Sapling stump removal

[sleek98]

What is the best way to remove the 1-2" stumps that are left when you clear out overgrown brush and saplings? Some of them are in clusters of 5-6 and I am not sure that a rented brush hog would knock them down and dont want to bust it trying.

I cleared a good 1,000 sq foot patch in my backyard with a chainsaw over the last 2 weeks but now I need to figure out what to do with the stumps. Some of the trees were 8 foot tall. There are 50-75 of these things so I dont really want to pull them out one by one or have to dig them out.

Should I try to find someone with a skid steer to come in and level it with their bucket?

 

[NUTTSGT]

You could till the entire area and pluck them out into a pile. Then make sure it's all level and sow new grass seed.

 

[garagelogician]

They make grubbing attachments for skidsteers that should make quick work of it. A good operator should be able to clear an area that size in an hour or so. Clearing by hand would be tough unless you had a crew of young skinny guys with strong backs. I grubbed about a 10x15' area by hand last spring and I felt every inch of it afterwards.

 

[sleek98]

They make grubbing attachments for skidsteers that should make quick work of it. A good operator should be able to clear an area that size in an hour or so. Clearing by hand would be tough unless you had a crew of young skinny guys with strong backs. I grubbed about a 10x15' area by hand last spring and I felt every inch of it afterwards.

Yeah it would be me alone doing the work. While im not old, i am old enough to know better.

 

[sleek98]

You could till the entire area and pluck them out into a pile. Then make sure it's all level and sow new grass seed.

Thats the other part its not close to being level now so it sounds like I really need to get someone with a skid steer to come in and knock it out. Sounds like it will be worth the couple hundred to have it done.

 

[xtremek]

I pull them out with my 8n (usually before they're cut), hit them with the neighbor's 6', tractor mounted rototiller, or hack at the roots with a shovel or ax (great for the ax blade). But I don't have much in the way of extra money.

 

[ebonyswan]

I would try an electric winch if you have one on your truck or whatever. It's what I've used on stumps and roots....

 

[larry_g]

Me personally I would use the small excavator. I have skid steer and excavator both available but the choice would be the excavator. For a larger area it would be the crawler with the root rake on it.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Orionrising]

You need to till it?

If not , sawzall with demo blade cut em just below surface.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[matt_i]

If you can wait a year the stumps should theoretically start to rot and be softer. There's probably some agent you can apply to speed up this process. Then I would hit it with the brush hog. If the blades don't like what they are hitting they pivot/deflect out of the way, there's probably a shear pin or slip clutch in the driveline somewhere. They are quite heavy though and hit like a hammer with impact.

If you need it now, then you'll be best going for hydraulic tracked machinery.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Thats the other part its not close to being level now so it sounds like I really need to get someone with a skid steer to come in and knock it out. Sounds like it will be worth the couple hundred to have it done.

Got an old metal mattress spring ? I've seen people drag them behind a four wheeler or small tractor to level off and area after it has been tilled up.

 

[ishiboo]

Stumps that small are pretty easy to pull. I'd say a brush grabber with a skid loader would be fine since you have to level it anyway.

 

[hunterguy86]

I’ve had good luck with a brush grubber .

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001...ushgrubber&dpPl=1&dpID=41qB2jHLJDL&ref=plSrch


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[bczygan]

What is the best way to remove the 1-2" stumps that are left when you clear out overgrown brush and saplings? Some of them are in clusters of 5-6 and I am not sure that a rented brush hog would knock them down and dont want to bust it trying.

I cleared a good 1,000 sq foot patch in my backyard with a chainsaw over the last 2 weeks but now I need to figure out what to do with the stumps. Some of the trees were 8 foot tall. There are 50-75 of these things so I dont really want to pull them out one by one or have to dig them out.

Should I try to find someone with a skid steer to come in and level it with their bucket?

What's the purpose of doing this?

What are you doing with the space, and when?

Bill

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

Time could be your friend, it you can stand the wait. I've cut off a lot of shrubs and small trees in a property line hedge row, and just left them about 6-8" above grade. After a ( whole ) year, they are usually rotten enough that a couple of kicks, or a nudge with the small garden tractor breaks them off below the surface.

I do keep an eye on them, and if they appear to be coming back to life, during that year, I hit them with Prosecutor, a most cost effective herbicide than RoundUp. Prosecutor only kills what it actually touches, so it sprayed with care, it only affects the stumps that I spray it on.



.

 

[dfiler2]

A good lopper can be used to cut them right at ground level.

https://www.kinsmangarden.com/produ...4u9A39nmpmAkkZ-zEzzhL9XORsvHw4PhoCXf8QAvD_BwE

 

[machsnell]

Since you need to level it anyway....skid steer with tooth bucket will make quick work of it.

Next time for little saplings like that pull them out before cutting, knock off the dirt and send through the chipper.

Or cut amd leave a little high.

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[James-W]

Several pounds of plastic explosive should do the trick.

Seriously, check out the local rental center to see what they have. They may have just the right equipment to get the job done. In the past I have rented all sorts of equipment and the price isn't terrible either.

 

[tarmy]

This. Use it for rocks in volcanic soils country...and grabbing anything that needs removal...

 

[PoorOwner]

What’s the diameter of the wood? It sounds like maybe a garden spade and couple whacks each would up root it. If not they are not saplings. Just take up 5 per day if it’s too much. Or hire those guys in front of Home Depot

 

[MushCreek]

I just went through this trying to clear a 1/2 acre in front of my place. I tried pulling them out with my old tractor, but it was slow going, and there were literally 100's of them. I had a guy coming in to do the final grade around my house anyhow, so I had him do it. He did 1/2 acre in 4 hours with a track loader. It's more work if you cut them off first, as they have less to work with grubbing them. Of course, I still have a big pile to burn when the weather is right.

 

[sleek98]

What's the purpose of doing this?

What are you doing with the space, and when?

Bill

Wanting to open up our backyard and plant grass if we can get it to that point by the fall.

Since you need to level it anyway....skid steer with tooth bucket will make quick work of it.

Next time for little saplings like that pull them out before cutting, knock off the dirt and send through the chipper.

Or cut amd leave a little high.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I am thinking this will be the most effective route to go however its the most expensive.

Several pounds of plastic explosive should do the trick.

Seriously, check out the local rental center to see what they have. They may have just the right equipment to get the job done. In the past I have rented all sorts of equipment and the price isn't terrible either.

I like the way you think. I am not against renting something, just want to make sure I am getting the right equipment.

What’s the diameter of the wood? It sounds like maybe a garden spade and couple whacks each would up root it. If not they are not saplings. Just take up 5 per day if it’s too much. Or hire those guys in front of Home Depot

Most are 1.5-2" stumps, there are maybe 3 or 4 that are 3" thick. I cut most of them a 12-18" above the ground so there is some material to work with.

The land entire lot was cleared back in 2005 when the lot was originally going to be built on. At the last min before digging the foundation the people pulled out and it sat for 12 years before we built on it. The builder didn't clear the back line as the house didn't go near the tree line and really I never thought about it.

 

[Falcon67]

>It's more work if you cut them off first,

This IMHO is the first mistake. When I go to remove a small tree, I cut it off about 6' up, then water the base, wrap with a log chain, pull it over with a truck, a few hacks with a ax on a few roots and done. They are easy to pry out if you leave a lever. Cut off at the ground, now you have to dig. Just ripped out 7 Boxwood bushes in front of the house - they put up more fight than a 4" Mesquite tree.

 

[velocipede]

Maybe something like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=Fzw0IF2TpbM

 

[Milton Shaw]

I would think a harley rake would do a lot better than a tiller. It will destroy the stumps and could till the ground about 4 inches deep and do a good job leveling the ground and removing rocks etc...Available for Bobcat or three point PTO hitch...

 

[sleek98]

>It's more work if you cut them off first,

This IMHO is the first mistake. When I go to remove a small tree, I cut it off about 6' up, then water the base, wrap with a log chain, pull it over with a truck, a few hacks with a ax on a few roots and done. They are easy to pry out if you leave a lever. Cut off at the ground, now you have to dig. Just ripped out 7 Boxwood bushes in front of the house - they put up more fight than a 4" Mesquite tree.

Live and learn I guess.

Maybe something like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=Fzw0IF2TpbM

This thing looks interesting.

 

[bczygan]

More grass???

Yikes!!!

I hate grass.


More trees!!!!!!!!!

Bill

 

[sleek98]

More grass???

Yikes!!!

I hate grass.


More trees!!!!!!!!!

Bill

I LOVE grass. I am really weird and that I enjoy mowing. Something calming about it to me. Always have loved it since I was an early teen.

 

[Falcon67]

>Live and learn I guess.

Just know most of us learned the hard way LOL! Of the 7 big bushes I just ripped out with a truck and chain using the leave most of the bush and chain it down low method, the last one came out easy. Nice! Went to dig the spot for the rose bush going in, that sucker left most of the stump in the ground. Another 30 minutes of digging and chopping.

 

[2point2]

I did exactly what your describing 2 years ago.

I modified an saw blade and put it on the end of my trimmer. Cut brush at ground level. Then put a few loads of dirt and leveled out the area with a skid steer. The biggest stumps (6"-8") I drilled a hole in them and pulled them out with a chain block attached to a large willow.

I think a skid steer and a good operator can rip up the stumps and put them in a pile... The bonus is that you can level out the area.

 

[James-W]

If you know someone with a winch on the front of their truck, that might work out pretty well. It wouldn't be real fast, but it would get the job done.

 

[sleek98]

Well I got a hold of a local skid steer guy and hes going to come out next week and rip out the rest of the brush along the property line, level it and get it ready for seeding. Sounds like its going to be around 500-600 to get it ready to drop seed. The area is about 35 foot deep and 175 foot long.

 

[TractorJeff]

That's not a bad price if its ready to drop seed!
Wife and I cleaned up our Hedgerow a couple of weeks ago.
She wrapped the chain around the brush she wanted pulled out.
I ran the skidsteer, either lifting them out or pulling them over and out.

 

[HoosierMark]

I used a tree puller on the front of a skid steer to clear trees for my brother. Works just like a big vise grip. It had a stationery jaw and a movable jaw with teeth that fit together. On his 100 hp plus I could pull some mighty big trees out of the ground by rocking and jerking. I now have bought a smaller one for my 45 hp bobcat. I can not wait to try it on the smaller trees. Go up to them, push the button to squeeze them and raise them up, maybe need to rock them a time or two. Get them out and put them aside to gather later for burn pile. Search tree pullers, they are not that expensive.

 

[6768rogues]

I put the pallet forks on my bobcat, put the forks close to each other, then angle them down and push them in the ground under the stumps. Then I roll the forks back to pop the stumps out of the ground.

 

[manwithtools]

Root grapple on a CUT tractor will make short work of those. After all is removed, I'd hit it with the 60" tiller and then the landscape rake to level it out.

 

[rburke65]

What’s the diameter of the wood? It sounds like maybe a garden spade and couple whacks each would up root it. If not they are not saplings. Just take up 5 per day if it’s too much. Or hire those guys in front of Home Depot

See post #1.....