Austin's expert arborists. Built for caliche soil and oak wilt country.

From removals to structural pruning to storm response after a Hill Country hailer, we keep Austin's trees standing through drought, flash floods, and the oak wilt that moves root to root through connected live oaks. Expert arborists, on call around the clock.

Get An Estimate (844) 835-8733

Why Austin

Why Austin trees need a real arborist.

The Certified Arborist Tree Service brings expert arborists, consistent standards, and the insurance that matters to your property across Austin and Travis County, whether it is a single removal in a backyard off the greenbelt or a full storm cleanup.

Austin trees are planted in thin, rocky soil sitting over limestone caliche, high pH ground that stunts root systems and leaves live oaks especially vulnerable once oak wilt gets into a connected root network. Add a climate that swings between long droughts and flash floods, with hail and the occasional ice storm layered on top, and the stress load on a mature oak here is constant.

That local read, knowing which species are already weakened by drought before a storm ever hits, and which oak stands share roots and share risk, is the difference between a tree that gets managed and one that comes down on a fence, a driveway, or a roof.

Schedule a Austin site walk Call (844) 835-8733

Why Austin trees fail

The risks we watch in Austin right now.

When a tree fails here, the cause is usually one of a few problems we check on every Austin site visit.

Oak Wilt

Central Texas' most destructive tree disease, moving underground through grafted live oak roots and killing whole stands within a season if a diseased tree is not isolated first.

Hypoxylon Canker

A stress fungus that moves into oaks already weakened by Austin's drought cycles, often invisible until bark sloughs off over dead wood that can drop without warning.

Cotton Root Rot

A soil fungus common in the alkaline, poorly drained clay pockets around Austin that girdles roots below ground, so trees can look healthy right up until they topple.

Ball Moss Loading

Heavy in humid pockets near Austin's lakes and creeks, adding weight and wind resistance to already stressed live oak canopy during hail and high wind events.

Service area

Our Austin service area.

Serving Austin and the surrounding communities.

Areas we cover

Click an area to learn more about our work there.

Free estimate

Austin crews, one form away.

Tell us what is going on with your trees. An arborist who works Austin calls you back, walks the property, and puts the price in writing before anything is scheduled.

Prefer to talk? (844) 835-8733

What people are saying

Rated 4.9 stars across 140+ reviews.

Real reviews from real customers, straight from our Google Business Profile. Here's what people say once the crew has packed up and the yard is clean.

★★★★★

March 11th, a brief but strong storm came through Goodlettsville and blew over two giant trees in my front yard; one which was being supported by a 3rd tree that was facing and threatening my house. It was an…

Julie Bangs●3 days ago

★★★★★

From the time I inquired w this company about removing a tree that was strongly impacted from the major strong 80 mph winds on March 3, 2023, they provided us w exceptional service in every way . They were…

Jeanne Mason●3 weeks ago

★★★★★

CATS crew was amazing across the board from Mike & Lisa & Joe to the crew that came to our house. The consultation was easy and informative and made me feel comfortable in choosing them. The price was less…

Guy Hunt●1 month ago

Read all 140+ reviews on Google

What we do

A geotagged inventory of every tree on the property: species, age, condition, and recommended work, refreshed annually.

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Trees we know

The Austin species list, and what we watch for.

Local soil, local weather, local pests. Each species here fails in its own way, and we plan around all of them.

Live Oak

Austin's signature shade tree and its biggest oak wilt liability, since neighboring live oaks often share root grafts that let the fungus spread underground unseen.

Cedar Elm

Tolerant of Austin's thin caliche soil but prone to deadwood buildup after drought years, which we clear before wind turns it into debris.

Crape Myrtle

A common Austin landscape choice that suffers from repeated topping, a practice we avoid in favor of structural pruning that keeps the canopy sound.

Texas Red Oak

Handles Austin's heat well but is still susceptible to oak wilt through the same root pathways as live oak, so mixed oak stands get watched together.

Mexican White Oak

A more drought-tolerant oak increasingly planted in Austin, though young trees still need structural pruning to develop sound scaffold branching on this soil.

Ashe Juniper

Native to the Hill Country limestone Austin sits on, valuable for erosion control on slopes but often needs thinning where it crowds oak root zones.

Local expertise

Why an Expert Arborist Matters in Austin

Central Texas grows tough trees on unforgiving ground. Thin soil over limestone caliche limits root depth, which means an oak that looks stable can already be running on borrowed structural support, and a crew with just a chainsaw treats the tree that already failed. An arborist reads the one about to.

Every estimate is walked by an experienced arborist who checks for oak wilt symptoms, root graft risk between neighboring live oaks, and drought stress before recommending a cut. Work follows ANSI A300, risk assessments are TRAQ qualified, and you get a plan before work begins.

Across Austin

Austin's tree risk does not stop at the city line. Oak wilt moves through Travis County's connected live oak populations regardless of jurisdiction, and the same caliche soil and flash flood pattern shape tree health from the lake communities west of town to the blackland pockets east.

Every community in our coverage list has its own page covering the species, soil, and storm exposure we plan around there, from the limestone bluffs near the lakes to the flood plain communities along the Colorado River.

Austin FAQ

Local questions, local answers.

Don't see your question? Call us. Every call is answered by a human arborist, day or night.

Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Austin?

Austin has a heritage tree ordinance and protected size rules that vary by trunk diameter and species, live oaks and red oaks are protected at smaller sizes than some other trees. We confirm what applies to your exact property and handle any permit or arborist report needed before work begins.

How fast can an arborist get to my property?

Most estimate visits happen within 24 hours, and storm emergencies get a crew on site the same day. We answer the phone around the clock.

What is stressing trees here right now?

The biggest issues we see in Austin are oak wilt moving through connected live oak root systems, hypoxylon canker in drought stressed trees, and cotton root rot in low lying clay soil. We check for all three on every visit.

My neighbor's oak has oak wilt. Is mine at risk?

If your live oaks are within root graft range, which can be well over 50 feet in mature stands, yes. We assess root connectivity and can recommend trenching or other isolation measures before the fungus reaches your trees.

What standards do your arborists follow?

Every job runs to ANSI A300 standards and risk assessments are TRAQ-qualified. An expert arborist conducts every estimate.

Are you insured?

Yes. We carry the insurance that matters, the kind that protects every inch of your property.

Take back your trees today