dealing with plane trees and the personal health problems they create

chadd

how do u deal with the dust and pollen problems of pruning london planes (Platanus x hispanica) during the spring/summer?

i'm not interested in pruning techniques here, just dealing with the natural defenses of the trees. i have tried dust masks, only attempting them on raining days, and other failed methods. i now found the only thing that works is to refuse to do them, but we know thats unrealistic. is it just a climate thing, or growing out away from origins? they origanted in spain, i am on the west coast of canada, would that make it worse? even in the cold of winter they are still an irritant, but very minor in comparison.

treeseer

dust masks with a bandana over, and covering the skin work for me.

are you talking about the fibers that come off the fruit/seed balls? that stuff is like asbestos.

willem

Hello Chad,

Over here in Holland we have the same problems with Platanus and we are a lot closer to Spain. We try to avoid pruning them in summer when they have leaves, the hairs on the leaves get less towards the end of the summer. If we do have to prune them I also use dust masks and Sthill glasses which look just like diving glasses. Avoid pruning in very hot weather, I think windy, rainy days are best.
Avoid using a chipper, we usally get a truck to load the branches.
At the moment we are dealing with a disease in Platanus in Holland and Germany. It's called Massaria and is a fungus that can cause branches up to 100 mm to die in a couple of months and break off. Do you know of this disease in Canada? I'll putt some pictures in , so you can see what it look like. You can discuss it and see the pictures in the thread here: Diseased Plane Trees in Holland|Massaria Fungi|Splanchnonema platani

JohN Dee

I don't often work on Plane trees, but when I do I make sure I have HEAPS of chewing gum aboard and chew it through out the whole time I'm around it. All the extra saliva helps you eat the pollen rather than it sit on the back of your throat and you cough up and splutter over it.

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Garry Brockley

done a quick assessment on a london plane today and have been given the go ahead to take out the rot im going to wear goggles and mask i think. i havn't done one in five years but remember well the sore throat and eyes.

this is a 10ft long piece 30 foot up aiming straight down towards a car park.note the fringe.

these two have been rubbing together for a time.



this has a split going back four or five inches hard to see in the photo, phonewobble.

Attached Thumbnails

     

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Bernard Keays

Chadd,

We had problems with them in Toowoomba (a country town in South West Queensland). I must admit we didn't like working on them either and I can't remember pruning one since. They're probably at there worst in summer when in full leaf and the little ball like fruits start to disintegrate. So pruning them in winter might be a better option. I would suggest you wear long sleeved shirts, trousers, gloves, safety glasses and a dust mask. I’ve never heard of chewing gum before but the theory sounds plausible. Failing that you could try leaving the branches out over night so that dew or frost could form on them. Or wet them down with a hose before loading them into your truck or chipper...then go home and have a quick shower. I get allergic reactions now to poinciana’s in summer. It’s like a chemical burn and the skin itches for days then peels off about two to three weeks latter.

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Bernie

Eric Frei

Sounds like these trees are a plane in the ass!

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chadd

had another runin with the crappy tree and found that the dusk mask and gum together worked quite well, but it was 35 degrees and soon became to hot and we were forced to break.

so no reaction to the pollens and was happy with the results. but still think, as many do, that not working on them at all or atleast thru winter is a much better choice.

TrueBlacktopp

the best way to deal with these pesky trees is to prune them when they are not in leaf. no leaf no fiber glass floties to get into your lungs

gavin160

ihave the same problem with ivy,hate working with it and puts me out of action for about aweek tried every thing but the only thing thst works is a course of strong steroids.
would hate to work with plane trees if they are the same.

chadd

definitely had the same problem with ivy, but not to the same extreme.

aphid

take an over the counter antihistmeine about fifteen min. before starting. the powder on the underside of the leaves causes a reaction simular to hayfever. i am clueless on how to spell that word.