Tree Service in Brandon, SD
ISA-certified arborists handling tree removal, trimming, stump grinding and storm damage across Brandon and the surrounding Minnehaha County area. We come out, look at the tree, and tell you what it actually needs, including when the answer is to leave it alone.
- ISA Certified Arborists
- Licensed & Fully Insured
- Full Cleanup, Every Job
- 24/7 Storm Response
Tell Us About Your Tree
Boulevard Tree or Your Tree? It Changes Who Pays
This is the most common question we get in Brandon, and the answer depends entirely on where the tree stands. The boulevard is the strip between the curb and the sidewalk. It looks like your yard. It is not.
| Boulevard ash tree | Tree on your property | |
|---|---|---|
| Removal cost | City pays | You pay |
| Wood haul-away | City handles | You handle |
| Stump grinding | City grinds | You arrange |
| After removal | You add soil, level, reseed, maintain turf | You |
| Wood disposal | City | Shredded, buried or burned on site |
Before you hire anyone, including us, call the city at 605-582-8987 and confirm which one you have. We would rather you make one free phone call than pay for work the city would have done for nothing.
If it turns out to be yours, here is what tree removal actually costs in this area.
If it is a boulevard ash tree
The City of Brandon removes it at no cost to you, hauls the wood and grinds the stump. Your only job is adding soil, levelling, reseeding and looking after the new turf. Call 605-582-8987 to confirm your tree qualifies before you pay anyone.
If it is on your property
Removal, haul-away and stump grinding are yours to arrange, and ash wood has to be shredded, buried or burned on site because of the county quarantine. That is the work we do, and every job includes taking all of it away.
Emerald Ash Borer in Brandon: Where It Actually Stands
Emerald ash borer was confirmed in Brandon on 20 July 2022, when a South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources forest health specialist found larvae and adult exit holes in a group of symptomatic ash trees.
Brandon sits inside the state plant pest quarantine covering Minnehaha, Lincoln, Turner and Union counties. In practice that means:
- You cannot move firewood or ash material out of the county. Not to the lake, not to family in the next county over.
- EAB is now confirmed across the area in Baltic, Canton, Crooks, Lennox, Sioux Falls and Worthing.
- The state guidance is simple: buy it where you burn it.
If you want to treat rather than remove
Brandon has specific requirements, and they are not optional. Treatment has to be carried out by a licensed applicator, the treatment must be registered with the city every cycle rather than once, and the tree has to be visibly tagged. We are licensed for this and we handle the registration and tagging as part of the job, so you are not left chasing paperwork.
Should you treat it or take it down?
The honest answer is that treatment only makes sense on a tree you would genuinely miss. Trunk injections run on roughly a two-year cycle, indefinitely. Stop, and the tree dies. Over ten years that often costs more than one removal plus a replacement tree that will outlive you.
Treat it if canopy loss is under about 30 per cent, the trunk is sound, and it shades your house.
Remove it if canopy loss is past 40 to 50 per cent, there is woodpecker flecking high on the trunk, the bark is splitting, or it leans over your roof, drive or a power line.
We will tell you which category yours falls into during the estimate. If you want to check the tree yourself first, here are the seven warning signs of EAB, and here is how treatment compares with removal.
Official information: the City of Brandon emerald ash borer page and the South Dakota state EAB programme.
Where Branches and Yard Waste Go in Brandon
Brandon runs two separate drop-off programmes, and mixing them up is why people get turned away at the gate.
Branches: 409 North Sioux Boulevard
- Open: Saturdays, 9:00am to 3:00pm
- Who: in-town Brandon residents only
- Bring: an SD driver’s licence and/or a current city utility bill as proof of residence
- Size limits: nothing over 12 inches in diameter, nothing over 10 feet long
- Not accepted: leaves, grass, lumber, pet waste, general yard waste
Leaves: McHardy Park car park
- Hours: 8:00am to 3:00pm on scheduled days
- Accepted: leaves, leaf mulch, pumpkins, vegetables, garden waste, in cans or bags
- Not accepted: branches, loose leaves, tarps
The branch site is seasonal, so check current dates on the City of Brandon website before you load up.
When the wood is past those limits, a 20 inch trunk section is not going anywhere legal in the back of a pickup. That is the point where a crew makes sense, and every job we do in Brandon includes hauling all of it away. If you are clearing storm debris more generally, we have written up where storm debris goes across the wider Sioux Falls area.
After the 25 July 2026 Storm: What to Check Now
On the evening of 25 July 2026, a severe thunderstorm line moved through southeastern South Dakota. The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls recorded these peak gusts:
| Location | Peak gust | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon | 69 mph | 9:00pm |
| Tea | 92 mph | 8:50pm |
| Harrisburg | 82 mph | 8:58pm |
| Sioux Falls airport | 72 mph | 8:37pm |
NWS logged Brandon’s damage as tree and fence damage across town. For the record it was officially classified as a strong thunderstorm wind event, not a derecho, despite what circulated at the time.
The damage you cannot see from the ground
The obvious breakage was cleared in the first week. What is left is the part that hurts someone.
- Hanging limbs caught in the canopy. They come down eventually, usually in the next storm.
- Cracked branch unions. Fresh splits where two large limbs meet.
- Root plate lifting. Soil heaved or cracked in a ring on one side of the trunk means the tree physically moved. This is the one that kills people.
- Torn bark strips on the windward side, usually west or northwest.
- A new lean. Compare against something fixed, like a fence post or a downspout.
A tree that survived 69mph with a cracked union will not survive the next one. If you are not sure what you are looking at, we will come and tell you, including when the answer is that it is fine. See storm damage cleanup or 24/7 emergency response.
A word about storm chasers
Out-of-town crews arrived across the metro after 25 July. Before you hand anyone a deposit, ask for their South Dakota insurance certificate and then ring the insurer directly rather than the number they hand you. Never pay in full up front, and be wary of anyone who can start this afternoon in the middle of a storm surge. That applies to us too, so check us before you hire us. We have written the full checklist in how to choose a tree service company and why ISA certification matters in South Dakota.
What We Handle in Brandon
Tree Trimming and Pruning in Brandon
Pruned to ANSI A300 standard. We do not top trees. Topping is exactly what creates the weak, fast regrowth that snapped across Brandon in the July winds.
Tree Removal in Brandon
Dead ash, storm-damaged limbs, trees leaning over the house or crowding power lines. We section them down safely in tight Brandon side yards and haul everything out.
Stump Grinding in Brandon
Ground 8 to 12 inches below grade with surface roots included, so you can reseed or replant instead of mowing around it for the next ten years.
EAB Treatment in Brandon
Licensed applicator, trunk injections on a two-year cycle. We handle the city registration and the visible tagging that Brandon requires.
Storm Damage Cleanup in Brandon
Full cleanup after wind, ice or hail, plus written documentation and photographs you can hand straight to your insurer.
Emergency Tree Service in Brandon
Tree on the house, across the drive, or into a line. We respond around the clock across Brandon and Minnehaha County.
Why Brandon Property Owners Call Us
We Know the Brandon Ordinance
Boulevard permits, approved species, EAB registration and tagging. We work inside Brandon's rules rather than leaving you to find out about them afterwards.
Licensed EAB Applicator
Brandon requires a licensed applicator, a registration filed with the city for every treatment cycle, and a visible tag on the tree. We handle all three.
We Do Not Top Trees
Topping removes a tree's structure and forces weak regrowth that fails in the next high wind. We prune to ANSI A300 instead.
Licensed and Fully Insured
Ask us for our South Dakota insurance certificate and call the insurer directly to check it. Ask every other crew that knocks on your door the same thing.
We Were Here for the July Storm
We are a local crew, not an out-of-town outfit that appeared after 25 July. We were working in Brandon before the storm and we will be here after the cleanup ends.
Complete Property Cleanup
Every job ends with the wood, the brush and the debris gone and the ground raked. You should not be able to tell we were there apart from the missing tree.
Why Trees Fail Where They Do in Brandon
Brandon is not uniform, and neither are its tree problems.
Near the creek and the river. Split Rock Creek and the Big Sioux meet just south of town, and the older neighbourhoods around McHardy Park’s 74 acres sit on that floodplain ground. Saturated soil plus wind is how mature trees tip over intact, roots and all. After heavy rain, these are the ones to watch.
In the established core. Brandon’s older streets carry the town’s oldest tree stock, and a large share of it is ash planted in the same era. That is a lot of trees reaching the end of their life at the same time.
In the newer subdivisions. Twin Rivers Crossing, 48 acres between Sioux Boulevard and Aspen Park, and Aspen Ridge near the golf course have young trees on compacted construction fill. Completely different problem: girdling roots from nursery stock planted too deep, and support stakes left on for years too long. Both are cheap to fix now and expensive to fix later. Structural pruning while a tree is young is the single best value in tree care.
Around the parks. Brandon maintains over 170 acres of green space, and properties backing onto Aspen Park or McHardy Park often have mature edge trees that grew up sheltered on one side. When that shelter changes, so does everything about how they take wind.
Planting a Tree in the Brandon Boulevard
If you are replacing a removed tree, this is the part people miss.
Planting in the boulevard, the strip between the curb and the sidewalk, requires a permit from the city under Ordinance 13-1-16, and you will need to call South Dakota One Call for utility locates before anything goes in the ground.
There is also a set list of species approved for Brandon boulevards, and ash is not on it, for obvious reasons. Approved species include Kentucky Coffeetree, Common Hackberry, Linden, Oak, Ginkgo, Ironwood, Thornless Honeylocust and Shagbark Hickory, among others.
From our crews: if you are replacing a boulevard ash, Kentucky Coffeetree and Common Hackberry handle Brandon’s wind exposure and heavy clay better than Linden, which tends to sunscald on west-facing streets.
For the permit application, the full approved species list, spacing requirements and current fees, see the official City of Brandon tree permit page. Utility locates are booked through South Dakota One Call.
Serving Brandon and the Surrounding Minnehaha County Area
We work across all of Brandon, from the established streets near downtown and the neighbourhoods backing onto McHardy Park, out to Twin Rivers Crossing, Aspen Ridge and the newer developments on the edge of town.
We also cover Harrisburg, Tea, Dell Rapids, Crooks and Sioux Falls itself. The full list is on our areas we serve page.
Brandon Tree Service FAQ
Something not covered here? Give us a call, we are happy to talk it through before you commit to anything.
Who removes a dead ash tree on my boulevard in Brandon?
The City of Brandon does, at no cost to you, including hauling the wood and grinding the stump. You are responsible for adding soil, levelling, reseeding and maintaining the new turf afterwards. Call the city on 605-582-8987 to confirm your tree qualifies before you pay anyone.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Brandon?
Requirements under Title 13 apply to boulevard and right-of-way trees. For a tree sitting entirely on private property, confirm with City Hall before you start. Current requirements and the application are on the City of Brandon tree page.
Where can I take my own branches in Brandon?
The branch drop-off site is at 409 North Sioux Boulevard, open Saturdays from 9:00am to 3:00pm, for in-town Brandon residents only. Bring an SD driver’s licence or a current city utility bill as proof of residence. Nothing over 12 inches in diameter or 10 feet long is accepted, and leaves, grass, lumber and general yard waste are not taken there.
Can I haul ash wood out of Brandon?
No. Minnehaha County sits inside the state emerald ash borer quarantine, so ash wood and firewood cannot be moved out of the county. Ash wood has to be shredded, buried or burned on site. The state’s guidance is simple: buy it where you burn it.
My trees survived the July storm, do they still need looking at?
Possibly. The obvious breakage was cleared in the first week. What tends to remain is limbs hanging in the canopy, cracked unions where two large branches meet, torn bark on the windward side, and soil lifted in a ring around the base. That last one means the tree physically moved and it is the most dangerous outcome. A tree that came through 69mph winds with a cracked union will not come through the next one. More on storm damage here.
Do you top trees?
No. Topping strips out a tree’s structure and forces weak, fast regrowth that fails in exactly the kind of wind Brandon saw in July. We prune to ANSI A300 standard instead. Here is the difference between trimming and pruning.
Get Your Tree Looked At in Brandon
Give us a call or send the form. We will come out, look at the tree, and tell you what it actually needs, including when that is nothing at all. Estimates are free and done on site.