Document and Entity Information Document - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 01, 2017	Jul. 28, 2017
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity registrant name	DAVEY TREE EXPERT CO
Entity central index key	0000277638
Current fiscal year end date	--12-31
Entity filer category	Accelerated Filer
Document type	10-Q/A
Document period end date	Jul. 01, 2017
Document fiscal year focus	2017
Document fiscal period focus	Q2
Amendment flag	false
Entity common stock, shares outstanding		24,579,989