I get this question a lot. Someone calls and says “I already hired an arborist” and I have to ask, certified or not? Most people don’t realize there’s a difference, and honestly, that gap is where a lot of trees get hurt.
Anyone Can Call Themselves an Arborist
There’s no law stopping a person from putting “arborist” on a truck door. No test, no experience requirement, nothing. Plenty of guys who trim trees for a living are good at what they do, but the title alone tells you nothing about their training or whether they understand what’s actually happening below the soil line.
What Certified Actually Means
The International Society of Arborist explains it like this: the Certified Arborist credential identifies professional arborists who have a minimum of three years of full time experience in the tree care industry and who have passed an exam covering the basic facets of arboriculture.
That’s a real bar to clear. But I’ll be straight with you because that’s how I work. Even the certification has limits. We’ve had property owners tell us a certified arborist came out, walked the yard, and still missed what was actually going on with the tree. The ISA exam covers general tree care. It’s built around trimming and basic maintenance, not the deeper diagnostic work that catches root problems, soil issues, or pest activity before they become a crisis.
I’ve seen business owners get certified purely because they thought it would help them sell more jobs. The letters after someone’s name matter, but they’re not the whole picture. What matters more is whether the person standing in your yard is actually digging for the cause of a problem, or just treating whatever symptom is easiest to see
Why I Approach It Differently
I don’t walk a property looking for the fastest fix. I’m looking for the why. A tree that looks stressed almost always has a story underneath it, whether that’s compacted soil, a girdling root, too much water sitting where it shouldn’t, or an insect nobody noticed yet. Chasing symptoms might make a tree look better for a season. Finding the cause is what actually keeps it alive.
We had a homeowner write a review recently that says this better than I can:
“You can hire an arborist and they’ll spray your tree, you won’t hear from them until next spring when they’ll want to sign you up for an overpriced, non essential, non targeted service… Then a time came when I needed real help. I stumbled on TreeMendus Arbor Care and I know I don’t need to look further. An arborist came out, walked my yard, taught me tree by tree what its needs are, what he’s seeing as deficiencies, and proposed a tree by tree care service. No contract, no buy one get one, just straightforward services.” – Brad R
He had twenty trees on his property, all different sizes and varieties, and instead of one blanket treatment, each tree got looked at on its own. Four weeks later he was seeing new growth where there’d been nothing, brighter color in the leaves, and real improvement across the board. That’s not luck. That’s what happens when you treat the cause instead of guessing at the symptom.
He also mentioned something that stuck with me, that I came back by his house on my way home to look at a few trees with unusual issues and talk through what he could do himself. That’s not a sales tactic. That’s just how I think a client relationship should work. You don’t build trust by billing for every five minute conversation. You build it by actually caring whether the trees on that property make it.
How to Tell the Difference Before You Hire
A few questions can save you a lot of grief:
- Are they ISA Certified, and can they tell you what that actually covers?
- Do they explain what’s wrong with the tree, or just tell you what service to buy?
- Are they treating one tree in isolation, or looking at the whole property?
- Do they talk about prevention, or only show up after something’s already dying?
- If the answers feel vague, that’s worth paying attention to.
Northern Utah Deserves More Than the Minimum
We work across Weber, Davis, Morgan and Salt Lake County, and the trees out here face real pressure. Drought stress, compacted soil from new construction, and pests like Emerald Ash Borer aren’t theoretical problems. They’re showing up in yards right now. A credential is a starting point, but what you actually need is someone who treats your property like it matters beyond the invoice.
If you want a second opinion on a tree that doesn’t look right, or you’re tired of the spray and disappear routine, reach out to us. We’ll walk your property, tree by tree, and tell you what we actually see, not just what’s easy to sell.