Danny Jackson, owner of Total Tree Care, texted to me from 847-257-3988 and was unprofessional and unwilling to answer basic questions. Intentionally unhelpful and argumentative, he called me a "pain in the ass" (see the e-mail chain below from 12/15/25). I was willing to pick up burr oak rounds that Total Tree Care had left in a customer's driveway at Red Oak Drive in Highland Park, Illinois, as Total Tree Care did not want to pay to discard (thus, "free" rounds). See photo from Danny's Craigslist ad. I expressed my desire to use the wood to smoke meat, but wanted to know a simple answer of why the tree that Total Tree Care had cut down had died. I was polite and respectful. The response that Total Tree Care gave to me follows. Here's the end of the chain, starting with Total Tree Care: Monday, December 15 2025, 09:49 AM Message from Total Tree Care: Dude, it's free wood... take or leave it. Please don't bother my customer or block drive way for long Monday, December 15 2025, 10:04 AM: Message from you: I'm simply trying to find out if it is safe for my family to use for smoking meat, which you surely know is different from burning in a fireplace. Respectfully, is there a reason you will not tell me? Monday, December 15 2025, 10:13 AM: Message from Total Tree Care: You're asking questions that cannot be answered. Monday, December 15 2025, 10:14 AM: Message from you: Oh. I thought you would know how and why it died since you cut it down. No? Monday, December 15 2025, 10:16 AM: Message from Total Tree Care: What diseases do trees get that transfer to humans? Idk Monday, December 15 2025, 10:23 AM: Message from you: Maybe I wrongly assumed you are an arborist and if you are one, you would recognize that if the tree died from a fungal disease (like Oak Wilt, which is common for burr oak), burning wood with fungus can impart terrible flavors to food and, more importantly, could release potentially harmful spores or toxins into the smoke that settles on the food. If the homeowner tried to first save the tree with pesticides, these would leech into the wood and when burned, are unhealthy. That is why those questions I asked are important. But, you still have no answers? Monday, December 15 2025, 10:29 AM: Message from Total Tree Care: Thanks for the lesson, why can't you tell from picture? December 15 2025, 10:30 AM: Message from Total Tree Care, Do you think I'm gunna ask the customer if they used pesticides for you to pick up free wood?, Monday, December 15 2025, 10:31 AM: Message from Total Tree Care: I don't know bud and might as well forget it. I got someone else Monday, December 15 2025, 10:33 AM: Message from you: I was going to hire you to take down a big tree here. I'm not so sure anymore. Monday, December 15 2025, 10:35 AM: Message from Total Tree Care: Ur a pain in the asd Monday, December 15 2025, 10:35 AM: Message from Total Tree Care: Asd Monday, December 15 2025, 10:35 AM: Message from Total Tree Care: Ass Monday, December 15 2025, 10:48 AM: Message from you: I don't know what set you off, but perhaps you should work on your interpersonal skills. Those are very lacking. read more

Total Tree Care - Danny's Craigslist ad for scrap rounds he offered for free in a customer's driveway, to discard for free rather than paying to discard. - Tree Services Near Me

Dan and his crew did an excellent job removing a section of our huge maple tree that had gotten hollowed out. They came out and made quick work of it and cleaned up after themselves perfectly, and for a very reasonable price. I would definitely recommend them to anyone that needs any tree work done on their property. read more

Due to an unfortunate situation we were forced to use Dan and his team again. My family has used Dan and Total Tree Care on multiple occasions to keep our trees healthy and trimmed. Unfortunately we had major storm damage last month and Dan was spot on with an estimate for insurance and clean up! The guys were awesome. Highly recommend them. Will use again and have referred them to others as well. read more

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Everyone at Total Tree Care Arlington Heights are courteous and very well into detail! Dan J, the owner, is highly knowledgeable of his trade. Hired them to take down a tree and trim another. I love that they really clean up everything, even the chips that went to the neighbors yard; it's like the only thing that's changed is that vacant spot where my tree was (sad to let go of my catalpa but it was infested by some insect). Would highly recommend their service. read more

I would recommend Dan and Total Tree Care. He has done work at my house on two separate occassions. He is honest and takes his time explaining why or why not you should do something. Each time he showed up exactly when he said he would. The first time we used them they took down two very large trees in our back yard and also ground the stumps down which was also a great job. The second time they took down a large branch that snapped during a storm. Both times Dan came to check on his crew and again to make sure the work was done to our staifaction when completed. Each time they left not only my yard but also my neighbors yards with no damage to the landscaping or grass. I would highly recommend using Dan and Total Tree Care. read more

Had a huge tree limb come down in our backyard in a recent ice storm. Called Total Tree Care when we didn't hear back from another tree service we'd used in the past. Dan called right back and had his crew to our house super fast. Did a great job, reasonable price. Highly recommend!! read more

Total Tree Care is a fantastic company. The owner of the companies name is Dan. The workers in his company are very professional and today (8-17-2021) they did an excellent job. They removed all my bushes without even touching the cable. I would give this company a rating of 10 not 5. I would recommend this company to anyone. This is the second time he has done the work for me. He is an honest person and answered all my questions. They took down 2 trees. The workers in this company work fast with being so professional. Denise W. read more

We had a huge cottonwood tree between our house and the neighbors. Danny and his team did a wonderful job removing the huge tree. They were extremely careful! I would 100 percent recommend him and his team! l'd definitely use them again! Thank you so much Danny! read more

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Dan is a great communicator, the team does exceptional work and in an efficient and neat manner. The cost for this great service was extremely reasonable. read more

This company was recommended to me as I moved into the house. I neighbors all recommended Dan and his team. I have used them twice before and was very satisfied. With the latest storm a Pear Tree had come down on the house and I panicked. I called Dan and within a Day he was there, gave a great price and the next the tree and no more damage to my house was done. They cleaned up and did everything as promised. I would highly recommend!!!! A++ read more

After a storm left a large branch hanging over my house, they showed up on a weekend and safely removed it. Used previously to trim dead branches from all the trees in my backyard, they are fairly priced and left the yard clean. read more

Dan and his crew were absolutely amazing. We had a lot of work going on on our street so we had to switch dates of service and he was super accommodating and understanding. On the actual day of service his crew showed up 15 minutes early and worked super fast, efficient, and clean. Overall we are very happy with the job done and will continue to use them. I would highly recommend them to anyone seeking any kind of lawn care service read more

I highly recommend Dan and Total Tree Care. I had an overgrown maple in the backyard that had never been trimmed, and Dan provided a good price compared to another I had received. I also had three spruces that intersected with power lines. Dan explained the pros and cons of cleaning up the ComEd trimming vs. taking the spent spruce trees down and provided a quote for each service. Along with the maple tree trim, I decided to have the spruces removed. Dan's crew worked very carefully and efficiently, and they did a great job disposing of all of the branches and spruce trees. Dan also came by to review his crew's work, and he made arrangements to call Julie to have the underground utilities identified before grinding the stumps. I would definitely call Dan and Total Tree Care again, if needed. Thank you! read more

Just had my 80 year old maple tree trimmed by Total Tree Care of Arlington Heights, Il. They raised the canopy, removed dead wood and trimmed many of the outlying branches. The tree looks great now, They also cleaned all the debris and left the yard looking great, The team work as a well oiled machine and myself and wife thought the company did a great job. Thanks Dan and crew. read more

Danny and his team came out and trimmed a large tree. Danny is super accommodating and responsive and more importantly very nice. His pricing was very reasonable. He even trimmed our neighbors tree. Highly Recommend! read more

Great job done by Dan and his team. We had a huge spruce tree very closed to the house. It was removed with care and no damage. Project was done on-time. We are very happy and would recomend this business with a higt confidence! read more

Every person in the company were totally professional Their quote was less than half that of a well known competitor. The crew was careful not to damage adjacent property, trees, etc. Their cleanup was extremely well done. I could not be happier with this service. read more

We needed 2 trees taken down. We got several estimates and Dan gave us the best price. What was on the written quote is what we paid. The workers did a good job. They moved things in the backyard that needed to be out of the way and they put them back before they left. They cleaned up all the debris and hauled it away. They only left the tree stump grindings as they had some soil mixed in and they couldn't use them. The process process took only 2 1/2 hours and that included their lunch break. I asked to have the grindings cleaned up a bit more and they did that right away. Dan and his crew were polite and professional. I would recommend them. read more

Dan left the site during tree trimming. Crew did not clean yard. I discovered their ladder dented and gouged our Aluminum Siding negating our Warranty. Crew failed to tell me. I called Dan. Upon his return, he asked me why I did not monitor and tell the crew to clean the yard. Why should homeowner have to take 2 hours to clean yard, buy paint brushes, and touch up Aluminum Siding. read more

Total Tree Care trimmed 2 trees for us, one of which they had to get on our roof to remove. We'll definitely use them again. The crew did a great job! They were fast, professional, cleaned up the yard when they were done, and offered to haul away a ton of branches that we had collected from the yard on our own. Dan (owner) was fantastic when he came over to give us a quote; answering all of our questions about the process, time, and even questions about what plants and trees are in our yard that the previous owner had planted. We're new homeowners to we're new to this stuff but he had no problem answer all of our random questions. read more

They did a great job! We had lots of adult bushes cut back and one removed. They cleaned up the yard once they were done trimming and grinding down the tree roots. Will use them again. read more

I tried to sub contract Dan and his company out, to a large job I was doing in Palatine. He went over my head, and approached the customer directly for business. Knowing what I was charging, he intentionally undercut me and stole the job. When I called and questioned Dan about his practices, I was met with a slurry of profanity and threats. The owner is brash, rude, and is extremely uneducated in horticulture. This is no way to run a business. I would avoid calling, or doing any business with Dan and Total Tree Care. read more

We had several Willow trees that were damaged in a storm that needed to be cleared and some trimmed and cleaned up. Dan gave us a very reasonable estimate and set up the appt right away. The crew showed up on time and started a very difficult job as some of the trees hung over water and required tricky maneuvering. They made a difficult job look easy, you could tell they are experts at what they do. They also cleaned up the area nicely and chipped the trimmings. I would use them again and would recommend them. read more

We needed a large, dead tree taken down and had a high quote from another company. We contacted Dan and he gave us a written quote that was much more reasonable. They came on time, were quick and efficient and cleaned everything up. I would definitely recommend them. read more

We quoted the price for taking down trees and cleaning gutters. They only did the trees and left for other business. They said they would come back but never came back. read more