Jones Road Tree Service

Jones Road Tree Service

By Kyle W. Fake Friday, 16 October 2009

HOUSTON — Local company keeps area trees healthy

David Mauk, owner of Jones Road Tree Service LLC, has received quite a few calls this fall from customers regarding pine beetle activity due to this summer’s drought as well as requests for tree trimming, removal and other maintenance issues.

“We’re the most legitimate tree service in Houston, the most professional,” Mauk said. “We do tree service on a massive scale. Today we looked at 500 trees to be trimmed in one neighborhood. It’s a big chore for anybody.”

Mauk has worked for Jones Road Tree Service for 12 years and owned it for the last three years. Business is good, he said, even when the economy is down.

“Even in a recession, I’m extremely grateful,” he said.

Mauk maintains a staff of 18 employees to service residential, municipal and commercial clients throughout northwest Houston, including Cypress, Fairfield, Tomball and The Woodlands.

He is also planting a lot of trees, particularly oaks.

“Live Oaks are the best for southeast Texas,” said the 35-year-old resident of Riata Ranch. “The worst are Silver Maple, Chinaberry, Chinese Tallowood and the Bradford Pear, which becomes a hazard after 15 to 20 years. They [Bradford Pears] rot and their limbs get real brittle.”

Mauk contracts with certified arborist Kristina Bitner as a diagnostic consultant and his “partner in tree preservation.” The two met six years ago at a tree conference and struck a lasting partnership.

Bitner is certified by the International Society of Arboriculture and the Texas Department of Agriculture; is a Texas Certified Nursery Professional; and is licensed by the Structural Pest Control Board of Texas.

She appreciates that Mauk will call her in if he thinks a tree can be saved, Bitner said, a practice not common among most tree service companies.

Bitner said she often treats trees damaged by lightning strikes and high winds, especially after Hurricane Ike.

“I saw some 5-inch live oaks with cracks from being twisted in the wind,” Bitner said. “They were partially uprooted but the damage was not realized at the time.”

Bitner also treats trees planted in poor drainage areas where they easily become infected with fungus and bark lice.