Tree service for Merritt Island and Cocoa Beach — where Milton's tornado came through
Milton put an EF-1 tornado through Cocoa Beach and across Merritt Island in October 2024, and the water on both sides grows Australian pines and pepper year-round. We handle the storm damage and the trees that cause it.
Merritt Island — the big unincorporated island between the Indian and Banana rivers, home to 35,000 people and the space center at its north end — and Cocoa Beach (11,361) on the barrier island beyond it are the northern edge of our range, thirty miles up from Palm Bay. On October 9, 2024, Hurricane Milton spun up an EF-1 tornado that ran 5.24 miles from Cocoa Beach across Merritt Island, tearing the roof off a bank, breaking windows and downing trees through residential streets before it moved offshore; the county counted 405 damaged structures from the storm. The trees here were already the kind that fail: Australian pines along both rivers and the beach, shallow-rooted and 80 feet tall; laurel oaks and pines on the '60s and '70s canal lots of central Merritt Island; queen palms with lethal bronzing; and pepper on every bank.
So the work is storm-shaped: the hangers and leaners the tornado left, Australian pines removed before the next one, oaks pruned for wind on the canal and river lots, palms trimmed properly for the salt, pepper cleared and treated along the water, and cleanup after the nor'easters that hit the beach every winter. Merritt Island is unincorporated Brevard County, so the county's rules apply; Cocoa Beach has its own ordinance, stricter, and we check it before we cut. We batch the northern jobs so the crane and the crew make one trip up SR-520.
What we do in Merritt Island & Cocoa Beach
Tornado and storm aftermath
Hangers, leaners and root plates from the October 2024 EF-1 and every storm since — assessed, removed, documented.
Australian pines on the water
The river- and beach-side giants removed before the next storm drops them; no permit needed for invasives.
Canal-lot oaks
Laurel oaks and pines on the central Merritt Island canal lots removed or pruned; live oaks kept and thinned.
Salt-smart palms
Palms on the beach and the rivers trimmed to the UF standard; salt burn distinguished from disease.
Bank pepper
Pepper along the Banana and Indian rivers and the canals cut, stump-treated and hauled.
County and city rules
Brevard County's rules on Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach's own ordinance on the beach; permits pulled where they apply.
Neighborhoods, streets and communities we cover
- Central Merritt Island
- South Merritt Island
- North Merritt Island
- Courtenay Parkway corridor
- Sykes Creek canals
- Banana River shoreline
- Indian River shoreline (Merritt Island)
- Cocoa Beach
- Cape Canaveral edge
- Cocoa Isles
- Snug Harbor (Cocoa Beach)
- SR-520 causeway area
- Minutemen Causeway
- Patrick Space Force Base edge
Tree services available in Merritt Island & Cocoa Beach
- Tree removal, crane tree removal, 24/7 emergency & storm service
- Tree trimming & pruning, hurricane prep, storm cleanup
- Palm trimming, palm removal, stump grinding
- Lot & land clearing, Brazilian pepper & invasive removal
- Commercial & HOA tree service
Questions from Merritt Island & Cocoa Beach homeowners
Do I need a permit to remove a tree on Merritt Island?
Merritt Island is unincorporated Brevard County, so the county's rules apply: most single-family removals and every invasive are exempt, with protections for large specimen trees. Cocoa Beach has its own, stricter ordinance and requires a permit for many removals. We check the parcel and pull the permit.
My oak has had a hanging limb since the tornado. Is it urgent?
Yes — a hanger falls when the wind moves it, onto whatever's under it, and it's been a year of winds. It's the first thing we take down on any visit.
Are the Australian pines along the river worth removing before they fall?
Yes. They're tall, shallow-rooted and brittle, they're the trees that came down by the hundred in every storm since 2004, and no permit protects them. If one is within falling distance of your house, dock or the neighbor's, it's the first removal on the list.
Can you get a crane onto a Merritt Island canal lot?
From the street, usually — a 30-ton reaches most canal-lot back yards. On the water side we rig into a boat-side drop zone or lift from a barge by arrangement.
How far north do you go?
Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral — about thirty miles. Titusville and north Merritt Island by arrangement; we batch the trips.
Nearby: Rockledge & Cocoa · Viera & Suntree · Satellite Beach & the beaches · full service area