016. The signs they listed are worth knowing:

• Branch tips dying back and needles turning from green to yellow to brown, often starting in the crown
• Tiny round holes, 1 to 2 millimeters across, in the bark
• Galleries etched into the inner bark when a loose piece is peeled back

Their advice was direct: dead pines in lawns should be removed because they can hurt people and property. A dead pine dries out fast and gets brittle, so it is cheaper and safer to remove it while the wood is still sound enough to climb or rig.

Lake slopes and ridge lots

Lake Lanier, formed when Buford Dam began operating in 1956, sits just east of town, and Sawnee Mountain rises to the north with its preserve on top. Lots on either side tend to be sloped and wooded, and on the lake side the Army Corps of Engineers manages the shoreline, so trees below your property line may not be yours to cut. On a steep lot, trees are usually taken down in pieces and lowered on ropes rather than dropped whole.

Storms and Sawnee EMC lines

When Helene came through in September 2024, Sawnee EMC reported outages for more than 200 customers, mostly in Cumming. Trees dragged or broke lines on Samples Road near Canon Court and on Shadow Creek Drive, another blocked Bonanza Trail, and an extra 2 to 4 inches of rain caused flash flooding. If a tree is on a line, call the utility and stay back; we handle the wood once the line is safe.

Work we do around Cumming

• Removing dead and beetle-killed pines before they fall
• Pruning hardwoods over roofs and driveways
• Lot clearing on wooded parcels for additions, barns or fencing
• Stump grinding and storm cleanup

Call (770) 758-8959 or send the form with photos. We will look at the trees and give you a written estimate.