Not automatically. A sick tree is worth an arborist’s visit before anyone decides, because the answer depends on what the problem is, how much of the tree it has reached, and what’s underneath it.
Three questions sort the decision:
- Is it structurally failing? Decay in the trunk or main roots, or large dead sections over a target, push toward removal regardless of the disease’s name.
- Can it spread? If the insect or disease moves between trees, the question also becomes what’s growing nearby. Moving firewood from an infested tree can carry a pest with it, so ask before stacking it.
- Is treatment worth it? Early, limited problems may respond to pruning or treatment. Treating a tree that has already lost its structure buys you nothing.
Get the diagnosis from someone who’ll name the organism, not just say “it’s dying.” You can look up credentialed arborists through the ISA search. A company that sells only removal has a reason to recommend removal, so a second opinion on a valuable tree is reasonable.
Ask your University of Georgia Extension county office about samples, since a lab identification can settle what a visual guess can’t. And before you cut, check local rules. In the City of Atlanta, a dead, dying, or hazardous tree still needs a permit through the Arborist Division, though the division’s FAQ says there’s no fee for that category.
If the tree is over a roof or a driveway, keep people out from under it while you wait for the answer.