Stumped by Tree Troubles? We're Here for You! - Get Your FREE Estimates!
Stumped by Tree Troubles? We're Here for You! - Get Your FREE Estimates!
Taking a big tree off a Slidell lot comes with two questions up front. Can it come down without hitting the house, and does the city want a permit first? Careful tree removal in Slidell settles both before a saw is started, and that begins with someone walking the yard, looking hard at the trunk and the lean, and noting what sits underneath.
Big Easy Tree Removal takes down dead, leaning and damaged trees for Slidell homeowners. This page sticks to removals. For trimming, planting and the other work we offer around town, start with our Slidell tree service overview.
Slidell has its own written tree protection code, and it applies inside city limits. Some addresses that feel like Slidell sit outside them. Eden Isles is the common example: it borders the city but is unincorporated, so St. Tammany Parish rules apply there.
Inside the city, the Unified Development Code says a tree removal permit is required before removing any protected or heritage tree. Protected means any non-invasive tree of any species measuring 12 inches or more in diameter at breast height (DBH). Heritage trees are 24 inches DBH and up. Clearing five or more trees over 6 inches DBH calls for a land clearing permit plus a tree survey.
Two details surprise people. First, the code says a Louisiana State Licensed Arborist must apply for tree removal permits, and the Department of Planning reviews them. So before you sign anything, ask whoever you hire who will apply for the permit. Second, the code lists acceptable reasons for removal. A tree that is dead, dying or hazardous qualifies with a written opinion from a state licensed arborist or a landscape architect, and a tree growing too close to a foundation can qualify too. Replacement planting or a payment in lieu is required, and removing a protected tree without a permit can bring penalties.
You can read the full text in Article 9 of Slidell’s development code. The Department of Planning (985-646-4320) can tell you how it applies to your lot.
For Eden Isles and other unincorporated addresses, the parish code ties land clearing permits mostly to development. We have not found a parish permit for a homeowner removing one tree from an existing single-family lot, but confirm with St. Tammany Parish Planning & Development before a large removal, and check your HOA covenants if you have one.
A longleaf pine report hosted on the City of Mandeville’s site describes the south half of St. Tammany Parish, where Slidell sits, as flat, poorly drained and seasonally wet pine flatwoods. Soaked ground can make a tall tree less steady, and a pine that already leans deserves a second look after a week of rain.
The weather record adds to that. The National Weather Service reports that Katrina’s surge reached Slidell in 2005. During Ida in 2021, NWS found that thousands of trees were downed across the parish, and two tornadoes touched down in Slidell. Trees that came through those storms may carry cracks or root damage that are hard to spot from the ground. Pines are a special concern: LSU AgCenter notes that stressed and storm-damaged pines attract Ips engraver beetles and southern pine beetles.
If your tree stands close to the house or a neighbor’s fence, with little open ground for dropping limbs, that changes how the removal has to be rigged. That holds whether the property is in the Olde Towne Preservation District around Front Street and Bayou Bonfouca or out near Fritchie Park on Howze Beach Road.
Plenty of trees can stay. A dead limb over the driveway or a crown crowding the roof is often a job for tree trimming. Keep in mind Slidell’s code also limits how much of a tree’s canopy can be pruned in a single year, so heavy cutting has limits too.
Removal starts to make sense when a tree is dead or mostly dead, when a pine shows beetle damage that is spreading, when the base has a cavity or a crack that runs into the trunk, or when the roots are working against a foundation. If you can’t tell whether a tree is declining or only stressed, our page on arborist services in Slidell explains what a health and risk check looks at.
It starts with a walk-through. We look at the tree, the targets under it, overhead wires and the path for equipment. You then get a free written estimate that spells out the scope and price before any work is scheduled.
Where there is open room, a tree can sometimes be felled in one piece. Next to a house, a shed or a neighbor’s fence, it usually comes down in sections, each one cut and lowered on ropes. Afterward the limbs are chipped, the wood is hauled off and the yard is raked.
Some jobs are bigger than a rope setup. For large removals, crane work and storm response, our fulfillment partner Gulf Coast Tree Service supplies the heavy equipment and crew, and you keep one point of contact the whole way through.
If any part of the tree touches a power line, call the electric company on your bill before anyone climbs. The parish utility directory lists Cleco and Washington-St. Tammany Electric Cooperative, and Entergy Louisiana also serves parts of St. Tammany.
The stump stays unless you ask for it to go. Our page on stump grinding in Slidell covers that step. To compare nearby towns, see tree removal in Mandeville or Covington tree removal, and our main tree removal service page explains our general approach.
No. Eden Isles sits beside Slidell but is unincorporated, so it falls under St. Tammany Parish rules. The parish code focuses its land clearing permits on development, and we have not found a parish permit for removing one tree from an existing single-family lot. Rules and covenants can still apply, so check with St. Tammany Parish Planning & Development and your HOA before a large tree comes down.
Slidell’s code says a Louisiana State Licensed Arborist must apply for tree removal permits, and the Department of Planning reviews the application. That means the homeowner usually is not the one filing it. Ask whoever you hire who will apply for the permit, and get that answer in writing along with the estimate.
The code lists a tree growing too close to a foundation among the reasons a protected tree may be approved for removal. Approval still runs through the permit process, and replacement planting or a payment in lieu is required. A walk-through can show how close the trunk and major roots are, which helps you decide whether to pursue the permit or try pruning first.
Limbs and brush go through the chipper, and the trunk wood is cut and hauled away. The yard gets raked before the crew leaves. If you’d like to keep some of the wood for firewood or a project, say so at the walk-through so it can be cut to a manageable size and left where you want it.
If a tree on your property is dead, leaning or in the way of a project, call 504-732-1166 or ask for a free written estimate. We’ll walk the yard with you, go over the city or parish rules that apply, and give you a written plan before any work begins.
A credentialed arborist scopes the work and signs off the plan before a saw leaves the truck.
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