Tree Service in Little River and Longs, SC

Forestry mulcher clearing pines and underbrush while a large live oak marked with survey ribbon is left standing in Horry County

Little River is the oldest settlement on the Strand — a fishing village on the river that marks the North Carolina line — and Longs, inland along SC 9 and SC 90, was farm country until the subdivisions came. Now the northeast corner of Horry County is the growth frontier: Sun Colony, Heather Glen, Aberdeen, the communities along Long Bay and the Waterway, the lots being cleared off 90 and 9 every month. It's unincorporated, so the county's rules apply — every live oak 24 inches and up is a specimen, a survey is required before clearing, and the two-year permit block is real — and it's pine woods, so the trees over the new houses are loblollies and longleafs left by the builders, with the big live oaks along the river and the Waterway where the old homesteads were.

The weather here is the Strand's: Dorian spun an EF1 tornado through Little River in 2019, Florence's rain was heaviest in this corner, and Chantal dropped 4.86 inches on Longs and 4.25 on Little River in July 2025. So our Little River and Longs work is lot clearing with the specimen-oak survey first and the mulcher second (no burns — the 2009 Highway 31 fire started in the pines a few miles south), pine assessment and removal in the new subdivisions, waterfront oak preservation on the river and the Waterway, and storm cleanup after every system that comes up the coast.

What we do in Little River & Longs

Lot clearing with the survey first

County specimen-oak survey, then forestry mulching for the pines and understory; no debris burns.

New-subdivision pines

Builder-left loblollies assessed for beetles, lightning, construction root damage and lean.

Waterfront live oaks

The old homestead oaks on the river and the Waterway measured, preserved and reduced over the houses.

County permits & variances

ZBA variances for specimen oaks in the building footprint; mitigation calculated up front.

Storm cleanup

Dorian's tornado, Chantal's rain — cut, chipped and hauled to the landfill in Conway.

Storm response

The first part of the county the storms reach from the north; we answer 24/7.

Neighborhoods and areas we cover

Little River (village & waterfront)
Little River Neck
Longs
SC 9 corridor
SC 90 corridor
Sun Colony
Heather Glen
Aberdeen
Long Bay
Cedar Creek
Vereen Memorial Gardens area
North Carolina line (Calabash side)

Tree services available in Little River & Longs

Questions from Little River & Longs homeowners

I'm clearing a lot off Highway 90. What do I need first?

The county's specimen-oak survey — every live oak 24 inches and up measured and flagged — before any machine starts. If one is in the building footprint, a ZBA variance. We do the survey and the application; then we mulch the rest.

Can I burn the cleared brush?

Land-clearing burns in Horry County need 1,000 feet from roads and other people's buildings, the Forestry Commission's notification, piles no bigger than 30 by 30, and no ban in effect. The Highway 31 fire that took 76 homes in 2009 started as a debris burn a few miles from here. We mulch.

The builder left three pines over my new house. Are they safe?

Maybe. Construction cuts roots and stresses pines, and the beetles follow within a season or two. We'll check the bark for pitch tubes, look at the lean, and tell you which to keep and which to take while a crane is cheap in May.

Do the city rules apply out here?

No — Little River and Longs are unincorporated. The county's rule is live oaks only (24 inches); pines, laurel oaks and the rest on a house lot need no permit.

Nearby: North Myrtle Beach · Loris & Aynor · Conway · Carolina Forest · full service area

Tree service in Little River and Longs — the growth corner, pines first