Updated March 25, 2020
Barts Tree is still open for business during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and will continue performing tree care services as needed, especially those services related to public safety and invasive insect control.
“Stay Safe, Stay Home”
Under Governor Lamont’s order telling Connecticut residents to “Stay Safe, Stay Home,” all non-essential workers statewide are being directed to work from home, effective Monday, March 23 at 8:00 p.m.
Essential services, including tree care/landscaping work that is done to protect the public health, are exempt from the stay-at-home order under guidance provided by the DECD.
We Perform “Essential Services”
According to the Department of Homeland Security, “essential critical infrastructure workers” include service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences and other buildings or structures.
Many of the work tasks we perform have been identified as essential activities that protect public safety and essential operations, including:
- Removal of a dangerous or hazard tree
- Pruning dead, dying, broken/hanging, or dangerous limbs
- Treatment for invasive insects or diseases which if left untreated would rapidly destroy a tree, causing a hazard (for example, emerald ash borer, spotted lanternfly, Asian longhorned beetle, Dutch elm disease)
- Clearance for utility lines, cell towers and communication infrastructure, and road safety
- Cabling or bracing a hazardous tree
- Mitigating storm damage, removing fallen trees, and responding to tree service emergencies
- Treatments to reduce the spread of dangerous and deadly diseases through pests such as ticks, mosquitos, or fleas
- Assessment of hazard trees or pest issues for the purposes of removal or treatment as described above
On the other hand, some of our typical work activities are considered non-essential and may be scheduled for a later date. This includes:
- Shrub trimming or pruning
- Routine tree pruning
- Routine tree removal when no abnormal safety issues exist
- Vista pruning (to open up your view)
- Tree or shrub planting or transplanting
- Fertilization
- Pest management that does not involve invasive pests, borers, or diseases that can rapidly destroy trees or landscapes

We’re using a bleach solution and backpack blower/fogger to spray down and disinfect all of our equipment daily.
Precautions We’re Taking
To protect the safety of our customers and employees, we’ve put policies and procedures in place to eliminate the need for human contact during this time.
We have three CT licensed arborists on staff who have extensive training and experience maintaining our spraying program. As it happens, the safety precautions for this type of work include many of the same personal protection equipment (PPE), protocols, and equipment used for sanitizing against coronavirus. As a result, we are already trained and well-prepared to keep our employees and clients safe during this stressful time.
For Quotes and/or Work at Your Location
We have implemented a no customer contact policy and are using technology to maintain safe distances (“social distancing”).
On the Barts website, we have a Request an Estimate page that allows you to submit detailed information about the work they’re requesting, including pictures of the affected trees and/or landscape. We typically use Google street view and Google Earthview Pro to zoom in and see detailed views of your landscape; about 40% of the time this is enough to provide an estimate without even stepping foot on your property.
We have a state-of-the-art proposal and invoicing system that can be completely paperless. We send proposals (with maps and pictures) to you via email, and the system allows electronic acceptance of those proposals. We also send invoices by email and accept credit cards online.
When a site visit is required, you can mark or tag the trees to be removed or pruned prior to us arriving. We can then document the site and take pictures, as well as text, email, or talk with you on the phone to finalize the details.
All of our vehicles are equipped with hand sanitizer wipes which the operator uses to sanitize themselves and wipe down all handles, the steering wheel, driver’s compartment, phone, tablet, etc. at each visit.
Additionally, each vehicle is being sprayed inside and out to sanitize it each morning before leaving the shop. We use commercial sprayers and apply a 10% bleach mixture.
If you want to show us something in person (and, of course, at a safe distance), please let us know. We will text or call when we arrive so as to not go to the front door. You can then come out to show us what you want to have done and ask questions from a safe distance.
Our Enhanced Safety Protocols
Barts Tree has put the following safety protocols in place to combat the spread of coronavirus:
- We have implemented a no customer contact policy for quoting and tree work.
- We have the equipment to spray large and small areas and use our mist sprayers and blowers to treat all of our equipment and facility inside and out with a 10% bleach water mix on a daily basis.
- The shop and each vehicle is equipped with hand sanitizer and sanitized wipes.
- Our daily morning safety meetings include reviewing CDC, Federal, and State recommendations for sanitizing and safe distances.
- If anyone at Barts does not feel well on the job, they are sent home immediately or instructed to stay home prior to coming to work.
- We then require a coronavirus test at the Danbury Hospital drive-through testing facility.
- If an employee is home or quarantined, we will pay for an external service to deliver essentials and/or food as required to the doorstep of our employees.
- Crews are kept at 3 to 4 persons so we are well below the group size recommended by the CDC.
Contact Us
Our hours remain the same, and we can be reached by text, phone, email, and online form. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Text or call: 203-240-1302
Email: info@bartstreeservice.com
Online contact form: https://bartstreeservice.com/request-estimate/