Tree Service in Covington, KY

Tree Service in Covington comes with a city permit step for any tree between the sidewalk and the street. Covington's Urban Forestry division, part of Public Works, requires a Street Tree Permit before anyone plants, prunes or removes a tree in that strip. Some permits carry a nominal fee, paid with a separate Permit Fee Form. The city prunes street trees on a regular schedule and plants new ones, and residents can ask to be added to its seasonal planting list. If the tree you are worried about is a street tree, start with Urban Forestry at (859) 380-5944.

A city-appointed volunteer Urban Forestry Board meets monthly to advise on forestry issues. In 2021 the city commissioned a street tree inventory by a private contractor and published it as a searchable map by neighborhood, tree size and tree type, and a forestry survey that year kicked off work on a tree strategy. If you want to know what species your street tree is before calling anyone, the map is a good place to look, keeping in mind it may not reflect recent plantings or removals.

Old neighborhoods, small yards

Covington has 12 historic districts, most of them in the northern part of the city near the Ohio River, including the Riverside Drive and Mutter Gottes districts. The city's 2020 census count was 40,961 people in 20,576 housing units across about 13 square miles of land. In the older neighborhoods, houses stand shoulder to shoulder, backyards are small and fenced, and access is often only through a gangway or an alley. A tree in one of those yards comes down in small pieces, carried out by hand.

Rentals and owners

Census estimates show 51.8% of Covington homes are owner-occupied, with a median value of $187,300. Many tree requests come from landlords and investors who own buildings in the older districts. We can meet a tenant or property manager on site, and a written estimate describes exactly which trees are being worked on and how the debris will leave.

Two rivers, two kinds of trees

The Ohio River forms Covington's northern edge and the Licking River its eastern boundary. Trees near the rivers, often sycamores, silver maples and cottonwoods, grow fast and big on moist ground. Up the hills to the south, yards are steeper and trees grow on slopes where removing them takes rigging and careful lowering.

Common work in Covington

• Sectional removal of trees in tight backyards and gangways
• Pruning limbs off roofs and away from neighboring buildings
• Removing dead ash; emerald ash borer has spread across Ohio and much of the eastern U.S.
• Cleanup after summer thunderstorms
• Stump grinding in small yards, using machines that fit through narrow gates
• Coordinating with Urban Forestry when a job touches a street tree

Leaves in fall

Covington vacuums leaves from residential streets on a set schedule each autumn, with parking restricted on collection days and each side of the street done on a different day. Rake leaves to the curb, not into the street, the day before. Leaf piles should hold only leaves, so keep brush out of them.

Call (513) 712-8578 or use the form. Get a free estimate