Tree Service in Southern Pines & Pinehurst, NC
Looking for tree service in Southern Pines, Pinehurst or elsewhere in Moore County, NC? Whether it's a tall pine leaning toward the roof, limbs over the garage, a stump in the lawn or a trunk across the driveway after a storm, describe the job here. One independent local contractor gets your request, comes out to look at the tree, and gives you a written price.
- Your request goes to a single contractor
- Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Aberdeen, Whispering Pines and the rest of Moore County
What falling trees have cost North Carolina
A big tree that fails in wind or ice doesn't just dent a roof. When Hurricane Fran crossed the state in September 1996, the State Climate Office of North Carolina counted 24 deaths in the state, and half of them came from falling trees. Nationwide, a study in the journal Natural Hazards found 407 deaths from wind-related tree failures between 1995 and 2007, most often of people sitting in a car or truck.
North Carolina deaths blamed on Hurricane Fran that came from falling trees (State Climate Office of NC, checked Nov 9, 2026)
North Carolina electric customers who lost power during Fran, by the same office's count (checked Nov 9, 2026)
Share of 407 U.S. tree-failure deaths, 1995 to 2007, that happened in a vehicle (Schmidlin, Natural Hazards, 2009, checked Nov 9, 2026)
Sources: the State Climate Office of North Carolina's 2016 look back at Hurricane Fran, and Thomas Schmidlin's 2009 paper in Natural Hazards (volume 50) counting U.S. deaths from trees that failed in wind. Both checked Nov 9, 2026. The rest of the vehicle share is people outdoors (38%), in mobile homes (9%) and in frame houses (9%). More on storm and emergency removal.
Storms that have reached the Sandhills
Moore County sits well inland, but hurricanes still get here. On September 14, 2018, as Florence crawled across the Carolinas, the National Weather Service in Raleigh logged a peak gust of 44 knots, about 51 mph, at the Moore County Airport. A rain gauge just northwest of Aberdeen caught 9.18 inches, roads around Crains Creek went under water, and crews moved 24 people and 31 animals out of floodwater in the southeastern part of the county (NWS Raleigh, checked Nov 9, 2026).
Ice is the other threat. The State Climate Office's record of the January 24–25, 2000 winter storm says about 260,000 people across North Carolina lost power, "mostly in the Sandhills." In January 2016 a quarter-inch glaze of ice reached into the Sandhills, the same office wrote (both checked Nov 9, 2026). Pines keep their needles through the winter, so they collect ice while the hardwoods around them stand bare.
| When | What the record shows |
|---|---|
| Sept 5–6, 1996 | Hurricane Fran: 24 North Carolina deaths, half from falling trees; 1.7 million customers without power (State Climate Office) |
| Jan 24–25, 2000 | Winter storm: about 260,000 people without power statewide, mostly in the Sandhills (State Climate Office) |
| Jan 22–23, 2016 | A quarter inch of ice extending into the Sandhills (State Climate Office) |
| Sept 2018 | Florence: 44-knot gust at Moore County Airport on Sept 14; 9.18 inches of rain near Aberdeen; 24 people evacuated from floodwater (NWS Raleigh) |
Records from the State Climate Office of North Carolina and the National Weather Service in Raleigh, checked Nov 9, 2026.
How it works
Tell us about it
Call, or use the form, and give the street or town, the kind of tree if you know it, how near it stands to the house, the garage or the wires, and what you'd like done.
One contractor gets it
A single independent contractor who works in Moore County receives the request. Nobody else gets a copy.
A visit and a price
The contractor gets in touch, walks the yard, works out where the tree can be dropped or lowered, and writes down the scope and the price.
Your call
Hire them or don't. Timing, any town approval, payment and what happens to the wood are between you and the contractor.
Tree work around Southern Pines and Pinehurst
Each guide is written for a house in Moore County, where tall pines grow out of deep sand. Rules come from the town, county, state and federal offices that set them, and every price is labeled with its source and the date it was checked.
Tree removal
Pinehurst says most trees on private lots need no permit, but its historic district can call for a certificate of appropriateness for front-yard trees, and both Southern Pines and Pinehurst control trees in the street right-of-way. The guide covers those cases, how a crew takes a tree down in a tight lot, and where the logs and brush go.
Tree trimming
NC State Extension's pruning guide says to cut at the branch collar, never paint the wound, and never top a tree. The page covers limbs over roofs and garages, the service line to the house, how much of a crown can come off in one year, and national trimming prices by height.
Stump grinding
State law asks for three full working days' notice to NC 811 before digging, and the locators skip septic and irrigation lines (checked Nov 9, 2026). The guide covers the ticket, what to do with a pile of chips in sand, why the spot sinks later, and dated national grinding prices.
Storm and emergency work
With a trunk on the roof or a pine across the drive, the order matters: people out, lines left to the power company, photos before anything moves, then the saw. The guide also covers state road trees, what homeowners policies usually pay, and North Carolina's price gouging law.
Dead or leaning trees
Pines turning yellow and then red, a long strip of bark blown off by lightning, a loblolly that tipped after a storm, or a water oak past its short life span. The guide lists the warning signs and the N.C. Forest Service's 50 percent crown-loss line for storm-damaged trees (checked Nov 9, 2026).
Longleaf and tall pines
Longleaf can top 100 feet, and loblolly grows faster than any other pine. The page covers lightning, bark beetles, ice and hurricane wind, how a tall pine comes down beside a house, and what a white paint band on a trunk means for the red-cockaded woodpecker.
Before you hire
Town rules and burning
Southern Pines needs a permit for any tree in its right-of-way, Pinehurst routes street trees through Public Services, and neither town allows a backyard brush fire. The page goes town by town and covers limb pickup limits and where to haul what won't fit.
Published prices
Thumbtack's removal guide, last updated March 24, 2026, gives a national average of $450 to $1,450 for one tree, and HomeGuide lists $200 to $1,600 for a pine (both checked Nov 9, 2026). The page lists each source's prices by height and tree type, with dates, and the things that push a Moore County job up or down.
Moore County trees
Longleaf and loblolly pine, scrubby turkey oaks, water, willow and live oaks, dogwoods, sweetgums and Bradford pears. What extension experts say about how each one grows and breaks, and the soil they grow in.
Hiring a tree service
Most of what decides how a tree job goes is settled before any saw starts: the drop zone, the cleanup, the stump, and when the bill is due. The guide lists the questions worth asking and what North Carolina's Department of Justice says to watch for after a storm.
Not every tall pine is the same risk
After Hurricane Katrina, researchers counted what happened to longleaf, slash and loblolly pines in the same storm. The N.C. Forest Service summed up the work in 2017: loblolly snapped far more often than longleaf. Both pines grow around Moore County homes, so it helps to know which one is standing over the house.
Snapped trunks in 20-year-old stands (Hughes, 2006), as summarized in the N.C. Forest Service's "Longleaf Pine is Resilient in the Face of Hurricane Winds," SRN-006, July 14, 2017 (checked Nov 9, 2026). A second study in the same summary found 7 percent of longleaf died against 26 percent of loblolly. Longleaf had the highest share of trees that leaned or blew over, so it isn't windproof. See longleaf and tall pines.
What sets the price
Thumbtack's national tree removal guide, last updated March 24, 2026, puts the national average for removing a tree at $450 to $1,450 (checked Nov 9, 2026). HomeGuide's guide lists trees taller than 80 feet at $1,200 to $2,700 and a pine 100 feet or taller at $2,000 to $3,000 (checked Nov 9, 2026). HomeAdvisor's guide, last updated April 16, 2024, puts the typical removal at $200 to $2,000 (checked Nov 9, 2026). None of these is a Moore County price, and this site collected none from local contractors. The figure that counts is the one the contractor writes down after seeing your tree.
Leaving a bad tree in place has a price too. The Insurance Information Institute has said a standard homeowners policy generally pays for damage when a tree falls on the house, with tree removal often capped at around $500 to $1,000, but generally doesn't pay to haul away a tree that falls without hitting anything insured (2010 guidance, checked Nov 9, 2026).
| What changes | How it moves the price |
|---|---|
| Height | HomeGuide's ranges climb from $150–$500 under 30 feet to $1,200–$2,700 over 80 feet (checked Nov 9, 2026) |
| What's underneath | A roof, garage, porch, fence or wires below means pieces are roped down, not dropped |
| Room to work | Small in-town lots, gates and soft sand limit where a truck or lift can go |
| Crane | HomeGuide lists crane help at $500 to $2,500 a day on top of the removal (checked Nov 9, 2026) |
| The wood | Hauled off, chipped on the spot, or cut into rounds and left, each priced differently |
| Stump | Thumbtack's stump guide, updated Oct 23, 2026, puts grinding at about $160 to $250 (checked Nov 9, 2026) |
| Urgency | HomeGuide lists storm and emergency work at $150 to $250 an hour (checked Nov 9, 2026) |
Local rules, briefly
For most trees on private lots in Southern Pines and Pinehurst, the towns' own pages don't call for a removal permit. The exceptions are trees in the street right-of-way, front-yard trees in Pinehurst's historic district, and land being cleared for building. Burning is where people get caught out: both towns rule out backyard brush fires. Details and sources, checked Nov 9, 2026, are in the town rules guide.
Southern Pines
Any tree in the right-of-way needs a Tree Removal Permit first. Parks & Grounds: 910-692-4863. Residential open burning isn't allowed inside town limits (Fire Department, 910-692-2720). Checked Nov 9, 2026.
Pinehurst
Generally no permit for a tree on your lot outside the historic district. Street trees go through Public Services, 910-295-5021. Outdoor burning of any kind is banned inside village limits. Checked Nov 9, 2026.
Outside town limits
The N.C. Forest Service permit covers most daytime burns near woods; its Moore County office is at 910-235-0216. Moore County Planning answers lot questions at 910-947-5010. Checked Nov 9, 2026.
Areas served
Requests come from homes across Moore County. Southern Pines and Pinehurst each set their own rules, the smaller towns have their own halls, and the unincorporated communities answer to the county, so who to call depends on which side of a town line the tree stands.
Southern Pines and Pinehurst
Older in-town neighborhoods, golf course lots and newer subdivisions under longleaf and loblolly. Each town has its own right-of-way, burning and yard debris rules.
Aberdeen, Whispering Pines, Vass and Carthage
Each is a separate town or village with its own office. Call the town before touching a tree near the street, and ask how limbs are picked up.
West End, Seven Lakes, Robbins and the county
Seven Lakes and West End are outside any town, so county and state rules apply, along with any community association rules. Robbins sits at the county's northern edge.
Common questions
Do I need a permit to take down a tree in my yard in Southern Pines or Pinehurst?
Usually not for a tree on your own lot. Pinehurst says that outside its historic district you generally won't need a permit or pay the village a fee. Inside the historic district, a front-yard tree may need a certificate of appropriateness. In both towns, a tree in the street right-of-way needs town approval first (town pages checked Nov 9, 2026). See the rules guide.
Can I burn the brush from a tree I took down?
Not inside Southern Pines or Pinehurst; both towns bar residential burning. Outside town limits, the N.C. Forest Service permit applies to most fires near woodland from midnight to 4 p.m., state air rules allow yard waste burning only where there's no public pickup, and county or statewide burn bans override all of it (all checked Nov 9, 2026).
Will the town take the limbs?
Southern Pines collects limbs cut to 4 feet or shorter and no more than 4 inches thick, up to 3 cubic yards a pickup, twice a month. Pinehurst takes loose yard debris in its brown cart each week and points larger loads to the Moore County Landfill (both towns' pages checked Nov 9, 2026). A tree crew's logs and brush usually need to be hauled away as part of the job.
There's a white band painted around a pine near my house. What does it mean?
It may mark a red-cockaded woodpecker nesting tree. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Moore County review page shows those trees identified with a white band of paint (checked Nov 9, 2026). The bird is federally protected, so don't cut, trim or disturb a marked tree before talking with the Service's Raleigh office. See longleaf and tall pines.
Who comes out to do the work?
An independent contractor who works in Moore County. This site only passes the request along; it owns no equipment and employs no crews. The price, the schedule and the cleanup are settled between you and that contractor.
A tree you want down, cut back or cleared away?
Phone or use the short form. One independent contractor in Moore County gets your request, comes to see the tree, and writes up their own price.