During a hot summer day, one of the best ways to relax is to lie in a hammock under the shade of two trees.
However, there is one thing that you should not neglect while lazing away. You should ensure that your trees do not suffer from your relaxation.
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It is time for you to change your tree-tying method if you are currently tying a rope between two beautiful trees. When setting up your hammock, if you utilize a thin rope, tree damage is likely going to happen.
Even if you have the most durable tree, rope ties can cut into its bark. Because of that, your tree will be prone to diseases and insect attacks. In addition to that, ropes can girdle or strangle the tree. This makes it hard for it to access the required nutrients and water to stay healthy. Furthermore, you can weaken the tree so much when you’re tying ropes to smaller tree trunks. With that, the tree will not be able to recover.
You need to ensure you’ve got the right gear and trees if you are planning on doing some hammock relaxation during summer.
Carefully Select Your Trees
Just in case you’ll meet them, several individuals joke about hanging the hammock on the smallest tree. There are also other individuals who recommend setting your hammock to the height you can fall easily without getting hurt.
However, personal safety is not a laughing matter. Thus, you should always find two healthy and mature trees. Make sure that the trunks can support your weight. The trees must be standing apart around 12 up to 15 feet. You need to ensure to check for any hanging or dead branches. Lastly, look down to see what will be underneath your hammock.
Utilize Tree Saver Straps
You can protect your trees using special tree saver straps instead of plastic rope or cloth. These straps will help minimize tree damage. They are made from polyester or nylon webbing that will go around each trunk of the tree. Usually, tree saver straps have a 1-inch width. Because of the strap’s width, they are developed to prevent any damage to the underlying layers and the bark.
You can also use rope covers as an alternative option to tree saver straps. Always keep in mind that you should not screw bolts, pound nails, or fasten any type of attachment into the tree directly.
Hang the Hammock
To hang the hammock, you should first look for the thickest trunk part of the tree. It should be around 4 ½ feet from the ground. Then, wrap the strap around the tree. Until it is snug, straps will have a ring or loop for looping around the tree. To connect your hammock to the strap, utilize durable and sturdy S-hooks. Repeat this process on the other side of the hammock.
You need to ensure that the lowest point of your hammock is around 18 inches above the ground for your own safety.