Erik Nye the Tree Guy

Erik and crew did a great job at a reasonable price. They gave good advice about leaving some branches for privacy. He was also very patient with our kids.

Out of concern of a silk tree we love so much, I called Erik to come and help us. I just found his name from Unilocal,and glad I called him. His approach to work is practical, and his charge is very reasonable.
We’ve a silk tree in our house, and due to severe weather the previous night, one of the key branches broke off. I called Erik to take a look at that as well as to check a couple of dead trees in the backyard that need to be fell and cleared. Erik came around 4:30pm and in a few minutes, gave me a plan that might save the tree (it is not native here). He gave me a reasonable quote and get started to work. Within 45 minutes, he managed attach the broken branch tightly in the hope it might graft by next spring.
He then looked at tress and backyard and gave a quote that I could not refuse. By 8:30pm he finished the job. The quotes we received from other arborists for the same job were 2 – 3 times higher. Erik emphasizes conservation and care.
We’re extremely with his quality of work, and his personable nature. Some people may not find him professional as he is not business-​like. He is a just a good tree caregiver.

You don’t need to look any further…

I am writing this review after getting off the phone with Erik. I need a tree pruned in a semi-​emergency. After last weeks winds a large tree in the backyard has dropped a small limb and a large one is ready to go any time now.
After leaving a couple of messages with tree services on Saturday and not hearing back from them I got on Unilocal and found Erik.
He answers his own phone and is very responsive! He happened to be very near the neighborhood, which I consider an excellent sign and good fortune. He said he will come over with 35 minutes after finishing a small job.
I will update this review upon finish of the process, but 4 stars for responsive customer service which I have found to be very rare in the tree service business.

Overall great experience with Erik and his crew. He promptly returned my email for a quote and came out the same day to evaluate our needs. His pricing was beyond competitive and his reviews were outstanding, so we scheduled a service. We had a tight timeline because of a fence installation, and he came out on Christmas Eve to complete the work.
The work was very well done, he preserved the integrity of a beautiful tree that was impacting our roof, while fixing the damage our neighbor’s landscaper did to her side of the tree, and got 20 stumps out. Hauled away all of the debris, plus our other yard waste from another project. They also tidied up some of our amateurish chainsaw cuts. They left yard cleaner than when they found it.
As other reviewers noted, he works a bit on his own time. We were scheduled for 10 and he didn’t arrive until 11 without letting me know he would be late. Normally a dealbreaker for me, but since I was prepared for it based on previous reviews, I tried to not get antsy. Well worth it! Neighbors and guests are amazed at the difference in our yard, it’s really improved the property.

I was very happy with the service from this company! After calling four total tree service companies they were the only one to actually answer the phone. No one else even called me back. They Got the job done cleaned up after themselves and were done on time.
I would use them again with out hesitation.
Thanks for the extra sunshine tree guy!!!

Just used Erik again for some tree trimming. He was over within an hour to do an estimate and came back the next day to do the job. Not only did he do what I asked him, but he noticed a few other trees and bushes on my property that needed some trimming and did those too for nothing extra (asking me first of course). He’s a perfectionist and knows what he’s doing.

I hired them to prune my mature 6 – 8 fruit trees. A couple months later a professional tree pruner was on my property and asked who ruined my trees. He said they did it completely wrong — he’d never seen anything like it. I had to hire the second guy to do it right. Arrrrrrrrgh.

We called Erik on a weekday morning and he said they could come by in an hour.
He and an associate arrived an hour later and we showed him what we’d like done (cut a branch that was rubbing against our power cable). He scaled the tree lickety split, cut the pesky branch, and neatly cut the branch into cute smaller pieces (perfect for a fire if we had a fire pit or fire place). His associate was friendly and they worked well together.
He gave us a nice price because the job was brief. We paid cash. I think he could have accepted a check (perhaps for a larger job), but if you’re going that route, let him know ahead of time to be sure.
He offered smudging which is a cleansing/​prayer ritual with the burning of grandfather sage and a young eagle feather to fan the smoke. It was a nice touch and we felt pretty uplifted afterwards.
We’ll be calling them back very soon for another project later on!

I’ll skip the gory details of why I needed the trees cut, but I needed them cut and FAST. Erik came by and got the job done the same day. It was a super good deal, he kept going the extra mile at every turn, and absolutely knows what he’s doing. I’ll definitely have him come by in the spring to do some more trimming we need. He’s a great spirit and a kind soul. Don’t be surprised by the sage smudge at the end! :)

So, I am part way through Erik’s service and so far, every positive review on Unilocal about him is dead on accurate.
He came by to do an estimate — and based on these reviews, his demonstrated concern/​sincerity for doing the job well and his very competitive quote, I gave him the job. Now, I thought he’d be coming back tomorrow or next week to get starterd. But no, he pulled a chainsaw from the trunk of his car (one of three he carries — the man doesn’t mess around when it comes to his profession) and started carving up the stumps from my (soon to be former) laurel hedge.
He laid out a clear plan for the next steps, which made me feel good/​secure that I’m on the road to a job well done.
Looking forward to him finishing the work and adding more to this review!
Thanks so far, Erik!!!

You’ll save a TON of money, and have a story forever
Erik Nye does great work, and I’m sure I would have paid at least twice as much if I went with a different arborist. If you know what to expect, you’ll save a lot of money and be very happy with the work.
First things first: Erik does not run a tight ship, but that’s fine. He’s the definition of a free spirit, a terrific/​funny/​quick-​witted guy with a great sense of humor and a lot of experience working with trees. He will be late, he will say bizarre things, but he has a heart of 24 karat gold and his work won’t let you down. Plus, if you’re not uptight you’ll have a great time dealing with him.
Now, the work. He took down a massive tree for me after a no-​pressure bid. There’s not much to say, he did excellent work and I saved a crazy amount of money. Erik chipped in so much extra work and made it so fun, I will definitely hold true to my statement that he «owns my yard from now on».
So, if you have any «type A» in your personality, Erik might not be your guy. My suggestion for anyone is to give Erik the day to get his work done, and just go to work that day. You don’t need to see him at work, because it’s not pretty (or particularly exciting). When you get home, though, your trees will look awesome and your yard will be clean as shit. Warn your neighbors that there will be some ‘long hairs’ hanging around your house in the afternoon ;).
*** Second Visit ***
Eric took out a ton of shrubs that I hate around my house (2÷22÷13). True to form, he was cheaper, did better work, and was more pleasant to deal with than anyone else I could find. Top notch, he owns my yard and I’ll have him back next time I need him.
*** Free Eric Nye ***
Unilocal is holding 90% of Erik’s reviews hostage, alleging fraud. If you like his service and want Erik to get his due propers from his huge number of satisfied customers, write to
and tell them that they are fart sniffers.
Bottom Line:
Erik is terrific at his tree work. You save a bunch of money, but you have to give him some slack on his schedule.

Erik and his crew performed another, smaller job for us recently and we are just as happy this time as the last. Two birch trees impeding on the neighboring properties were trimmed to perfection, and they even cleaned up some of the less attractive lower scraggly branches to make sure we had «beautiful, happy trees».
The neighbor came over to give the thumbs up on the trimming and thanked Erik for the great job as well. The fact we got next-​day service was really appreciated.
These guys love their leaf blower. Seriously. When they left, the property was cleaner than when they arrived.
I can’t recommend Erik and his crew highly enough.

We called Erik because of all the five star reviews on Unilocal.He and his right-​hand man came out to our property to assess some work we needed done. These guys might know their trees, but as businessmen, they leave a lot to be desired. I found several comments made by Erik to be inappropriate and unprofessional. For example, he spent a lot of time telling us how his competitors would do us wrong if we went with someone else, and then tried to get us to tell him who else we had contacted regarding this job. His right-​hand man, who was taking notes and putting the bid together, shook my husband’s hand as they were leaving and then walked right past me as if I wasn’t even there. This annoyed me at first, but, the more I thought about it, the more it completely pissed me off.
But, even if I’d been willing to let all that slide, the bid they came up with was nearly twice the amount we were quoted by the two other companies who bid on our job.
Needless to say, we gave our business to one of these other companies. And, we are perfectly happy with the work that was done.

Erik and crew were fabulous! Great bid, great personality, and great service. He and his crew worked quickly and efficiently. They are environmentally conscious and avoid using tree spikes on their shoes unless the tree is coming down. They were even willing to take out a huge rosemary bush for us at the last minute and even repaired a wobbling tile on our porch! Clean up was stunning. It looked like we had the yard cleaned. I would definitely recommend him and will use him again.

If I could give Erik six stars, I would. We called Erik after reading some glowing reviews both here and on the West Seattle Blog, and I’m sure glad we did. He was prompt, polite, and had a really great confidence and sense of humor about his job (which I found instantly endearing).
We made an appointment for a consultation at 2:30 on a friday to trim a magnolia and an alder that were touching our roofline. 4 hours later, we were reveling in the light filled yard that Erik and his crew had created for us. It was amazing! Erik even threw in stump removal for an extra $ 50. BONUS!
And after all the trees were trimmed up, they cleaned up all the leaves, and then proceeded to help my husband clean the moss off our roof and helped clean our gutters (which was great to do the day before a big rain). All of this at a price that was well below what I expected.
Plus, Erik’s got a pretty cool neon green dirt bike that he let my husband take a couple of laps around the neighborhood on.

Our neighbor hired him to prune our shared cherry trees and he did a fantastic job.
I had watched them totally change my neighbors backyard several months ago and was amazed at how fast and efficient it was done. So when the neighbor mentioned he wanted to prune the overgrown cherry trees and was going to hire the same guy who did his backyard, it was easy to agree.
Of course I cried as they pruned the beautiful cherry trees I had fallen in love with. But they put me at ease by explaining why they had to prune what the pruned and how much healthier and fuller the tree will be.
Well, it’s months later and they are absolutely beautiful. Sure we didn’t have so many flowers and cherries this past season but we can expect even more in the future. The trees are full and pretty. They no longer get in the way of the power lines and really have a nice shape.
He even let us keep all the mulch afterwards! Which inspired me to really clean up the whole outdoors. And with sharing the price, it was very reasonable.
Highly recommended.

I think Scott R’s review on Erik Nye, «Tree Guy», is spot on. Erik is passionate when it comes to trees. I appreciate his attention to details and doing things right.
I’m giving him 4 stars because the day the crew came out, their power equipment broke. Rather than stopping and scheduling for the next day, the guys tried to finish through with hand tools. We weren’t happy about the results and ended up calling Erik to fix the project. I was concerned that he may not agree, but Erik was quick to come out to see, he immediately noticed the problems and put his top guys on it (with power tools). And he made sure that the job was done to our satisfaction.
It took a little longer than we scheduled. In the end, we got good work. And they did an exceptional job with the clean-​up.

I had Erik come out a second time (see my previous review on 7÷10÷08) to do a pretty major reduction and pruning job on two cherry trees and an apple tree in my front yard. The trees hadn’t been pruned in at least 7 years and they were starting to encroach upon the power and cable lines coming to the house from the street. It also seemed like the fruit production was less than optimal on the apple tree and I was worried about the weight on some of the branches of the cherry trees. They definitely needed some TLC…
Anyway, Erik and one of his main guys (the tree whisperer aka Justin) were able to come out, give me a quote, and then get started on the project the very next day. It took all afternoon and into the evening for them to do the pruning work. Then, towards the end, a *huge* cleanup crew arrived (around 6 people) and they hauled, chipped, and swept up what appeared to be half a dump-truck’s worth of debris. I honestly think my yard and my neighbors yard are cleaner now than before they started.
Needless to say, I think Erik & co. did an excellent job. The fruit trees now have a nice and balanced shape to them and the power lines have plenty of clearance. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they fill out over the next year or two. I don’t expect the fruit production to be that great this summer, but next year… well, it should be worth the wait. :)
The most important thing though, is that I felt comfortable letting them work on my precious trees even as I watched large branches being lopped off with a chain saw. Justin did most of the pruning work on this job and he spent a lot of time explaining what was going to happen beforehand. I can tell that he really knows his stuff and he has a deep respect and appreciation for the beautiful trees we all enjoy in the pacific NW.
As a side bonus, Erik and his crew are entertaining characters to say the least. Give Erik a call for your next tree project, you won’t be disappointed.

I hired him to work on my two big and tall fir trees. He thinned my tree and cut out dead limp. The trees looks better and more healthy. They are fast and did a good job with a reasonable price! His team also clean up my yard, my roof and the street! The trees look fantastic! Highly recommended. Please tell him Richard from Bellevue refer you. He will give you a good deal!