Saw this one (red oak) hung up in a Hickory a couple weeks ago. Made this part of the yard off limits until I could take care of it. The base was a little over 20’ up. Got a throw line over it first. Throw line helps you see where it is. Attached one end to a white pine. The other end to the lawn tractor. The theory was that the tension of the rope would pull the limb straight away from the tree. It’s an old climbing rope that I use as a bull rope so wasn’t too concerned about chaffing it. The rope did end up in the crevice between the widow maker and the tree so if it didn’t work, the rope wasn’t coming down without the limb. One good pull and down she came. Base was about 6” in diameter. Sorry there is no video. I’m of the opinion that use of video taping devices causes Murphy to show up on the job site. The limb will be burned this winter. Red oak limb heart wood is some of my favorite. The tree has woodpecker and ant damage so it’ll have to come down sooner rather than later and get added to the stacks.
Good work! Hazard is gone and you've got firewood out of it. I have let mother nature take care of all the widow makers that she'll handle, whenever possible. If I need to intervene, I always have a spotter.
This hazard was inside the fence line so to speak. So it needed to come down. Got several others that I have my eye on and may hit with the pole saw. One thing I noticed, is that they tend to come down when there is a combination of rain and wind. I guess the widow maker absorbs the moisture making it heavier and the wind helps “break the camel’s back” so to speak.
Without absorbing the moisture, it is like snow; the added weight of the water tends to make things happen.
