When the rainy season comes, it can result in a healthier landscape. But if you have trees on your property, it can also cause damage to your trees through lightning strikes. That’s why it’s important to secure a lightning protection system for your trees. But, before you do that, here’s everything you need to know about lightning protection for your trees.
Why Are Trees Vulnerable to Lightning?
Trees are more vulnerable to lightning strikes the taller they become. As you probably know, lightning likes to strike the tallest object around, and if it’s a tree, that’s even better. They contain water and tree sap that are good conductors of electrical charges. When lightning strikes, the tree will provide a pathway that connects positive charges from the ground and negative charges in thunderclouds and vice versa. Although tall trees that grow alone in open areas are more vulnerable, trees that are close to your property and have overhanging limbs can also lead the lightning to other conductive parts of your home, such as the downspouts, making the situation more dangerous.
How Does Lightning Damage Trees?
Powerful lightning can kill a tree outright, which means the only course of action afterward is contacting tree services to remove the dead tree. Even when a tree survives a lightning strike, it’s severely weakened and becomes susceptible to diseases and pest infestations, which eventually kill it. This can be tragic if the tree has high value or carries a lot of historical significance. However, sometimes the tree can survive if only part of it is struck. That means it can still carry out some biological functions, and some of its cells are intact.
How Does a Lightning Protection System Work?
A lightning protection system reduces the chances of your trees being damaged by lightning. It involves ground cables that are installed on the tree, so they extend above the tree branches. The cables are there to guide lightning to the ground, so it doesn’t strike your trees. This lightning protection is identical to those used on homes and should be installed by professional tree services to ensure effectiveness.
Why Invest in a Lightning Protection System?
Investing in a lightning protection system is crucial because it can save you a lot of money down the line. The initial cost of investing and installing a lightning protection system is much less than what tree services will charge to repair or remove a tree damaged by lightning.
Now that you understand how vulnerable your trees are to lightning and how to protect them, it’s time to take action. Keep in mind that doing so may offer a great return on investment down the line. According to statistics, shrubs and trees that are properly maintained can boost your property’s value by up to 14%. Therefore, investing in a lightning protection system for your trees is well worth it.