Removing a Huge Dead Eucalyptus in Skenes Creek — Safely, From a Spider Lift

High on a hillside in Skenes Creek, with the Southern Ocean stretched out behind it, stood a massive dead eucalyptus — and it was looming directly over homes, a driveway and the road below. The tree was well and truly dead: bare, brittle and quietly shedding limbs. Left alone, it was only a matter of time before a branch, or the whole thing, came down on something that mattered. Here's how we took it down safely.

Why a dead eucalyptus is such a hazard

A dead eucalypt is one of the more dangerous trees we're called out to. As the timber dries and decays it becomes brittle and unpredictable, and eucalypts are notorious for dropping heavy limbs without any warning at all. Put one on an exposed Great Ocean Road hillside — where the wind comes straight off the water — and directly above houses, and the risk climbs quickly:

• Brittle deadwood can snap and fall in even moderate wind.
• Large limbs overhung roofs, a driveway and the road.
• Storm fronts along the coast make sudden failures far more likely.

This is exactly the kind of tree that turns into an emergency tree removal after the next big blow — so dealing with it on a calm, planned day is always the better outcome.

Why we didn't climb it — and used a spider lift instead

A lot of our tree removal work is done on rope, with a climber ascending and dismantling the canopy piece by piece. But you can't safely climb a tree you can't trust. Dead eucalyptus timber won't reliably hold a climber's weight or their anchor points — the very branches you'd rely on are the ones most likely to fail.

So for this job we brought in a spider lift — a compact, tracked elevated work platform (EWP). It crawls into tight spots on rubber tracks, sets up on outriggers, and lifts the arborist in a stable basket right up into the canopy without ever loading the dead timber. All the weight stays on the machine, not the tree.

Dismantling it piece by piece

From the basket we took the tree down in sections, working top-down. Each limb was cut and lowered under control — rigging the bigger pieces so nothing was ever simply dropped onto the houses, gardens or fences below. On the ground, our team processed every piece as it came down, keeping the site clear and safe throughout.

A clean finish — hazard gone, no damage

By the end of the day the tree was gone, the site was cleared, and the client had their outlook back — minus the risk hanging over the house. Every bit of timber and debris was processed and removed, leaving the property tidy. No damage, no drama.

Thinking about removing a dead or dangerous tree?

A few of the questions we get asked most often about jobs like this one:

Can I just leave a dead tree standing?

Well away from buildings, a dead tree can sometimes be left as valuable wildlife habitat. But a dead eucalyptus over a house, driveway or road is a genuine safety risk — the timber only gets more brittle, and failures come without warning.

Is this an emergency or a planned job?

If a tree is actively dropping limbs, storm-damaged, or leaning over your house right now, treat it as urgent — that's what our emergency tree removal service is for. Otherwise, a planned removal on a calm day is safer and usually cheaper.

Do I need council approval to remove a tree in the Otways?

In parts of the Colac Otway Shire, native vegetation can be covered by planning overlays. We can assess your tree and, where it's needed, provide an arborist report to support a permit application.

How much does it cost?

Every tree is different — cost comes down to size, access, and what's underneath it. The easiest way to find out is a free, no-obligation quote.

Got a tree that worries you? Send us a photo and we'll tell you straight whether it needs to come down — and how we'd do it safely.