Ladder season safety tips
Have you noticed that ordinary garden tools such as lawn mowers
and hedge trimmers are getting more complicated to use? You no
longer just plug in or turn on a gadget. No, you have to read the
instructions, program the chips, fuss with the switches, and maybe
even ask your grandchild to come over and show you how it works.
Who’d have thought?
Ladder season safety tips
Have you noticed that ordinary garden tools such as lawn mowers and hedge trimmers are getting more complicated to use? You no longer just plug in or turn on a gadget. No, you have to read the instructions, program the chips, fuss with the switches, and maybe even ask your grandchild to come over and show you how it works. Who’d have thought?
One garden tool that has barely changed in all its life is the folding stepladder. It is simple to use and no microchips are needed.
But wait a minute. That doesn’t mean a stepladder is particularly safe in the hands of a careless person.
I was thinking about this as I watched my neighbor, wearing pajamas and fuzzy slippers, climb her ladder to take down Christmas lights. She balanced, swayed and pitched off onto her lawn. Got up, staggered around a bit and retreated indoors. The lights are still there, half dangling from the roof’s edge. The ladder has disappeared.
I consider January “ladder season.” This is the time when folks haul out their ladders to prune and trim their fruit trees, clean the rain gutters, paint the house trim and get the holiday decorations put away.
Concerned with the welfare of all of you, including my neighbor, consider these ladder-safety tips.
First, whether your ladder is wood or aluminum make sure it is in good shape. No loose rungs, no wobbly legs, no rough edges or protruding screws. Wear sensible clothes including sturdy shoes. Skip the flip-flops and be sure your shoelaces are tied with no dangling laces.
You have two choices: a folding step ladder with two, three or more rungs; and an extension ladder. Choose the right ladder for your job. Your ladder should have no-skid feet on cement surfaces. If you’ve set up the ladder in the garden, and the soil is wet or uneven, place boards beneath the legs to hold the ladder steady. And spread open the folding stepladder; don’t just lean it against a building or tree.
A stepladder is not meant to be climbed to the top. It is unsafe to stand on the ladder’s top rungs.
Be extra cautious if using a chain saw to trim or prune a tree. You have two dangers here – the ladder and the chugging chain saw. Perhaps this is the time to put the ladder away and hire a professional tree trimmer.
Is it more dangerous to climb up a ladder or to climb down?
I’d vote for the downward climb. By then, the job is done, you’re feeling confident, and it is much too easy to misjudge your step and tumble over backwards.
Annual accidents involving ladders cause an estimated 300 deaths and 130,000 injuries that involve emergency room visits. Most ladder accidents come from just a second of carelessness. Leaning too far backwards, or over-reaching one side or the other could spell disaster.
So, the watchword here is “stay alert” as you prune your trees and cut away freeze damage. Using a ladder safely is no accident.
A Reader Wants to Know: I have a little tangerine tree and a good size lemon tree. They both took a hit from the recent freezing temperatures. I know you’ve written about your own citrus trees. Just out of curiosity, how did yours do, and what did you do to protect them? –Phyllis
Joan Says: I am sure every last citrus tree in California took a hit. Mine did, too. Both my Navel orange and Meyer lemon trees are at least 50 years old so they are certainly well established. But both are too high to be covered with protective cloth.
The orange tree was the hardest because it is at least 25 feet high and almost as big around. I dug out my Christmas lights and looped the dangling icicle lights through the branches as high as I could reach. Then I used what I call an electrician’s light (a 100-watt light on the end of an extension cord that repair people use in dark corners) which I placed in the center branch of the tree.
The lemon tree also got an electrician’s light hung on the center branch, plus sheets pinned with clothespins all over the branches. All these lights stayed on day and night for the full week. The point has been to keep the tree and fruit as warm as possible.
So, you wonder, did it do any good? There are some damaged lemons and oranges, and certain branches have been frizzed. But overall they are not as bad as I had expected.
Our cold weather is a winter hazard and freeze can happen any time. The best advice is to keep handy lights to warm the tree and clothes to cover them. There could be more freeze next week, next month or 10 years from now. It’s best to be prepared.
