MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. — Two area tree trimming companies are at odds with one another, and the dispute has been playing out in an unusual venue: the utility poles along local roadways.
Signs for Tree Monkey Tree Trimming and Monkey Man Tree Trimming have turned up in various parts of the county. In at least one instance in West Mobile, one company’s advertisement appears to have been overlaid with a bold “THIEF” label.
Little recourse for either side
One of the owners acknowledged the feud but noted there is little practical recourse available — because tacking posters to poles along public rights of way is prohibited in the first place.
That is the essential irony of the situation. Neither party can credibly complain about the defacement of an advertisement that should not be there. A company that reports a competitor for altering its sign is simultaneously reporting the existence of its own unpermitted signage.
Why bandit signs persist
Signs affixed to utility poles, sometimes called bandit signs, are illegal in most Alabama jurisdictions and create genuine problems beyond aesthetics. Staples and nails driven into wooden poles create hazards for utility line workers who climb them, and the accumulated hardware degrades the pole over time. Utility companies and municipalities remove them routinely, which is precisely why they reappear routinely.
The economics explain the persistence. The cost of printing and posting is trivial, enforcement is sporadic, and even a handful of calls can justify the effort. For service businesses competing on immediacy — tree work in particular, where demand spikes after every storm — visibility at the roadside carries real value.
Advice for homeowners
The dispute offers a useful reminder for anyone hiring tree work. Homeowners should verify that a contractor carries liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage before any work begins, ask for a written estimate, and confirm the company’s physical business address. Tree removal is among the more hazardous residential trades, and an uninsured crew working near a house creates exposure the homeowner may end up carrying.
A phone number stapled to a utility pole is not, on its own, a credential.