Tree Service in Crooks, SD
Crooks was the first community in the Sioux Falls area where emerald ash borer was confirmed. ISA-certified arborists for tree removal, trimming, stump grinding, storm damage and EAB treatment across Crooks and Minnehaha County.
- ISA Certified Arborists
- Licensed & Fully Insured
- Full Cleanup, Every Job
- 24/7 Storm Response
Tell Us About Your Tree
The Tree Problems Crooks Property Owners Deal With
Ash Trees Four Years Into EAB
Crooks was the first community in the area with confirmed emerald ash borer, back in May 2022. Local ash trees have had four full seasons of exposure, so the treat-or-remove decision here is more urgent than anywhere nearby.
Trees on Bigger Lots
Crooks lots run larger than city plots, which usually means mature shelterbelt rows, windbreaks and specimen trees that nobody has pruned in twenty years. Deadwood accumulates quietly until a storm finds it.
New Construction Trees Planted Wrong
Newer builds around town have young trees set too deep, staked too long and never structurally pruned. All three are cheap to correct now and expensive to correct later.
Crooks Was First: Emerald Ash Borer, May 2022
Emerald ash borer was confirmed near Crooks in May 2022. That was before Brandon in July 2022, before Baltic in May 2023, and nearly two years before Lennox in April 2024. Crooks is where this arrived in the Sioux Falls area first.
That matters for one practical reason: Crooks is further along the infestation curve than anywhere else nearby. An ash tree here has had four full seasons of exposure. Trees that looked fine in 2023 are now in visible decline, and trees that were already thinning are at or past the point where treatment is worth doing.
| Community | EAB confirmed |
|---|---|
| Crooks | May 2022 |
| Brandon | July 2022 |
| Baltic | May 2023 |
| Lennox | April 2024 |
Crooks sits in Minnehaha County, inside the South Dakota quarantine covering Minnehaha, Lincoln, Turner and Union counties. Ash wood and firewood cannot leave the county. It has to be shredded, buried or burned on site. As the state puts it: buy it where you burn it.
What Four Years of EAB Looks Like
Because Crooks is ahead of the curve, the decision most homeowners here face is different from the one in newer-infested towns. It is rarely “should I start treating?” It is usually “is this tree still treatable, or am I paying to delay the inevitable?”
The honest cut-off
Trunk injection protects a tree that still has a working vascular system. Once the canopy is significantly gone, the tree cannot move the product around and treatment stops being effective, however much you spend.
- Under about 30 per cent canopy loss and a sound trunk: treatment is worth considering, on a two-year cycle indefinitely.
- Past 40 to 50 per cent, or with woodpecker flecking high on the trunk and splitting bark: the tree is generally beyond saving. Removal and replacement is the cheaper answer and it ends the problem.
- Dead or nearly dead ash becomes brittle fast. A standing dead ash is far more dangerous and more expensive to take down than one removed while it still has structural wood. Waiting costs money here, not saves it.
We will tell you which category your tree is in during the estimate, including when the answer is that it is too late to treat and you should plan a removal instead. The seven warning signs and treatment versus removal.
Official information: South Dakota emerald ash borer programme.
Storm Exposure and Yard Waste in Crooks
The 25 July 2026 storm
The severe thunderstorm line that crossed the area on the evening of 25 July 2026 produced 92 mph in Tea, 82 mph near Harrisburg, 72 mph at the Sioux Falls airport and 69 mph in Brandon. No dedicated National Weather Service reading was taken in Crooks, but the town sits between those measurement points and took the same system.
What that means practically is that a Crooks property owner has no official number to point at, and has to judge the trees rather than the forecast. The things to check are the same everywhere: limbs hung up in the canopy that broke but never fell, fresh splits where two large branches meet, torn bark on the west and northwest side, and soil lifted in a ring around the base of the trunk. That last one means the root plate moved, and it is the failure that puts a tree on a roof.
A dead or declining ash that took that wind is a particular concern, because EAB-killed wood is brittle and fails without warning.
Yard waste
Crooks is a small city of roughly 1,400 residents and does not run a year-round drop-off in the way larger neighbours do. The city has historically run a spring yard waste drop-off over a single weekend in late April. Outside that window, disposal is on you or your contractor.
Confirm current arrangements with the city before you plan around it. Crooks City Hall, 701 S. West Avenue, PO Box 785, Crooks SD 57020, 605-543-5238, or see the City of Crooks website.
Every job we do in Crooks includes hauling all of it away, which given the limited local options is usually the practical answer for anything bigger than a few branches. Where storm debris goes across the wider area.
What We Handle in Crooks
Tree Removal in Crooks
Dead and declining ash, storm-damaged trees and hazards over buildings. EAB-killed ash goes brittle quickly, so removing it while it still has structural wood is safer and cheaper.
Tree Trimming and Pruning in Crooks
Deadwood removal on mature shelterbelt and specimen trees, and structural pruning on younger ones. ANSI A300 standard. We do not top trees.
Stump Grinding in Crooks
Ground 8 to 12 inches below grade with surface roots included, so you can reseed or replant instead of mowing around it.
EAB Treatment in Crooks
Licensed trunk injection on a two-year cycle. Given how long EAB has been here, we will tell you honestly when a tree is past the point where treatment does anything.
Storm Damage Cleanup in Crooks
Full cleanup plus written documentation and photographs for your insurer. Larger lots mean more debris, and all of it leaves with us.
Emergency Tree Service in Crooks
Tree on the house, across the drive or into a line. We respond around the clock across Crooks and Minnehaha County.
Why Crooks Property Owners Call Us
We Have Watched EAB Here Since 2022
Crooks was first. We have seen how these trees decline over four seasons, which is why we can tell you whether yours is still worth treating.
Twenty Years in Minnehaha County
We are local. We work Crooks, Renner, Hartford, Garretson and Sioux Falls, and we are not an out-of-town crew that appears after a storm.
Licensed and Fully Insured
Ask for our South Dakota insurance certificate and ring the insurer directly to verify it. Ask every crew that knocks on your door the same thing.
Written Estimates, On Site
We come out, look at the tree and put it in writing. We do not quote removals from photographs, because anyone who does is guessing.
Complete Cleanup on Every Job
Crooks has no year-round drop-off site, so hauling matters more here than in bigger towns. Everything we cut leaves with us.
We Do Not Top Trees
Topping strips a tree's structure and forces weak regrowth that fails in the next high wind. We prune to ANSI A300 instead.
Crooks Tree Service FAQ
Something not covered here? Give us a call, we are happy to talk it through before you commit to anything.
When was emerald ash borer confirmed in Crooks?
May 2022. Crooks was the first community in the Sioux Falls area with a confirmed detection, ahead of Brandon in July 2022, Baltic in May 2023 and Lennox in April 2024. Local ash trees have had four full seasons of exposure.
Is my Crooks ash tree still worth treating?
It depends how far along it is. Under roughly 30 per cent canopy loss with a sound trunk, trunk injection on a two-year cycle is worth considering. Past 40 to 50 per cent loss, or with woodpecker flecking high on the trunk and splitting bark, treatment stops being effective because the tree can no longer move the product through its vascular system. At that point removal and replacement is cheaper and it ends the problem.
Can I take ash wood out of Crooks?
No. Crooks is in Minnehaha County, inside the South Dakota emerald ash borer quarantine covering Minnehaha, Lincoln, Turner and Union counties. Ash wood and firewood cannot leave the county and must be shredded, buried or burned on site.
Is there a yard waste drop-off in Crooks?
Not year round. The city has historically run a spring yard waste drop-off over a single weekend in late April. Outside that window disposal is your responsibility or your contractor’s. Confirm current arrangements with Crooks City Hall at 701 S. West Avenue on 605-543-5238. Everything we cut on your property leaves with us regardless.
My trees came through the July storm. Should I still have them looked at?
Worth doing. No dedicated National Weather Service reading was taken in Crooks on 25 July 2026, but the same system produced 92 mph in Tea and 72 mph at the Sioux Falls airport. Check for limbs hung up in the canopy, fresh splits at branch unions, torn bark on the west side, and soil lifted in a ring around the trunk base. A dead or declining ash that took that wind is a particular concern because EAB-killed wood is brittle.
Do you work on acreages and larger lots around Crooks?
Yes. Larger Crooks lots often carry mature shelterbelt rows and specimen trees that have not been pruned in decades, which means accumulated deadwood. We handle shelterbelt work, deadwood removal and full removals, and every job includes hauling the debris away.
Get Your Trees Looked At in Crooks
Give us a call or send the form. We will come out, look at the trees, and tell you what they actually need, including when that is nothing at all. Estimates are free and done on site.