Professional Tree Services in
Thompson, OH

Thompson Township sits in the northeast corner of Geauga County where the Grand River cuts a deep, forested valley through the landscape on its way toward Lake Erie. The river corridor is the defining feature of the township. Steep bluffs rise 80 to 100 feet above the water in places, and the slopes are covered in mature hardwoods, hemlocks, and white pines that cling to the hillsides. Properties along River Road, Thompson Road, and the roads that parallel the Grand River deal with tree issues that homeowners in flatter parts of the county rarely encounter: slope failures that undercut root systems, large trees leaning downhill toward homes built on the bluff edge, and massive sycamores along the riverbank that shed branches the size of small trees.

The Grand River valley creates its own microclimate in Thompson. Cold air pools in the river bottom during winter, producing heavy frost and ice fog that coats everything in a thick rime. That persistent cold and moisture stress trees along the valley floor differently than the upland specimens. Hemlock woolly adelgid has been gradually moving into the Grand River corridor, attacking the stands of Eastern hemlock that anchor the steep north facing slopes. Once infested, hemlocks decline over three to five years and eventually become standing deadwood in places where their loss also accelerates erosion. We monitor the hemlock stands on properties we service and advise owners on whether individual trees can be saved through treatment or need to come down.

Away from the river valley, Thompson’s upland areas are a mix of farmed fields and mature second growth forest. The Geauga County portion of the Grand River Wildlife Area extends into Thompson, and properties adjacent to public land tend to have very mature timber that has been growing undisturbed for decades. White oaks, red oaks, and sugar maples with trunk diameters of two to three feet are not uncommon on these borders. When storms damage these large trees or when they die naturally and start to lean toward homes, the removal requires careful planning. Wes uses a combination of speed lines, lowering rigging, and sectional felling to bring down big timber in controlled stages, a necessity when the tree is surrounded by other trees the owner wants to keep.

Thompson also catches the eastern edge of the Lake Erie snowbelt. While it does not get quite the accumulation that Chardon or Hambden sees, Thompson still receives heavy wet snow events that load canopies and cause breakage. The most vulnerable trees are the ones growing along forest edges and road frontages where they have developed asymmetric crowns reaching toward the light. These one sided trees carry disproportionate weight on the exposed side and are the first to fail when a heavy snow loads the branches.

The drive from Chardon to Thompson runs about 20 to 25 minutes east along Route 86 or through Hambden. It is farther out than some of our core service areas, but we make the trip regularly and treat Thompson properties with the same priority as any other job on the schedule. If you have trees along the Grand River bluffs, dead standing timber in a woodlot, or storm damage that needs cleanup, give Wes a call at (440) 901-0995. He will come out, assess the situation, and tell you exactly what he would do and what it will cost.