Largo sits in the middle of Pinellas County, and a search for tree service in Largo, FL usually starts with a practical worry: the oak over the carport, the palm by the pool, the limbs Milton left behind. Before any of that work starts, Largo wants a say.
Tree Service Tampa FL is a free phone line, not a tree company. It does not inspect, quote or cut. Call (689) 407-5379, tell the automated assistant you are in Largo and what the tree is doing, and the call is transferred to an independent, locally owned tree service company that serves mid Pinellas. That company visits, sets its own price and is paid by you.
From Citrus City to a city of 80,000
Largo incorporated in 1905. Its early economy ran on citrus groves, cattle and hog farms, and it was known as a citrus packing and shipping town, the Citrus City. In 1913 it became the first municipality in Pinellas County to adopt a council and manager form of government. By 2010 the city had grown from just over half a square mile to about 19 square miles and from roughly 300 people to more than 70,000, and the 2020 census counted 82,485.
Not every nearby property is inside the city. Largo publishes a set of questions and answers for owners of land outside its limits who are thinking about joining, and those parcels are unincorporated Pinellas until they do. For trees, that line matters: inside the city, Largo's code applies; outside it, the county's.
Largo's tree rule at a glance
Three different rules can touch a Largo yard. Find yours before a saw comes out.
Inside the City of Largo
A permit for trees 4 inches in diameter or more and for palms over 4.5 feet tall. Apply online through the city, showing where each tree stands and what kind it is. City staff inspect, so leave gates open. A dead or storm damaged tree is not exempt; the city wants to see it.
Unincorporated Pinellas
The county tree code in Chapter 58, in effect since January 23, 2026. On a homesteaded single-family lot only trees larger than 24 inches in diameter are protected. County permit questions: (727) 464-3480.
Any single-family home
Under Florida Statute 163.045, a city or county cannot require a permit, fee or replanting when an ISA certified arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect documents that the tree poses an unacceptable risk to people or property.
Two kinds of trees are off limits no matter which rule applies. Trees in the public right of way belong to the city, and cutting one down or pruning it heavily without approval is prohibited. Mangroves should not be removed at all, and trimming them takes a permit from Pinellas County Environmental Management. The Tampa Bay tree permit guide covers the county side in more detail.
Helene came by water, Milton by wind
The two 2024 hurricanes hit Largo in different ways. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Helene's surge in late September flooded parts of the city along Allen's Creek and Indian Rocks Road, and Mayor Woody Brown counted about 160 homes with significant Helene damage, most of them along those two corridors. The rest of the city was largely spared that time.
Milton was the opposite. It made landfall south of Tampa Bay on October 9, 2024, and brought wind and rain damage across Largo and the inland neighborhoods. The city's private debris contractor had pulled out after Helene, so city staff did the pickup themselves at first. Largo later activated a debris contract through Pinellas County, and by late November the city reported nearly 90,000 cubic yards of storm debris collected.
For homes along Allen's Creek and other low ground, the surge left a second problem in the soil. UF/IFAS Extension in Pinellas County explains that seawater carries enough salt to pull moisture out of most landscape plants within 48 to 72 hours, and that the damage can show up slowly. A tree that leafed out thin after 2024 is worth having checked, ideally in the months before hurricane season opens on June 1.
Which Largo trees deserve a closer look
UF/IFAS studies of Florida hurricanes give a useful ranking for a Largo yard. Live oak and sand live oak stood far more often than laurel oak. Cabbage palms ranked among the most wind-firm trees of all and did better than queen palms. Laurel oaks also tend to rot from the inside as they age, and a hollow trunk is hard to see from the lawn.
| Tree | How it tends to fare | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Laurel oak | Weaker in hurricanes; prone to internal decay with age | Cavities, fungus at the base, dead limbs over the roof |
| Live oak | Among the trees most likely to stay standing | Long, heavy limbs over carports and pool cages |
| Cabbage palm | Very wind-firm; Florida's state tree | Over-pruned crowns; remove only brown fronds |
| Queen palm | Less wind-firm than cabbage palms | Dead or drooping heads near the house |
The tree removal page explains how a company takes a tree down near a house, the tree trimming page covers pruning that holds up in wind, and the palm tree trimming page explains why cutting green fronds weakens a palm.
Getting the wood to the curb
Largo picks up yard waste once a week, on your curbside recycling day, at no extra charge. Its rules:
- Bag or bundle everything; loose piles are not collected.
- Keep bundles to 4 feet long or wide and under 50 pounds.
- Set out 5 cubic yards or less a week; loads up to 10 cubic yards go as bulky waste, and each home gets up to four bulky pickups a year.
- Place piles at least 10 feet from overhead wires and 3 feet from carts, mailboxes, cars and storm drains, never in the street, on the sidewalk or in a swale.
- Bagged or bundled material can also go inside the garbage cart.
A full removal of a mature oak makes far more than 5 cubic yards. Ask whether the company will chip and haul everything, and get that in writing. During the 2024 storm cleanup, Largo told residents that contractor-generated yard waste would not be collected, so debris from a tree company's work is that company's to haul. Solid Waste questions go to 727-587-6760.
Wires over the yard
Largo is Duke Energy Florida territory, as is almost all of Pinellas. Duke trims and removes trees along its lines, but storm debris on your own property is yours to clear. If a tree brings a wire down, follow the safe steps and leave the rest to the utility.
Do
- Assume the wire is live and keep everyone far back.
- Call 911 if a line is down or someone is hurt.
- Report it to Duke Energy at 800.228.8485 or text OUT to 57801.
- Photograph the damage from a distance.
Do not
- Touch the tree, a fence or a vehicle the wire rests on.
- Try to pull or cut a limb off a line.
- Let a tree company start near the line before the utility says it is safe.
Before you hire in Largo
Ask the company who applies for the Largo permit and whether the price includes it. Ask whether hauling and stump grinding are in the quote or listed separately; the stump grinding page explains that job. Ask who on the crew is an ISA certified arborist, and look the number up. Published price ranges are in the tree removal cost guide; real quotes vary with the tree, the access and the cleanup.
Check the company yourself. Florida has no statewide license for tree trimming or tree removal, so a truck and a business card prove very little. Ask the company for a certificate of general liability insurance sent by its insurance agent, proof of workers' compensation coverage, and the ISA certification number of its arborist. A company that sprays or treats trees for hire needs a pesticide license from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. You can confirm an ISA certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).
Not sure what the tree needs? Call and describe it. The company you are put through to looks at the tree and tells you the price before any work starts.
How a Largo call works
- Call any hourAn automated assistant answers (689) 407-5379 and asks what kind of tree work you need.
- Describe the jobGive your name, a callback number, your city or ZIP and what the tree is doing, including anything on a roof, a car or a line.
- Get put throughThe call goes to an independent, locally owned tree service company, which hears a short summary before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the tree, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back.
How this line works: Tree Service Tampa FL is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Tampa Bay area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Tampa FL a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.