Pine trees can be majestic beauties in your yard, offering ample shade and a natural amount of privacy. They can also become a nuisance at times, littering your lawn with pine needles and pine cones, dropping sap all over your grass, or even becoming a host to squirrels, birds, insects, and spiders.

If you want to get rid of your pine tree so you can enjoy your landscape more wholly, then you have a large task ahead of you. Pine trees can be messy to remove due to the thick branching structure they have and their ability to leave behind lots of residue and debris. Use this guide to help you remove your pine tree so you can keep your yard organized in the process:

Use a tarp to control debris

Before you begin sawing away at a single branch, invest in a durable yet lightweight tarp for placing under the tree. Cut a slit in the tarp so you can wrap it around the entire tree trunk, and make sure the edges of the tarp reach the end of your tree's longest branches. As you begin cutting down the tree, pine needles and pine cones will fall on the tarp and help limit your cleanup when you are done.

Limb branches you can reach

Pine trees often have branches that hang low to the ground, so limb all hanging branches that you can easily reach without a ladder before doing any more extensive tree work. Make sure to wear protective clothing, such as a long-sleeve shirt and jeans as well as work boots so you can protect your skin against scratches. You will also want to wear a hard hat in case a branch falls on you and protective eye wear and gloves.

Limb branches with either a handsaw, limbing tool, or a chainsaw. If you are unsure how to cut down lower branches or they are very thick and hard to reach easily, call your arborist to do much of the work for you.

Decide what you want to do with branches

If you plan on keeping the branches from your pine tree to use as firewood, separate thin branches from thicker ones so you can saw up larger limbs into logs when you are done cutting down your tree. If you don't want the firewood, rent a tree chipper that you can toss logs in when they are cut down so they can be removed from your property with the least amount of cleanup.

Contact a company like Arborcare Tree Service for more information and assistance.