Tree Removal in Hammond, LA

A tree that has to come down in Hammond usually raises two questions before anything else: is it a live oak, and what will it hit on the way down? Good tree removal in Hammond answers both before a saw is started. That means someone standing in your yard, looking at the trunk, the lean, the roof and the lines overhead, and telling you plainly what the job involves.

Big Easy Tree Removal takes on removals for homeowners across Hammond, from lots near downtown to the neighborhoods farther out. This page covers how removal works here in particular. For everything else we offer in town, start with our Hammond tree service page.

Hammond’s native trees and the weather they face

Hammond is an incorporated city in Tangipahoa Parish, and its own development code keeps a list of native trees that includes loblolly pine, live oak, bald cypress, southern magnolia and water tupelo, along with several other oaks. Older areas such as the Downtown Hammond Historic District, around Thomas Street and the railroad corridor, and the streets near Southeastern Louisiana University can have mature trees set close to houses, sidewalks and each other.

Size is where the trouble starts. A tall loblolly next to a house carries a lot of weight high up, and a wide live oak can reach over a roof, a driveway and a neighbor’s fence all at once. Storms test both. When Hurricane Ida came through in 2021, its center passed between Baton Rouge and Hammond, and the National Weather Service reported that Ida’s winds “downed trees and power lines parish-wide” in Tangipahoa. Five years earlier, the August 2016 flood swamped thousands of homes and businesses across portions of the Baton Rouge and Hammond metro areas. A tree that went through either event may look fine from the street and still deserve a closer look.

Then there is Chinese tallow. The city’s code gives it no preservation credit, and LSU AgCenter ranks it first among invasive woody plants in Louisiana. That makes a tallow an easy tree to let go when it is crowding something you value.

Deciding whether the tree really needs to go

We would rather save a good tree than cut it. Sometimes tree trimming takes care of the real problem, such as one heavy limb over the roof or a crown that is catching too much wind. Removal starts to make sense when you see things like these:

• A crack or split running down the trunk or through a main fork.
• A lean that has grown worse, or soil heaving up on one side of the base.
• Large dead sections, bare branches in summer, or bark falling away.
• Roots pushing up a slab, walkway or driveway where cutting them would weaken the tree.
• An invasive tallow crowding out trees you actually want to keep.

If you cannot tell whether a tree is declining or only stressed, our arborist services in Hammond page explains what a health and risk visit looks at.

Hammond’s live oak rule, in plain terms

Hammond’s Unified Development Code protects live oaks that measure eight inches in diameter at breast height or more, and it calls for a clearing permit from the building official’s office before those trees are cut or removed. The code also involves the city’s arborist in those decisions and sets out mitigation for protected live oaks that come down.

The code is less clear on one point that matters to homeowners. Much of that article is written around commercial projects, multifamily sites and new subdivisions, and it has not been confirmed whether it covers one live oak on an existing house lot. So if the tree in question is a live oak, call the Hammond Building Department at 219 E Robert St, (985) 277-5655, before it comes down and ask whether a clearing permit applies to your lot. You can read the full text in the City of Hammond Unified Development Code.

Trees growing in the public right-of-way are a separate matter. The code says no one may remove a tree in a dedicated street area or on other public property without a permit from the city, so a tree in the strip along the street needs a call to the city first.

From first visit to raked yard

Here is how a typical Hammond job goes:

1. Assessment on site. We walk the tree and the ground around it, check what sits under the canopy and figure out how equipment gets in.
2. A free written estimate. The scope and the price are on paper before you agree to anything.
3. A cutting plan. Open ground may allow a tree to be felled in one piece. Close to a house, garage or fence, it usually comes apart from the top down, with each section tied off and lowered on ropes.
4. Chipping and hauling. Brush goes through the chipper, the wood is hauled off and the yard is raked.

Large removals, crane work and storm response are handled by our fulfillment partner, Gulf Coast Tree Service, which supplies the heavy equipment and crew. You keep one point of contact from the estimate through the clean-up.

Power lines need their own step. Parts of Tangipahoa Parish are served by Entergy Louisiana, Washington-St. Tammany Electric Cooperative or DEMCO, so check your bill and call your electric utility before anyone works near a line.

Where to go next

Once the tree is gone, the stump is still there. Our page on stump grinding in Hammond covers grinding it below the grass so you can replant or put down sod. If you own property across the lake too, see tree removal in Covington, where the city runs its own permit rules. The main tree removal services page has our general approach, and every town we cover is listed on the service areas page.

Frequently asked questions

Does Hammond require a permit to cut down a live oak in my yard?

It may. The city’s development code protects live oaks eight inches in diameter at breast height and larger and calls for a clearing permit from the building official’s office. Whether that applies to a single tree on an existing home lot has not been confirmed, since the article is aimed mainly at development. Call the Building Department at (985) 277-5655 before the tree comes down.

A tree in the grass strip by the street is leaning toward my house. Can I have it removed?

Ask the city first. Hammond’s code says no person may remove a tree growing in a dedicated street area or on other public property without a permit from the city. That strip can be part of the right-of-way even when you are the one mowing it. Once you know who is responsible for the tree, we can talk through the options.

I have Chinese tallow trees along my back fence. Is removal worth it?

Often it is. LSU AgCenter ranks Chinese tallow first among invasive woody plants in Louisiana, and Hammond’s code gives it no preservation credit. Taking out tallows can open space and light for native trees you would rather keep. We can look at the whole fence line during the walk-through and put each tree on the written estimate.

A pine on my lot came through Ida but now it leans more than it used to. What should I do?

Have it looked at soon, and keep people and cars out from under it. A growing lean, cracked soil at the base or roots lifting on one side can point to a tree that is losing its hold. If it can stay, a trim may lighten the load. If it has to go, a pine that close to the house usually comes down in roped sections.

Book a Hammond walk-through

If a tree on your property is dying, leaning or blocking a project, call 504-732-1166 or ask for a free written estimate. We will look at the tree with you, talk through the live oak question if it applies and put the plan in writing before any work starts.