Arbor Care Tree Service arborist working from a towable lift basket in a large live oak above a barn in North Central Florida

Tree Service in Alachua, FL

Name: Arbor Care Tree Service
Address: Gainesville, FL, 32608, US
Telephone: (352) 770-8733

Tree service in the City of Alachua, Turkey Creek and the acreage along the 441 corridor, fifteen minutes up the road from our yard.

Call or text 352-770-TREE Free estimate

About 15 minutes from our Gainesville yard ISA Certified Arborist on staff Answered 24 hours a day

Alachua County

What tree work in Alachua actually looks like

Alachua splits cleanly into two kinds of tree work. In town, around Main Street and the older blocks either side of it, it is big shade trees sitting close to houses on small lots, which means rigging, ground protection and a careful plan for where every piece lands. Out toward Turkey Creek and the county roads it is acreage, where the trees are bigger, we can drive right to them, and the job is usually a fence line, a pasture or a driveway.

A lot of Alachua property backs onto the old hardwood hammock around San Felasco, which is a different forest from the pine flatwoods on the other side of town. Live oaks, hickories and magnolias in there are worth keeping and worth pruning properly, not worth clearing.

See all of our services

What we get called for around Alachua

Big live oaks hanging over houses on the older lots in town. Most of them need the deadwood taken out, not the whole tree taken down.
Thinning and clearing pines on acreage, either for fire safety or to open up a building site.
Fence lines and driveways on the properties off County Road 235 and along 441, where a row of small trees has grown right through the wire.
Storm cleanup, which runs heavier out here because more properties sit under trees that nobody has touched in twenty years.

Worth knowing. Acreage almost always prices better than the same tree in town, because we can drive equipment right to it and there is somewhere safe to put the wood instead of rigging every piece down by hand.

On the ground

Where we work in and around Alachua

Not a list we bought. These are the places our trucks actually go.

Historic Main StreetTurkey CreekSan FelascoProgress ParkHagueCopeland ParkCR 235US 441 corridorSanta Fe Lake RoadNorthwood Oaks

Know your trees

The trees you actually have in Alachua

Different trees fail in different ways, and knowing which one is in your yard tells you most of what you need to know about what happens next. These are the ones we deal with here.

The treeWhat goes wrong with it hereWhat we do about it

Live oakThe signature tree on the old Alachua lots. Huge horizontal limbs over roofs, and forks that have been carrying too much weight for decades.Deadwooding, selective end weight reduction, and a cable through the fork where the tree is worth saving. Which it nearly always is.

HickoryCommon in the hammock ground near San Felasco. Tall, heavy, and it drops big limbs without much warning when the top starts to die back.Crown cleaning and a proper look at the upper canopy, which you cannot judge from the ground on a tree this tall.

Loblolly pineGrows in stands out on the acreage. In a group they hold each other up. Thin them wrong, or clear around them, and the ones left standing start going over.Thinning done in the right order, so the trees left standing are the ones with the root plate and the taper to survive on their own.

SweetgumTakes over old pasture edges and fence lines fast, and the wood is brittle enough that limbs come down every season.Usually clearing, because on a fence line there is no reason to keep it. Ground out so it does not come back from the roots.

Not sure what you are looking at? Text a photo to 352-770-TREE and we will tell you what it is and whether it is a problem.

Services

What we do in Alachua

Tree Removal

In town it is rigging and ground protection. On acreage we can usually get equipment to the tree, which brings the price down a long way.

Tree Removal in Alachua 02

Tree Trimming and Pruning

Deadwooding the old live oaks around Main Street, and clearance pruning over driveways and metal roofs.

Tree Trimming and Pruning in Alachua 03

Stump Grinding

Grinding deep enough for pasture and paddock, so a mower or a horse never finds what is left.

Stump Grinding in Alachua 04

Emergency and Storm Damage

Fifteen minutes from the yard, and we have run 441 in the dark more times than we can count.

Emergency and Storm Damage in Alachua 05

Commercial Tree Service

Progress Park businesses, HOA common areas and the commercial frontage along 441.

Commercial Tree Service in Alachua

Permits

Do you need a permit to take down a tree in Alachua?

Sometimes. It depends on the tree, the size, the property and which side of a city line you are standing on. Here is the honest version, including the part most tree companies never mention.

Florida law

A certified arborist can take the permit out of the picture entirely

Since 2019, Florida Statute 163.045 has said that no local government may require a permit, an application, a notice, a fee or any mitigation before you remove a tree on residential property, as long as you have documentation from an ISA Certified Arborist or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree poses an unacceptable risk. They also cannot force you to replant it.

There are real conditions attached, and they matter:

It covers single family detached homes. It does not cover commercial property, and an HOA can still have its own say.
The assessment has to happen on site, in person, following the ISA Best Management Practices for Tree Risk Assessment, Second Edition.
The finding has to be that removal is the only practical way to bring the risk below moderate. Not that the tree is ugly, or dropping leaves, or that you would rather have the sun.

We have an ISA Certified Arborist on staff, so we can do that assessment and write it up for you. What we will not do is write one for a tree that does not meet the standard. If your tree is healthy, we will tell you it is healthy, and then you decide what you want to do with that.

And the local rules in Alachua

In unincorporated Alachua County

On a single family lot of an acre or less, you need a permit to remove a native tree more than 20 inches across, a laurel or water oak more than 30 inches across, or anything the county lists as a specimen tree. On every other kind of property, including anything over an acre, the threshold drops to 8 inches. Diameter is measured four and a half feet off the ground, and the county charges one fee even when several trees are on the same application.

Inside Alachua city limits

Each town in this county writes its own tree ordinance, and they are not the same as each other or the same as the county. If your property sits inside the city line, that ordinance is the one that applies. We check which side of the line you are on before we quote the job, because it changes what we have to do and sometimes what it costs.

Ordinances get rewritten, and thresholds move. Treat this as a starting point rather than the final word, confirm anything that matters with the city or county directly, and let us check your specific property before anybody starts cutting. Alachua County tree permits: 352-374-5249.

Timing

Timing a job in Alachua

Almost every tree job is cheaper and easier before it becomes urgent. Here is when to move on what, in this town specifically.

Before hurricane season

Thin the pines and get the deadwood out of the oaks over the house. On acreage this is also the time to widen a driveway so an ambulance or a fire truck can get down it.

Winter, on pasture

Cleared fence lines and pasture work are easier on dry ground. Wait for August and we are running mats to keep from cutting ruts in your field.

Any time for hazards

A hollow trunk or a lifting root plate does not have a season. That one gets looked at now.

BeforeAfter The same home after removal with a clean, undamaged yard

Large tree grown dangerously close to the side of a Gainesville home before removal

Drag the handle. A brick ranch with a large oak directly over the roof. Same day, no ruts through the lawn, and every limb, log and chip gone before the trucks left.

Certified arborist on staff

Someone who actually studied trees looks at yours before a saw comes out. You get a real opinion, not a sales pitch.

Fully insured

General liability and workers comp. Ask and we email you the certificate before we start work.

We follow the standards

ANSI Z133 for safety and A300 for pruning, on every single job. Plenty of crews do not.

We answer 24 hours a day

Storms do not wait for business hours. Call or text any time, day or night, any day of the year.

Questions

Questions we get from Alachua

Do you charge to come out to Alachua?

No. Estimates are free everywhere we work, including Alachua. A certified arborist looks at the tree, tells you what he actually thinks, and gives you a price in writing. You are not obligated to book anything.

How quickly can you get to Alachua?

About 15 minutes from our Gainesville yard. Regular work in Alachua is usually scheduled within the week. Emergencies go to the front of the line, and we answer the phone at any hour of any day.

Are you insured to work in Alachua County?

Yes. General liability and workers compensation, both current. Ask and we will email you the certificate before we start. If a company will not send you one, that is your answer about that company.

What does tree removal cost in Alachua?

It depends on the size of the tree, what is underneath it, whether we can get equipment to it, and whether you want the stump and the debris gone as well. Alachua specifics are covered further up this page. Nobody can give you a real number over the phone, which is why the visit is free. See what moves the price.

Do I actually need a permit in Alachua?

Maybe, and it depends on the tree and the property. There is also a Florida law that removes the permit requirement entirely when a certified arborist documents that the tree is a genuine risk. We explain both in the permits section above.

Can you do several trees in one visit?

Yes, and you should. One trip and one setup instead of three means the price per tree drops. If you have a removal, a couple of trims and an old stump, put them all on the same estimate.

Nearby

See all eleven towns

Free estimate

Get a free estimate in Alachua

Tell us what is going on. We will come out, tell you honestly whether the tree needs to come down, and give you the price in writing before anyone starts cutting.

Faster than filling out a form 352-770-TREE (352) 770-8733, call or text, 24 hours a day