If you're an Illinois homeowner, here are five signs it might be time to remove a tree from your yard.

My parents have a ton of trees in their yard—it's basically a forest around their house.  Over the years, many of the trees have started leaning and branches slowly break off onto the driveway putting their cars at risk for damage.  My parents started cutting down the trees around their house that were hovering over powerlines, then any trees that had lots of dead limbs.

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Even though trees provide shade and privacy, and we want to keep them around forever, there comes a time when they become a safety hazard.

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If you're wondering if your trees need to be trimmed or fully cut down, here's what you should look out for.

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• Dead limb - If you see big, brittle branches that look like they could snap off the second a little breeze hits it, that's a red flag.
• Leaning structure - A tree that's suddenly leaning or shifting could mean the root system if failing.
• Proximity to powerlines - If a tree is even close to a powerline, especially after storms, it's a major risk to your home and the entire neighborhood.
• Declining health - If bark is peeling off, mushrooms are growing at the base, or leaves are falling off when they shouldn't, that's a sign.
• Lightning strikes - Had a tree that was hit by lightning? They can weaken fast, be unstable, and become dangerous.

"Vertical cracks, seams, dead branch stubs and large, older wounds suggest internal decay. Severe damage to the main trunk often warrants removal of the tree. If the damaged area is less than 25 percent of the circumference of the trunk, the wound could gradually heal over and no permanent injury should result." [extension]

Here's the truth: if you have old trees that look like they're on their way out, do something about it.  Don't wait until they've already fallen through your house, that could be deadly.