Document and Entity Information Document - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Aug. 03, 2018
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
Document period end date	Jun. 30, 2018
Document fiscal year focus	2018
Document fiscal period focus	Q2
Amendment flag	false
Entity common stock, shares outstanding		23,631,182