Tree Service in Decatur, IL: Removal, Trimming & Stump Grinding
Dead ash by the driveway, a maple leaning on the garage, three stumps the mower keeps finding. Tell us about it, and a Decatur crew will take it down, trim it back or grind it out, then rake up after itself.
Decatur Elite Tree Service is the crew you call when a tree has to come down, when one is worth saving with a good trim, or when the stumps need to go so you can mow straight across. Some trees we climb with a rope and saddle. Others we reach from a bucket truck. When a big oak hangs over the house and there's nowhere to set the pieces down, we bring the crane. Storm calls get answered at 2 a.m. the same as at 2 p.m.
Honestly, the part people remember is the price. We walk the yard with you, and within 48 hours you get one number in writing, and that number is the bill. It covers the chipping, the hauling (or 16-inch firewood stacked by the garage if you'd rather), and the raking at the end. Not sure the tree really has to go? Stand under it with us. We'll point at what we see before you decide anything.
Written price within 48 hours
24/7 storm and emergency calls
Bucket trucks, climbers and a crane
Fully insured crews, all in PPE
Chips and firewood left free on request
About us
We Look Up Before We Quote
Kyle Brandt was 17 when he started dragging brush to a chipper for a Decatur tree crew. He went up his first rope in 2009 and still walks most of our estimates himself, because that walk is where the price gets set. How close are the limbs to the roof and the Ameren line? Can a truck back in? Where can the pieces land without wrecking the flower beds? Is the yard soft? It all goes on the sheet.
Since 2014 our crews have dropped about 1,900 trees and ground roughly 4,600 stumps across Macon County. In our experience most of them aren't dramatic. It's a silver maple shedding limbs onto a garage roof, or an ash that died back in 2016 and only now started losing bark in sheets. We give those the same care as the crane jobs.
Most of our days are spent in back yards and parkway strips around Decatur. These are the calls we get every week, and what each one actually involves.
1
Tree Removal
A tree that's dead, rotten at the base or leaning harder at the house every year is a removal. In a tight yard the climber takes it apart top-down and lowers each piece on a rope, so the roof, the fence and the hostas all make it. Most Decatur removals land between $400 and $1,900. More on tree removal in Decatur.
2
Tree Trimming and Pruning
We take out the dead wood, the limbs rubbing each other and anything lying on the roof, and we stop at about a quarter of the live crown. Think haircut, not buzz cut. For most trees here, winter is the time. More on tree trimming.
3
Stump Grinding
The stump gets ground about 8 inches under the grass, deep enough to seed or sod right over. Our tracked grinder squeezes through a 36-inch gate, and we always call JULIE first so the gas and power lines get flagged. From $125. See stump grinding.
4
Dead Tree Removal
Decatur is still full of ash trees the emerald ash borer killed years ago. We've seen dead ash snap like dry spaghetti when someone's weight hits the wrong limb, so we take most of them down from the bucket truck instead. Every year a dead tree stands, it gets more brittle and costs more to remove.
5
Hazardous Tree Removal
A crack running down the trunk. Mushrooms at the base. A fork splitting open, or a lean that got worse after the last storm. Those trees jump our schedule. We'll tell you straight whether it can wait until winter or should come down this month.
6
Large Tree Removal
The 80-foot silver maples and pin oaks in the older neighborhoods often hang over two houses at once. Big trees take ropes and a bucket truck, a full crew and a log loader. Some need a crane. Plan on $1,500 to $3,500 for most of them, more when the crane has to set up.
7
Tree Limb Removal
Often it's just one heavy limb over the roof, the driveway or the wire into the house, and the rest of the tree is fine. If it's near the Ameren service drop, the power company drops the line before we cut. A single limb usually runs $150 to $450.
8
Crown Thinning and Raising
Thinning opens up a crowded crown so wind slips through instead of shoving on it like a sail. Raising takes off the low limbs so you can mow, walk and park underneath. Either way the shade tree stays, and it rides out the next storm better.
9
Brush and Debris Removal
After a storm, or after a weekend of your own pruning, we chip the brush piles and haul the logs. Chips stay or go, your call. Last summer about half our customers kept a load for the garden beds.
Savings
Save With Our Current Offers
For homeowners in Decatur and Macon County.
$0Stump grinding on the stump of any tree we remove over $1,500*One stump per removal. Ground about 8 inches deep, chips left in the hole.
We work early, keep lanes and lots open, and send one invoice. More on our commercial tree service.
Property Managers and Landlords
Rentals and apartment lots all over Decatur, priced per address, with before and after photos so nobody has to drive over and check.
HOAs and Subdivisions
Common-area trees, the plantings at the entrance and the dead ash along the back lot lines, handled in one scheduled visit instead of ten phone calls.
Churches, Schools and Offices
Lot trees raised for buses and box trucks, limbs off the roof and gutters, and the work done on a weekday morning or a Saturday when nobody's parked there.
Mobile Home Parks and Rental Lots
Whole parks trimmed lot by lot, with the lanes kept open the entire time we're there.
How a Decatur Elite Job Goes
Most jobs get on the schedule within a week or two of your call. Storm work cuts the line.
1
Walk-around
We look at the tree, the roof, the wires and how the trucks get in, and answer your questions right there.
2
Written price within 48 hours
One number for the whole job, cleanup included. That's what you pay.
3
Utility and JULIE calls
We call Ameren if lines are close and JULIE before any stump grinding.
4
Work day
Mats go down on the lawn, the tree comes down or gets trimmed, and the brush goes through the chipper as we work.
5
Clean-up and walk-through
Raked, blown off and walked with you before the trucks pull away.
Specialty work
Emergency, Crane and Specialty Tree Services
The jobs that need more than a saw and a ladder.
1
Emergency Tree Service
A tree on the house, the car or across the drive after a storm. We answer 24/7, cut the weight off the roof first, tarp the hole if there is one, and photograph everything for your insurer. See emergency tree service.
2
Crane Tree Removal
When a big tree leans over the house and there's no room to lower it, the crane lifts each piece over the roof and sets it in the street. Pricier per hour, but it usually wraps up in a day. See crane tree removal.
3
Storm Damage Cleanup
Hangers in the canopy, split trunks, limbs all over the yard. The May 2025 windstorm put trees across West Main and knocked out power to more than 4,000 Macon County homes, and we worked storm calls for a week straight. Dangerous stuff gets cleared first, the rest after.
4
Land Clearing
Fence lines gone wild with honeysuckle, brushy back lots, a building site with trees in the way. Cleared, chipped and hauled. See land clearing.
5
Tree Work Near Power Lines
OSHA keeps untrained workers 10 feet away from overhead lines, and so should you. For the wire to your house, we get Ameren to drop it, do the work, and in most cases your power is back on before supper.
6
Firewood and Wood Chips
Want the logs? We'll cut them to 16 inches for the fire pit or the wood stove and stack them where you say. Chips for the garden too. Neither costs a dime.
Costs
How Much Does Tree Service Cost in Decatur, IL?
Most tree service in Decatur costs $250 to $1,200 for a trim and $400 to $1,900 for a removal in 2026, with big trees over a house running $1,500 to $3,500. The price comes down to the tree's size, how close it is to the house or lines, whether a truck can reach it, and how much clean-up the yard needs.
A tree can be green on top and rotten at the bottom. These are the things we check first, every walk-around, before anybody talks price.
1
Bark Falling Off in Sheets
On an ash, that usually means the emerald ash borer moved in years ago. Woodpeckers hammering at the bark are the other giveaway.
2
Mushrooms at the Base
Fungus on the trunk or roots means rot inside. We've taken down trees that looked fine from the street and were hollow as a drum at the base.
3
A New or Growing Lean
A tree that has always leaned is usually fine. One that started leaning after a storm, with the dirt humped up on the far side, is a different story.
4
Cracks Where Big Stems Meet
A tight V-shaped fork with bark squeezed between the stems is where silver maples like to split. Sometimes a cable buys time. Sometimes it has to go.
5
Dead Limbs Over the Roof
Bare branches in July don't bend in the wind, they snap. If they hang over the house or the driveway, call before the next storm, not after.
6
Roots Lifting the Sidewalk
That alone isn't a reason to take the tree. But cutting big roots for a new walk or driveway can kill a tree or loosen it in the ground, so ask us before the concrete crew starts.
Sectional removal with rigging, logs hauled, stump ground, lawn seeded
Cost
$2,150
Time
1 day
Two big leaders hung over the roof and the neighbor's garage. Every piece came down on a rope, and not a shingle got touched.
$3,400
Three Dead Ash and Seven Stumps
Property
1990s ranch, fenced yard
Area
Mount Zion
Job
Bucket truck removal, brush chipped, 7 stumps ground through a 36-inch gate
Cost
$3,400
Time
1.5 days
Those ash had been dead three summers and the bark was sliding off. Way too brittle to climb, so the bucket did all of it.
$1,850
Oak Limb Through a Garage Roof
Property
Detached garage, 1950s house
Area
Long Creek
Job
Night call, limb cut off the roof and tarped, cleanup and photos for the insurer
Cost
$1,850
Time
Same night + 1 day
The May 2025 windstorm. The tarp was on by midnight and the rest came off the next morning. The owner's insurance covered most of the bill.
Our reviews
Hear From Our Customers
LLaura W.West End, DecaturTree removal
Two huge maples over our 1920s house. They roped every piece down and the only sign they were here was the fresh sawdust smell. Price was exactly what they wrote.
DDennis H.Long CreekStorm damage
Called at 11pm with an oak limb on the garage. Kyle's crew had a tarp on before 1am and came back at 8 to finish. They gave me photos for the insurance claim too.
PPriya S.Mount ZionStump grinding
Seven stumps ground through our side gate with that little tracked machine. Lawn barely marked. We seeded the spots that weekend.
TTom B.ForsythTree trimming
I asked for a removal and Kyle told me the tree was healthy and just needed a good thinning. Saved me about a thousand dollars and the shade.
MMark J.North DecaturBrush clearing
They cleared the fence line behind our rentals on Pershing Road, chipped everything and left it cleaner than it's been in years. Easy to work with as a landlord.
SSharon K.MaroaDead tree removal
Dead ash right over the driveway. They used the bucket truck instead of climbing it and explained why. Done by lunch.
“People expect me to talk them into a removal. Half the time I talk them out of one. A good trim in January costs a lot less than a limb through the roof in July, and the tree gets to stay.”
Kyle Brandt
Owner, Decatur Elite Tree Service
Kyle grew up on the east side, a few blocks from Lake Decatur. He started climbing in 2009, still walks most estimates, and if you ask us, he'd rather talk you into a trim than sell you a removal.
Questions we hear
Tree Service FAQs From Decatur Homeowners
How much does tree removal cost in Decatur?
Most Decatur removals cost $400 to $1,900. A small ornamental tree in an open yard can come in under $500. A big silver maple over the house with no truck access can hit $3,500, and crane jobs run $2,500 to $6,500. You get a written price after one walk-around.
Does homeowners insurance cover tree removal?
Usually only when the tree lands on something covered, like the house, the garage or a fence. Many policies then pay to remove it, up to a limit per tree. A tree that falls in the open yard is usually on you. We photograph and write up every storm job so the claim is easy to file.
When is the best time to trim trees in Decatur?
Late fall through winter, once the leaves are down. The tree is resting, we can see every branch, and frozen ground keeps the trucks from marking your lawn. Leave oaks alone from April through July, because fresh cuts draw the beetles that spread oak wilt. Dead or broken limbs can come off any time.
Do I need a permit to remove a tree in Decatur?
Usually not for a tree on your own lot. Trees in the parkway, the grass strip between the sidewalk and the street, can belong to the city, so call Decatur Public Works before anybody cuts one. Some Mount Zion and Forsyth subdivisions add HOA rules on top. We'll help sort that out on the walk-around.
Do you grind the stump when you remove a tree?
Only if you want it, and it's priced separately so you can choose. Most people say yes. We grind about 8 inches below the grass, rake the chips into the hole or haul them off, and the spot is ready for black dirt and seed. JULIE gets called first so buried lines are marked.
How fast can you come after a storm?
We pick up emergency calls around the clock and usually have a crew at a tree on a house, a car or a driveway the same day. After a big storm we sort calls by danger, so a tree on a roof beats a limb in the yard. If something is on the house, call instead of sending the form.
Can you take down a tree near power lines?
Yes, done the right way. For the service line running to your house, we have Ameren Illinois disconnect it while we work. Limbs touching the main lines on the poles are Ameren's job, and their crews handle those. Please don't cut near a line yourself, not even with a pole saw.
Is your company insured?
Yes. Our crews carry liability and workers' compensation coverage, and we'll send a certificate of insurance before the job if you or the HOA ask. Don't let anyone work on your trees without one, because an injury in your yard can end up on your homeowners policy.
Free walk-around
Got a Tree That's Bothering You?
Leave your name, number and a line about the tree. We call back to set up a walk-around, and the written price follows within 48 hours.
$2,150
$3,400
$1,850