Tree health in Mobile: what's killing it, and whether it's worth saving
Some things that kill Gulf Coast trees can be treated if you catch them. Most can't. The useful service is an arborist who will tell you which, and give you a price for the right answer instead of the hopeful one.
Mobile's trees die of a short list of things, and the list has grown. Laurel wilt arrived on the Gulf Coast on the back of the redbay ambrosia beetle, a pest from Southeast Asia about a sixteenth of an inch long, first trapped in Georgia in 2002. It carries a fungus into redbay, swamp bay, sassafras, avocado and camphor; the leaves wilt on one branch first, turn olive-grey to reddish-brown, then the whole crown goes, and the tree is dead in four to twelve weeks. Redbays hold their brown leaves for up to a year afterward, which is why wooded lots across Mobile and Baldwin counties are dotted with rust-colored dead trees. The Alabama Forestry Commission says no control has stopped it; propiconazole injections can protect a high-value tree within 100 feet of an infected one for 12 to 24 months, and the only real sanitation is to cut the dead tree, chip the wood to pieces of a square inch or less, keep it on site, and grind the stump to soil level.
Pines have the beetles. The Alabama Forestry Commission declared southern pine beetles at epidemic levels in September 2024, nearly 9,000 spots statewide and the worst in 23 years, and beetle-killed pines are still standing in yards. The signs are pitch tubes, boring dust and a fading crown; the only answer once a pine is attacked is removal, quickly, to protect the neighbors. Oaks have Hypoxylon canker, a fungus that lives quietly in healthy oaks and takes over when drought, construction or root damage stresses the tree, showing up as a sloughing bark patch with a tan, then silver-grey, then black crust underneath. By the time it's visible the tree is usually dying, and a water oak with Hypoxylon is a removal before it falls.
Then there's what people do to trees. Roots cut for a new driveway or a sewer line, fill dirt piled over the root zone during a remodel, a lawn irrigation system that keeps the root flare wet, Formosan termites in a hollow trunk: all of these show up as a thinning crown a year or two later. Our ISA Certified Arborist looks at the whole picture, the species, the site, the soil, the history, and gives you a written answer: treat, prune, monitor, or remove. Treatment is worth it for a live oak, a magnolia, a high-value redbay. It is rarely worth it for a water oak or a pine, and we'll say so.
What's included
Arborist diagnosis
An ISA Certified Arborist inspects the crown, trunk, root flare and site and writes down what's wrong.
Laurel wilt sanitation
Dead redbay and sassafras cut, chipped fine and kept on site, stumps ground to soil level, per the Forestry Commission.
Preventive injections
Propiconazole for high-value laurel-family trees near an infection; other systemics where they're proven to work.
Pine beetle response
Infested pines removed promptly and the wood taken away, to protect the pines around them.
Root and soil problems
Root collar excavation, fill removed from the flare, irrigation fixed, mulch rings set right.
Honest no
If the tree is past saving, we tell you and price the removal instead.
Tree health service cost in Mobile, AL
| Job | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Arborist consultation and written report | $150 – $300 | Credited back if we do the work |
| Propiconazole injection, laurel-family tree | $150 – $400 per tree | Every 12–24 months |
| Root collar excavation and fill removal | $250 – $700 | Air-spade or hand work |
| Deadwood and crown cleaning, sick tree | $300 – $1,200 | To buy time safely |
| Cabling a weak fork | $600 – $1,800 | Inspected every few years |
| Removal of a tree past saving | See tree removal | Priced in writing |
These are 2026 Mobile-area ranges to help you budget. Your written price is itemized (climb or bucket work, rigging, chipping and haul-off, stump grinding, crane time, the City permit when one applies) and good for 30 days.
Recent work
Questions we get about tree health
My redbay turned brown all at once. What is it?
Almost certainly laurel wilt. One branch wilts first, the leaves turn reddish-brown, and the tree is dead within a few weeks. Peel a little bark and you'll see dark streaks in the sapwood. The tree needs to come down, be chipped fine and stay on site, and any other redbay or sassafras within 100 feet is a candidate for a preventive injection.
Can my oak be saved from Hypoxylon canker?
Usually not once the bark is sloughing and the crust is showing. Hypoxylon takes over trees already stressed, so the best defense is keeping oaks unstressed: no fill over the roots, no trenching through the root zone, water in drought. A water oak with Hypoxylon over the house should come down.
Why is my live oak thinning?
Look at what changed in the last two or three years: a new driveway, a sewer line, a sprinkler system, fill dirt around the trunk, a neighbor's construction. Live oaks are tough but they don't like their roots cut or buried. Our arborist can usually find the cause and often fix it.
Is there anything I can do about pine beetles?
Keep pines healthy (water in drought, don't damage the roots), and act fast when one is attacked: remove it and get the wood off the lot. Preventive sprays exist for high-value pines but are expensive and need to be on before the attack.
Do you treat termites in trees?
No, a pest control company does. Mobile is Formosan termite country and a hollow live oak or an old stump is a nest site. We find the hollow, tell you how much sound wood is left, and prune or remove accordingly.
Will you just tell me to cut it down?
Only when that's the answer. We'd rather save a live oak than remove one, and plenty of our health calls end with a mulch ring and a watering schedule instead of a chainsaw.