tree-service

How to Choose a Tree Service Company in Missouri: What Three Bids on the Same Oak Taught One Homeowner

Missouri has no tree service license. Three bids on the same oak show how insurance gaps, arborist advice, and crane charges change the price and the right choice.

How to Choose a Tree Service Company in Missouri: What Three Bids on the Same Oak Taught One Homeowner

A homeowner in Webster Groves, MO got three bids last fall for removing a 65-foot pin oak that had started dropping limbs onto the garage. The numbers came back at $1,400, $2,300, and $2,900. The cheapest crew had no workers' compensation, the middle one had a certified arborist who suggested a crown reduction instead, and the most expensive one included a crane the other two had not mentioned.

That spread is typical across Missouri, from the older neighborhoods of St. Louis County to Kansas City's Brookside and Waldo, Springfield's Rountree district, and Columbia's older streets near the university. The state has no tree service license, so the difference between bids comes down to what each company is carrying, what it knows, and what it left out.

Walking through those three bids line by line shows what to look for in your own.

Bid One at $1,400: Cheap Because Something Was Missing

The low bidder was a two-person crew with a pickup and a rented chipper. The owner was pleasant, had done work on the street before, and named the price on the spot without walking to the back of the tree.

He had general liability insurance, or said he did, and when asked about workers' compensation he explained that his climber was a subcontractor. Missouri requires workers' compensation for most employers with five or more employees, and construction-related businesses with one or more, so a tree crew with two people on site is often required to carry it. Either way, a subcontracted climber with no coverage who falls in your yard becomes a claim on your homeowner's policy.

The bid also did not mention the stump, the wood, or the neighbor's fence eight feet from the trunk. When those were raised, the price started climbing. A low bid in Missouri is often a bid with the hard parts left out.

The Insurance Check That Takes Five Minutes

Ask for certificates of general liability and workers' compensation, and call the agent listed on each. Missouri agents will confirm whether a policy is active in a short phone call, and the crews that resist the request are the ones with a reason to.

General liability of $1 million per occurrence is the standard figure for a company that works near houses. A certificate with your name listed as holder was issued for your job, and that is the version to keep in the file.

Bid Two at $2,300: The Arborist Who Offered a Different Plan

The second company sent an ISA Certified Arborist who spent 25 minutes on the property. He looked at the root flare, found no fungal growth, tapped the trunk, and studied the canopy with binoculars. His verdict was that the tree was structurally sound and the limb drop came from deadwood in the upper crown that had never been cleaned out.

He offered two prices: $2,300 for removal, or $900 for a crown cleaning and a 15 percent reduction on the garage side. The homeowner had assumed the tree had to go, and no one else had suggested otherwise.

This is the value of an arborist over a removal crew. Removal crews earn money by removing. An arborist is trained to decide which trees can stay, and in Missouri, where mature oaks add real value to a lot in Ladue, Clayton, or Mission Hills across the state line, the difference can be worth thousands.

Missouri Trees That Deserve an Arborist's Eye

Pin oaks and red oaks are the backbone of St. Louis and Kansas City neighborhoods, and they are also the trees most affected by oak wilt and bacterial leaf scorch, both of which are spreading. A certified arborist knows when to prune them, which is never between April and July when the beetles that spread oak wilt are active.

Silver maples are the other big one. They were planted by the thousands after World War II, they grow fast, and by 60 years they are hollow and dropping limbs. A good arborist can tell you whether a silver maple has another decade or another storm.

Bid Three at $2,900: The Crane Nobody Else Mentioned

The third company was a larger outfit based in St. Louis County with its own crane and bucket trucks. The estimator measured the distance from the trunk to the garage, looked at the drop zone, and explained that the lot was too tight to lower sections by rope without risk to the roof.

His price included the crane, stump grinding, full debris removal, and a written plan for protecting the driveway with mats. The number was the highest of the three, but it was the only bid that covered the entire job.

Crane work is common on the small lots of Webster Groves, Kirkwood, University City, and Kansas City's older neighborhoods, and it adds $600 to $1,500. A company that quotes a tight removal without mentioning a crane is either planning to take a risk or planning to add the charge later.

Comparing the Three Side by Side

Once the low bid was adjusted for stump grinding and debris hauling, it came to $1,950 with no workers' compensation. The middle bid at $900 for a crown cleaning solved the problem without removing the tree. The high bid at $2,900 was the fair price for a full removal done safely.

The homeowner chose the crown cleaning, and the oak is still there. The point is that the bids were not three prices for one job. They were three different jobs, and only reading them closely revealed that.

What Missouri Adds to the Decision

Storms drive the tree business here. Straight-line winds and derechos in summer, tornadoes in spring, and ice storms every few winters mean out-of-state crews show up after every major event. After the 2011 Joplin tornado and every large storm since, homeowners have lost deposits to crews that vanished.

Check the Missouri Secretary of State business database for any company you are considering. A registration date of last month or an out-of-state address is a warning. Established companies in Springfield, Joplin, Columbia, and the two metros are booked for weeks after a storm and do not need to knock on doors.

Local rules vary. Kansas City requires a permit for work on street trees and has tree preservation rules for certain developments, and St. Louis regulates trees in the public right of way. Some suburbs like Creve Coeur and Town and Country have their own ordinances, and a company working in your municipality regularly will know the rule.

Utility Lines Are Not the Tree Company's Job

Ameren and Evergy trim trees near their primary lines and will not allow private crews within 10 feet of them. If your tree is tangled in the primary, call the utility first. A tree company that offers to work near live primary lines is offering to take a risk that ends badly.

How to Get Your Own Three Bids

Ask every company to walk the property and put the estimate in writing. Each bid should name the tree, describe the work, state whether the stump is ground, say what happens to the wood and debris, and list any crane or equipment charges.

Ask each one the same questions and note the answers. Insurance, certification, crane, stump, cleanup, crew, and timing. Missouri pricing for a large hardwood removal runs $1,200 to $3,000 in normal conditions, and $2,500 to $5,000 with a crane over a structure, so a bid far outside that range deserves an explanation.

Our directory of Missouri tree service companies is a simple way to identify several local crews to call, and the homeowner guides on our blog cover related costs like stump grinding and storm cleanup across the state. Winter is the best time to make those calls, since bids from December through February often run 10 to 20 percent below spring pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Missouri license tree service companies?

No. The state has no tree service license, and while Kansas City regulates work on public trees, private tree work is unregulated. Verify insurance and ISA certification instead.

How much does tree removal cost in Missouri?

A medium tree runs $500 to $1,300 and a large oak or maple runs $1,200 to $3,000 across most of the state. Crane work on tight lots in St. Louis County or Kansas City can push the total past $4,000.

When should oaks be pruned in Missouri?

Between November and March, while the tree is dormant. Pruning oaks from April through July invites the sap beetles that carry oak wilt, and a company that offers to prune an oak in May does not know the disease.

How much of a deposit is normal for tree work?

Ten to 20 percent on a large job, paid by check or card. Full payment upfront is the most common feature of complaints filed after Missouri storms, and a legitimate company does not need it.

Should I remove a silver maple that is dropping limbs?

Have a certified arborist assess it first. Some silver maples respond well to deadwooding and a crown reduction, while hollow ones past 60 years are often a removal. The assessment costs $75 to $150 and can save a $2,000 removal.