Small tree removal covers anything under 30 feet, which in the west GTA usually means ornamental crabapples, serviceberries, cedars, lilacs grown into trees, young ash killed by emerald ash borer, and the Manitoba maple volunteers that come up along fence lines and never stop. These jobs look simple, and sometimes they are, but a 25 foot tree wedged between your fence and your neighbour's shed in Etobicoke still has to come down in pieces, in the right order, without breaking anything below it. We handle small removals across Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, and the rest of the west GTA with the same approach we use on big trees: a free written quote on site, a clear plan, and a clean yard when we leave. Most small removals are done in a morning. You get the wood cut for firewood or hauled away, brush chipped, and the stump flush cut low to the ground, with grinding available if you want it gone completely. If you are comparing quotes, ask each company exactly what is included, because on small jobs the difference between quotes is usually cleanup and disposal, not the cutting.
What's included
- A walk around the tree with you before we start, confirming which tree is coming down, where the wood is going, and what needs protecting below, from garden beds to gas meters.
- Sectional dismantling or a controlled fell depending on the space, with limbs roped down over anything fragile rather than dropped free.
- All brush chipped on site and hauled away, or left as wood chips for your garden if you want them.
- Trunk wood cut into manageable rounds and hauled off, or bucked into firewood lengths and stacked where you tell us.
- The stump flush cut as low to the ground as the terrain allows, so it can be ground out later, covered, or left to rot down.
- A full rake and blow down of the work area, including your neighbour's side of the fence if debris ends up there.
- A quick measurement of the trunk diameter at 1.4 metres so you know whether your municipality's tree bylaw even applies before anything is cut.
- A once-over of nearby trees while we are on site, since a dying ash or a cracked limb next door is cheaper to deal with in the same visit.
How it works
- Call or text us, or send photos of the tree. For straightforward small trees we can usually tell you a lot from a few photos and answer the same business day.
- We visit, measure the tree, walk the access route, and leave you a free written quote on site. No pressure and no expiry games.
- We check the trunk diameter against your local bylaw. Most trees under 30 feet fall below permit thresholds, but Mississauga regulates trees as small as 15 cm DBH in some zones, so we verify rather than assume.
- On removal day we protect the drop zone, take the tree down in sections or fell it whole, and process the wood as agreed. Most small removals take one to three hours.
- We chip the brush, haul or stack the wood, flush cut the stump, and rake the site before we leave. Stump grinding can be booked as a follow-up or bundled into the same visit.
What moves the price above starting at $500
- Access is the biggest factor on small jobs. A tree beside the driveway is quick. A tree in a fenced Etobicoke backyard with a 30 inch gate means every branch and round gets carried out by hand.
- What sits underneath the tree matters. Removals over sheds, fences, pools, gardens, or air conditioning units need rigging and slow lowering instead of simple drops, which adds crew time.
- Multi-stem trees like Manitoba maple and overgrown lilacs take more cuts and produce more brush than a single-stem tree of the same height, so they price higher than they look.
- Dead trees, especially ash killed by emerald ash borer, can be too brittle to climb safely. When we have to work them differently or bring extra equipment, the price reflects it.
- Disposal choices move the number. Keeping the wood as firewood and the chips as mulch costs less than having us haul every scrap off site.
- If a permit applies, the application work and any required paperwork add cost and lead time. We tell you this at the quote stage, not after.
- Multiple small trees in one visit almost always work out better per tree than separate visits, because setup, travel, and cleanup are shared across the whole job.
Starting at $500, quoted in writing before any work starts.
On-site visit, written quote, no obligation. Usually within 24 hours of your call.
When you need this
- A young ash is standing dead from emerald ash borer. Small dead ash go brittle fast, and a 25 foot dead tree beside a walkway or play area is not something to leave for another season.
- A Manitoba maple volunteer has grown up through your fence line or against the foundation and is past the point where pruning solves anything.
- A cedar or blue spruce has browned out from the inside and stopped looking like a tree. Once a conifer is mostly dead it does not come back.
- An ornamental crabapple or pear is in visible decline, dropping branches, or shading out everything you actually want growing in the yard.
- You are building a fence, deck, pool, or addition and a small tree sits inside the work zone. Removing it before the contractor arrives is cheaper than making them work around it.
- A storm has split a small tree or pushed it into a lean over the sidewalk, driveway, or your neighbour's property. We offer same-day response during business hours for hazardous situations.
Local notes for the west GTA
Do not assume a small tree means no permit. Thresholds in the west GTA vary widely. Mississauga regulates trees at 15 cm DBH in some zones, which plenty of trees under 30 feet exceed. Woodbridge falls under Vaughan's By-law 177-2025 at 20 cm, with a simplified permit stream for dead, hazardous, or EAB-killed trees that does not require an arborist report. Burlington sits at 20 cm DBH, Oakville at 76 cm circumference, which is about 24 cm diameter, and Toronto including Etobicoke at 30 cm DBH measured 1.4 metres up, with ravine-protected land regulated at any size. Brampton and Hamilton are both 30 cm. Milton has no private tree permit for most residential lots, and Halton Hills currently has no private tree bylaw, though one is under study. We measure the trunk at the quote and tell you exactly where you stand before any saw starts.
Where we provide this service
Frequently asked questions
What does the $500 starting price actually cover? +
Starting at $500 covers a straightforward small removal: a tree under 30 feet with reasonable access, no major targets underneath, taken down, chipped, and cleaned up, with the stump flush cut. The number climbs when the job gets harder, not because the tree got a few feet taller but because of access and rigging. A hand-carry through a narrow gate, careful lowering over a glass railing or a pond, a brittle dead ash that cannot be worked normally, or full haul-away of all wood will each push the price above the starting point. We put the exact figure in a free written quote after seeing the tree, and that number is the number. We do not quote low on the phone and revise on the day.
Do I need a permit to remove a small tree? +
Sometimes, and it depends entirely on trunk diameter and where you live, not tree height. Mississauga regulates trees at 15 cm DBH in some zones, Woodbridge at 20 cm under Vaughan By-law 177-2025, and Burlington at 20 cm DBH, all sizes a healthy 25 foot tree can reach. Toronto and Etobicoke sit at 30 cm measured 1.4 metres up, and any tree on ravine-protected land in Toronto is regulated regardless of size. Oakville uses 76 cm circumference, about 24 cm diameter. Milton has no private tree permit for most residential lots and Halton Hills has no private tree bylaw at all right now. We measure at the quote and settle the question before work is booked, and we offer tree permit assistance if an application is needed.
When is the best time of year to remove a small tree? +
Any season works for removal, but each has trade-offs. Winter is often the easiest time to book us, frozen ground protects your lawn from equipment and foot traffic, and with the leaves down there is less brush to chip and haul. Spring and fall are our busiest stretches, so lead times run longer. Summer removals are fine too, though soft lawns and full gardens mean we spend more time on protection. One real constraint: if the tree has an active bird nest, we may need to wait, since nesting birds are protected. A dead or hazardous tree moves to the front of the line whenever it comes in, with same-day response during business hours for genuinely dangerous situations.
How do you decide whether my tree counts as small? +
We go by height, under 30 feet, which is roughly the height of a two storey house to the roof peak. If you can stand back and the tree tops out around your eavestrough or a bit above it, the tree is probably in this category. Species is a decent shortcut: mature crabapples, serviceberries, lilacs, cedars, and most ornamental plantings stay under 30 feet, while silver maples, Norway maples, and ash usually blow past it. Trunk thickness and spread matter for the price within the category but not for the category itself. If your tree is borderline we simply quote it at whatever it actually is when we see it. The written quote is free either way, so there is no cost to being wrong about the size.
Is the stump included in the removal? +
A flush cut is included. We cut the stump as low to the ground as the terrain and our equipment allow, usually within a few inches of grade. Grinding the stump out below grade is a separate service because it uses a different machine, and not everyone wants it. Some people cover the stump with a planter, some let it rot down, and some want it gone so they can sod or replant. If you know you want grinding, tell us at the quote stage and we will price the removal and the grinding together in one written number, and where scheduling allows we do both in the same visit.
Can I just remove a small tree myself? +
Honestly, sometimes yes. A 12 foot dead cedar in the middle of an open lawn is a homeowner job if you own a saw and know how to use it. Where it stops being a DIY job is anything near a structure, fence, or wire, anything that needs to come down in pieces, any dead ash, which snaps unpredictably, and anything you would have to climb. GTA emergency rooms see chainsaw and ladder injuries every year from exactly these jobs. Our starting price of $500 buys the tree down safely, the mess gone, and no story to tell your insurance company. If you call and describe the tree, we will tell you straight whether it is something you can safely handle yourself.