Questions Grand Strand homeowners ask us
Insurance, permits, prices, live oaks, palmettos, pines, hurricanes, debris and burning — the short answers. Anything we missed, call and ask.
Are you licensed and insured?
There's no state tree-service license to hold in South Carolina — the Forestry Commission's hiring guide tells homeowners to look for ISA certification and certificates of liability and workers' comp instead. That's what we have: the crews that work through us carry general liability and workers' compensation, the certificate is available before anyone climbs, and our ISA Certified Arborist is on staff. Surfside Beach additionally requires a licensed, bonded, insured company for permitted removals; we qualify.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree?
Depends on the tree and the town, and on the Strand the answer is 'often.' Myrtle Beach: significant species (live oak, white oak, red cedar, magnolia, bald cypress) from four inches on any lot; landmark live oaks from 25 inches. Horry County: every live oak from 24 inches, house lots included. North Myrtle Beach: anything over 16 inches, pines exempt. Conway: listed species from four, eight or 14 inches; landmarks to the Tree Board. Surfside: anything over eight inches. Georgetown County (Murrells Inlet, Litchfield, Pawleys): everything over 10 inches. Town of Pawleys Island: hardwoods from five inches. We check your parcel; see the guide.
How much does tree removal cost?
Most Grand Strand removals run $350–$1,500, average about $750. Under 25 ft $200–$600; 25–50 ft $500–$1,300; 50–75 ft $1,200–$2,800; over 75 ft $2,500–$5,000+. Palms $200–$900, crane jobs $2,500–$7,500, stump grinding $3–$5 per inch with a $100–$150 minimum. Permits and mitigation are extra where a town requires them. Emergency work adds 20–50%.
Do you charge for estimates?
No. An estimator walks the property, measures the tree and leaves a written price. A formal arborist hazard assessment or condition report for a permit, a sale or an HOA is $150–$350, credited toward any work.
Do you require a deposit?
Not until you've approved the written price and we've scheduled the work. Most residential jobs are paid on completion.
Does my tree really need to come down?
Most of the live oaks we're called about can stay with pruning. Species is the first question — a laurel oak at 60 is near its end, a live oak at 60 is young — then the trunk, the roots and what's under it. We'll tell you which, with the reasons, and on a protected tree we'll tell you what the town will and won't approve.
Do you top trees?
No. Topping rots the stubs, pushes weak water sprouts and makes the tree more dangerous in a few years — and in Myrtle Beach topping a protected tree is legally a removal with a fine attached. We prune to ANSI A300 and we'll explain what your tree actually needs.
What's wrong with the 'hurricane cut' on palmettos?
It weakens the palm. A palmetto needs its green fronds; pruning above the horizontal narrows the trunk, invites disease and makes it more likely to snap, not less. We take dead fronds, boots and seed stalks only.
My pine's needles are turning red. What now?
It's dead or dying — usually Ips bark beetles after lightning, drought, a storm or root damage from construction next door. Red needles mean remove now, before the beetles emerge and spread; gray needles mean the beetles are gone and it's just a hazard. Pines are permit-exempt in North Myrtle Beach and on most house lots elsewhere.
Which trees fail in hurricanes here?
Laurel oak, water oak, pecan, Bradford pear, Chinese tallow, tulip poplar and Leyland cypress rank lowest for wind resistance; live oak, sand live oak, palmetto, magnolia, bald cypress, crape myrtle and holly rank highest. On the Strand the bigger issue is saturated sand — a healthy pine goes over whole when the water table is at the surface.
Will the city pick up the debris?
Myrtle Beach won't collect anything placed by a tree contractor, or branches over four inches, trunks, stumps or land-clearing debris from anyone. North Myrtle Beach requires contractors to haul their own. We haul every load to the Horry County landfill ($22 a ton for yard waste) the same day.
Can I burn the brush?
In Horry County, yard debris can be burned 50 feet from structures and property lines after notifying the Forestry Commission (1-800-986-5404), never during a ban. After the 2009 Highway 31 fire (76 homes) and the 2025 Carolina Forest fire — both escaped debris burns — we mulch or haul instead.
Do you work with insurance?
Yes — we photograph everything with the date, invoice emergency removal separately as mitigation, and provide what your adjuster needs. We don't negotiate your claim.
Do you grind stumps?
Yes, $3–$5 per inch, below grade, after SC 811 has marked the yard (at least three full working days). Chips hauled or left as mulch.
Do you serve Conway and Pawleys Island?
Yes — North Myrtle Beach, Conway, Surfside Beach, Garden City, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Litchfield, Little River, Longs, Loris and Aynor, plus all of Myrtle Beach. Each has its own rules, and we know them.
Do you really answer at night?
24 hours a day, every day. A tree on the house at 2 AM gets a person on the phone and a crew dispatched by priority.