Tree removal in Lake Charles, Louisiana
A pine that's leaned toward the house since the 2020 hurricanes, a water oak dropping limbs on the carport, or a stump the city won't pick up? One call connects you with a Louisiana-licensed tree company that works your part of Calcasieu Parish.
What does your tree need?
- Tree removalPlanned removal of dead, declining, crowded or unwanted trees, including tight backyard takedowns.
- Storm damage tree removalTrees and limbs on roofs, vehicles, fences and driveways after hurricanes and thunderstorms.
- Leaning and damaged tree removalTrees that lean, cracked in a storm, lost their tops or are decaying near the house.
- Stump grindingGrind stumps below the soil line so you can level, sod, plant or pour.
- Tree trimming and pruningDeadwood removal, roof clearance, storm-damage cleanup in the crown and live oak pruning.
How it works
Call or send a request
Tell us where you are in Calcasieu Parish and what the tree is doing.
We connect you
We pass it along to an independent tree company that covers your area.
They call you back
That company comes out, sizes up the tree and gives you its own price.
Who is this for?
Anyone with a tree problem on a house, rental or small commercial lot in Calcasieu Parish. That means Lake Charles itself, Sulphur and Westlake across the Calcasieu River, Moss Bluff up U.S. 171, and smaller places like Iowa, Vinton and DeQuincy. Maybe a storm laid a pine across the fence, a trunk has a crack running down it, or a stump sits right where the new sod should go. One call puts you in touch with an independent tree company that will visit, size up the job and put a price in writing.
Does a tree company need a license in Louisiana?
Yes, and Louisiana is stricter about it than most states. LDAF's Horticulture Commission, part of the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry, requires an arborist license for tree work done for pay, whether that's cutting a tree down, pruning it, cabling it or treating a cavity. Getting licensed means scoring at least 70 percent on a state exam and proving the business carries general liability coverage, along with workers' comp if it has employees. The job also has to be put in a written contract with the owner. Because Lake Charles is only about 30 miles from Texas, this one matters: the LSU AgCenter says a license from another state doesn't allow routine tree work here. Get the Louisiana license number up front.
What did Laura and Delta do to the trees here?
Hurricane Laura came ashore near Cameron on August 27, 2020, as a Category 4 storm with 150 mph sustained winds, and drove straight north over Lake Charles. Roughly half of the city's mature trees were blown down, stripped or snapped, according to the damage summary on Wikipedia's Hurricane Laura page. Six weeks later Hurricane Delta made landfall about 12 miles to the east and hit the same neighborhoods again. Entergy reported that all nine transmission lines feeding Southwest Louisiana were catastrophically damaged, with thousands of poles replaced in Lake Charles and Sulphur alone.
A 2022 canopy assessment by the Green Infrastructure Center measured a 33 percent loss of tree canopy in Lake Charles between 2019 and 2022, a span that also took in Winter Storm Uri and the 2021 flood. The Current has reported that canopy now covers about 10.6 percent of the city, against a goal of getting back to the 15 percent it had before Laura.
Why are 2020 storm trees still a problem?
Plenty of trees that stayed standing were damaged in ways that only show up later. A trunk that was rocked loose can keep leaning a little more each wet season. Limbs that cracked but didn't fall can hang in the crown for years. Torn bark and broken tops let decay in. If a tree in your yard came through 2020 with a new lean, a split or a lot of lost limbs, it's worth having a licensed arborist look at it before the next hurricane season. More on leaning and damaged tree removal.
Which trees hold up best on the Gulf Coast?
Hurricane research summarized by the LSU AgCenter, built on 15 years of University of Florida fieldwork in storm-struck neighborhoods, gives a clear picture. The survivors tend to be live oak, bald cypress, southern magnolia, American holly and crape myrtle. The weak performers include water oak and laurel oak, pecan, Chinese tallow, Bradford pear and Leyland cypress, and fewer than half the longleaf pines in those surveys made it through. The AgCenter also names shallow roots in soaked ground, older and larger trees, and very tall trees as the main risk factors. With close to 60 inches of rain a year at Lake Charles Regional Airport, soaked ground is common here.
What are the warning signs of a failing tree?
- A lean that's new, or one that has gotten worse since the 2020 storms
- Soil cracked or lifted on one side of the trunk after heavy rain
- Broken limbs still hanging in the crown over the roof, driveway or street
- A snapped top, or a seam opening where the trunk forks
- Fungus, punky wood or a cavity near the root flare
- A pine with brown needles all the way up, or bark falling away
What should I do after a storm?
Start by looking up. Any tree or branch resting on a wire is the power company's job, so keep your distance and report it; under state law, nobody unauthorized may work within 10 feet of an overhead high-voltage line. With a tree on the roof, move people to another part of the house, get pictures of everything while it's still in place, and open a claim with your insurer. After that, bring in a licensed tree company, and skip the crews going door to door, which the LSU AgCenter specifically cautions against. More on storm damage tree removal.
Will the city haul it away?
Only part of it, usually. After an April 2024 storm, the City of Lake Charles asked residents to put vegetative debris at the curb with limbs cut to 4 feet or less and under 4 inches across, and said items over 50 pounds, such as tree stumps, weren't eligible. Big trunk sections and stumps are the tree company's job, so ask whether hauling is in the quote.
Remove it or trim it?
Don't assume the whole tree has to go. Heavy live oak limbs hanging over a roof can usually be shortened, and live oak sits near the top of the AgCenter's survival rankings. A hollow-based water oak or a pine tipping toward a bedroom is another matter. Ask an arborist with a Louisiana license to tell the two apart. More on tree trimming.
What about the stump?
Removal quotes don't always cover the stump, so check. Because the cutter wheel works below grade, a good crew requests a Louisiana 811 locate before it starts. More on stump grinding.
Are you a tree service?
No. Lake Charles Tree Removal only makes referrals. The independent company we put you in touch with does the pricing, the cutting and the cleanup, and answers for its own work. Before you sign, look over our hiring tips and the Lake Charles tree removal guide.
Areas we cover
Planning ahead? Read our Lake Charles tree removal guide.
Common questions
Who actually shows up to do the job?
A crew from an independent tree company serving your corner of Calcasieu Parish. Our role ends at the introduction; we have no climbers, saws or grinders of our own.
Is there a fee for the referral?
Not to you. Calls and form requests are free, and any price or bill comes straight from the tree company.
Which communities can you help with?
Lake Charles, Sulphur, Moss Bluff, Westlake, Iowa, Vinton, DeQuincy, Carlyss, Starks and the rest of Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
Can a Texas tree company work in Lake Charles?
Not for routine tree work unless it holds a Louisiana arborist license. After a declared emergency, LDAF can issue temporary 90-day licenses to qualified out-of-state arborists.
A pine leaning since Laura, a limb over the carport, or stumps the city won't haul?
Call and get connected with a Louisiana-licensed tree service that works in Calcasieu Parish.