Holiday Lighting Safety Tips

Putting Christmas lights in tree branches, around tree trunks, and elsewhere can be easy and fun if you know how to do it. Some people even use "cherry-pickers."

Before you start climbing the branches, though, remember that holiday lights have to plug into an electrical outlet, or at least an extension cord that leads to an outlet. The shorter the stretch between light bulbs and outlet, the less risk you face from frayed wires or other electrical problems. If the tree stands far from an outlet, consider letting the tree stay unlit.

Ways to Install Christmas Lights in Trees
There's no single perfect way to install holiday lights in tree branches. Some people simply toss light strands into the trees. This method doesn't let you control where the strands go, but it can be lot of fun. One caveat, though: a tossed light strand may not reach the highest branches unless you have a strong arm or a short tree.

Another method is to get a long pole or rod, preferably with a hook at the end. If you have no poles that have hooks, untwist a coat hanger until it's as flat and straight as a pole, and use its head for a hook. (Better still, combine pole and hanger by taping them together.) Drape a string of lights over the hook and extend the pole over one of the tree's branches. Turn the pole until the strand slips off of the hook and onto the branch; it should dangle from the branch like a kite string. If possible, grab the dangling end of the lights strand with the hook and wrap it around the branch so as to secure them to each other.

Cherry Picker, Bucket Truck, Aerial Lift
People who decorate really tall trees and high branches often use a bucket truck, sometimes also called a lift truck, aerial lift or cherry-picker. The driver rolls the truck up to a location, enters a bucket big enough for a human being and his tools and lights, and by manipulating the controls raises the bucket into the air.

You can do it yourself — but it’s not easy. "Only trained persons shall operate an aerial lift," says the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration 's rule 1910.67(c)(2)(ii). If you raise the bucket too fast, it can rip through a tree's branches. What’s more, according to an article in Communications Technology, a magazine for (among others) people who string wires in high places, "An average bucket truck weighs 10,000 pounds and cannot stop on a dime. 

Final Words of Caution and Safety
Whatever method you use to hang Christmas lights in trees, you’ll need to make sure that the lights stay there throughout the winter weather. You can attach lights to branches with specialized tree clips  or the twist ties that come with plastic bags.

Or you can let Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance do all the work for you and take the burden off your shoulders all together.  Give us a call at 623-848-8277 and let’s talk about it.

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Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC
623-848-8277
http://www.commerciallandscapecare.com
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