14 Years In Business. 100+ Years of Combined Team Experience. OSHA-Certified and Arborist-Guided.
BTS Tree Services provides professional tree trimming and tree pruning across Lancaster County, based in Columbia and serving Lancaster, Columbia, Landisville, Mount Joy, Mountville, Wrightsville, York, Elizabethtown, and Manheim Township. We’re a father-son operation with 14 years in business and more than 100 years of combined trimming experience!
CALL (717) 875-0874 | FREE ESTIMATE | 24/7 EMERGENCY SERVICE
OSHA Certified | Licensed and Insured | 2nd Place, Reader’s Choice Award | Arborist Consultation Available
Why Lancaster County Trees Need Regular Pruning
The trees here grow in two very different worlds. In the older neighborhoods around Columbia and central Lancaster, big mature trees sit close to houses built long before those trees reached full size, so limbs end up over the roof, into the utility lines, and rubbing the siding. Those are the branches that come down in the next ice storm. Out on the open farmland near Mount Joy and Elizabethtown, trees take the full force of the wind across the fields, and heavy, unbalanced canopies are exactly what fails when a summer thunderstorm rolls through.
The clay-heavy soil common around Landisville and East Petersburg adds to it, stressing root systems and leaving trees working harder to stay healthy. Silver maple, which lines a lot of the county’s older streets, makes the point best: it grows fast and carries notoriously weak wood, so a mature one near the house needs its weight managed long before it drops a limb on its own.
Trimming, Pruning, and Knowing Which One You Need
Trimming is about size and shape: clearing branches off a roofline, opening a driveway, keeping a tree from crowding the house.
Pruning is about health and structure: removing dead, diseased, and broken wood, taking out branches that cross and rub, and correcting weak structure so the tree grows strong and fails less in a storm.
Plenty of jobs need both, and the right approach depends on what you’re actually trying to fix, which is the first thing we sort out on-site.
When to Prune and When to Wait
For most shade and ornamental trees, late winter while the tree is dormant is the best time to prune in this part of Pennsylvania: the structure is easy to read with the leaves off, and insects and disease are inactive, so cuts heal cleanly before spring. Safety issues are the exception. Dead, cracked, or hanging limbs, branches touching the roof or service line, and storm-damaged wood should come out whenever you spot them.
Oaks are the one tree to be careful with. Pruning an oak in the growing season opens a fresh wound that beetles are drawn to, and that’s how oak wilt spreads from tree to tree. Unless it’s a genuine hazard, we hold oak work for the dormant months to protect the tree and its neighbors.
Tree Trimming and Pruning That Protects Your Trees
Tree trimming isn’t just about making a tree look better. Done correctly, it improves safety, encourages healthy growth, and helps trees withstand strong winds and storms. Every tree has different needs based on its species, age, condition, and location, which is why we tailor our approach to each property instead of making the same cuts on every job.
Our crew removes dead, damaged, and hazardous limbs, thins crowded canopies to improve airflow, raises lower branches for safe clearance, and carefully reduces overgrown limbs when needed. Every cut is made with the long-term health and structure of the tree in mind, helping it stay strong while reducing the risk of future limb failure. Whether you’re maintaining mature shade trees or shaping younger trees for healthy growth, we provide professional pruning that keeps your landscape safe, attractive, and thriving year after year.
The Tree Trimming and Pruning Process: What Homeowners Can Expect
- A free, on-site estimate with a written, flat-rate price and no hourly surprises
- An arborist’s read on the tree’s health before any cuts are made
- Proper cuts that protect the tree, never topping
- Careful protection of your lawn, driveway, and landscaping
- Complete cleanup, with wood and brush chipped, hauled, or stacked
- A workmanship guarantee on every job
Storm and Emergency Tree Pruning
Lancaster County gets hit from both directions: summer thunderstorms that snap overloaded limbs across the open ground near Bird In Hand and Smoketown, and winter ice that loads branches until they break. Most emergency calls could have been prevented with pruning done ahead of time: reducing weight on heavy limbs, thinning dense canopies, and clearing the branches already resting on a roof or a line.
When a storm does hit, we provide 24/7 emergency service for hanging limbs and damaged wood, and we bill insurance directly, documenting the damage and working with your carrier so you’re not managing that alone.
Why Lancaster County Chooses BTS Tree Services for Tree Trimming and Pruning
A Father-Son Team, Not a Franchise
Fourteen years in business and still run by the same family that started it. When you call, you get the people who show up and do the work, not a call center reading a script.
Arborist-Guided, Proper-Cut Pruning
We prune for the health and structure of the tree, make cuts the right way, and we don’t top. An arborist is available to assess the tree first when you want a professional opinion.
OSHA Certified, Safety-First Crews
Our crews follow OSHA guidelines on every job. Pruning over a house or near a power line is planned with the same discipline as any hazardous job, because it is one.
No-Surprise, Flat-Rate Pricing
What we quote is what you pay. Every estimate is free, written, and flat-rate, with no hourly surprises once the crew arrives.
Recognized Locally
Second place in the Reader’s Choice awards, and hundreds of satisfied clients across Lancaster County.
