Clear land of small trees and brush using the simplest approach possible. Many people find this to be an extremely daunting task, but we’ll show you that this is not the case.
In this well-researched article, we give you a step-by-step guide on how you can go about clearing your land of small trees and shrubs. Keep on reading to find out everything you need to do made easy!
Contents
How To Clear Land of Small Trees and Bush
There can be a number of reasons why you might want to clear your land of small trees and bushes. Maybe you want to convert it into a fresh lawn or a vegetable garden or are trying to level it and convert it into a pool or a patio, removing these small plants will be the first step to go. Find out the best way to clear brush and small trees in this comprehensive guide below.
– Plan the Whole Process
Clearing brush and small trees from backyard is no easy task and should be carried ahead with full planning. So, you will need to walk around your entire property and survey the whole thing with an extremely critical eye.
Given below are some of the most important aspect+s of the planning process.
– Check What the Local Laws Are
Even though you are essentially going to be clearing your own private property, you will still need to follow the local laws in your county to find out which trees and shrubs can be removed and which cannot.
We suggest you start by reading up on the relevant laws and then contacting your local land preserving agency or any other such body for clearance. Only move ahead once you receive a legal green signal from the local authorities.
– Decide What You Want To Keep
The next thing you need to do is to decide which of the trees and shrubs should stay in the yard. There might also be plants that you may want to save and transplant somewhere else.
Mark the trees that fall in both of these categories with a bright-colored tape so that you don’t end up accidentally knocking them down.
– Remove All Unnecessary Stuff
Now the third most important step before you can get to the actual task is to clean your backyard thoroughly. Remove all the trash that might be lumbering around in the neglected corners of your yard.
Also remove all large chunks of wood, boulder and lumber, etc that might interfere with your equipment and might even damage it later on. The cleaner your yard is prior to cutting shrubs, the easier your task will become.
– Start With Smaller Brush, Weeds and Shrubs
The first step to any successful small tree and brush removal mission is to start with smaller brushes and weeds first. This will clean up your backyard so that you can proceed ahead with larger instruments for cutting the trees off.
– Take Adequate Safety Precautions
Ensuring your own personal safety comes first if you don’t want to harm yourself in the process at all. Take a look at the list below to learn how to do this:
- Wear full-sleeved protective clothing that covers your entire body. It is inevitable to come in contact with some shrubs that might trigger a bad rash or allergy later on. Thick rubber gloves will protect your hands from all sorts of harm.
- Also wear safety goggles to prevent small particulate matter from entering your eyes.
- We suggest you buy and wear shoes with metal toes for extra protection during this task.
- If you are going to be using a chainsaw, then wearing a hard hat is a must too.
- Don’t forget to read the instructions manual thoroughly for all the instruments that you are going to use.
– A Step by Step Approach to Cleaning Smaller Brush, Weeds and Shrub
- Firstly, choose your instruments wisely.
- Then, take a good look at the shrubs and weeds that need removal and choose an appropriate instrument for it. This will make your work infinitely easier. For example, some larger shrubs might come out easily using grubber but you might need to shift to a strimmer for the smaller weeds deep underground.
- Moreover, start with smaller weeds and remove them using a lawnmower or strimmer first. Go around and about the larger plants without touching them at this step.
- For slightly larger brushes and shrubs, a strimmer or mower won’t work. You will need to pull them out of the ground by tying a rope around them and then pulling them out. This can be quite hard, though.
- Instead, you can use an instrument called a grubber. It has jaws on one end that act to ‘grab’ these larger plants and a chain on the other end that can be attached to a truck or ATV to pull them out of the ground, saving you a lot of time and energy.
- Now lastly, fill the holes that have developed in your lawn with soil so that your yard remains level for the machinery to function during the next step.
– Cutting off Small Trees
The second most important aspect of clearing brush and small trees from land is to tackle the trees. After you have pulled out the weeds and the shrubs, you will now have a clean enough area to get to work regarding smaller trees.
The best way to remove small trees is by uprooting it from the ground. This will ensure that no roots are left underground from which new growth can sprout. These trees can also be translated elsewhere pretty easily.
– Safety Precautions
- Be mindful of where you are standing while cutting off small trees. You don’t want a branch or tree trunk to fall on you and cause harm.
- Also, exercise extreme caution when handling instruments like a chainsaw. Call in a professional if you are not confident enough about their correct handling.
– A Step by Step Approach to Cutting off Small Trees
- Once again, a grubber tool will come in handy when pulling out small trees. Simply secure the jaws of the grubber around the trunk of the trees. Attach the chainsaw on the other end with a pick-up truck or an ATV and then move the vehicle away to uproot the tree along with all its roots.
- If you don’t have a grubber, then pulling the trees out along with roots might be a bit difficult. You can, instead, cut the trunk close to the base of the tree and then remove the tree one by one.
- Chainsaws come in handy while cutting the top part of the tree. This part can then be removed using ropes.
- After this, you can use a stump grinder to remove the part of the tree left above the ground. Keep in mind that the roots of the tree will remain in the ground and regrow at their own pace.
- In order to remove roots from the ground, you will have to dig around the roots and then remove them using an ax or a cutter one by one. This will make sure that the trees don’t grow in your garden again.
- Once again, fill the holes in the ground made by this process so that your yard stays level.
- Also if you plan on transplanting these trees elsewhere, cover their roots with a burlap sack as soon as possible until you place them in the ground somewhere else.
What To Do After Removing Brush and Small Trees From Land
Now that you have done all the hard work and gotten rid of the brushes and the small trees, what should be the next step? Find out by reading below.
– Clean Your Land Thoroughly
Now, this is an important step after removing small trees and branches from your yard.
Pick up all fallen branches, logs and pieces of brush and shrubs from the ground and collect them for disposal. You can even hand them over to your local wood collecting authorities for disposal or save some logs etc for your own personal use.
Another method of wood disposal is to run it through a chipper to turn it into mulching material for your lawn. Similarly, the uprooted bushes and shrubs can be added to your composting pile as an essential greens component.
Lastly, burning the cut trees and shrubs is another option should you choose to avail it.
– Carry Out Excavation of the Topsoil
We also suggest you take this opportunity to excavate the topsoil of your yard regardless of what your future plans might be. This is especially important if you are planning on laying down a new lawn after this whole thing.
In that case, excavate at least six inches of the topsoil and replace it with a mixture of earth soil and sand. You can use an excavator or a digger for this step.
– Level Your Land for Further Use
After you have poured fresh new soil on top of your newly excavated soil, level it using an instrument called a compactor. Now your land is all set and ready for a renovation!
FAQ
What equipment is best for clearing trees?
The best equipment for clearing trees depends on their size and density. A chainsaw or a forestry mulcher are commonly used for this task.
How do you clear the brush in a wooded area?
Brush can be cleared using a combination of hand tools, such as loppers and saws, and heavy equipment, such as a skid steer with a brush mower attachment. The best approach depends on the size of the area and the type of brush.
How do you keep brush from growing back?
There are a few methods for preventing brush from growing back, including:
- Applying herbicides to the stumps or roots of the plants.
- Covering the area with a layer of mulch or landscape fabric.
- Regularly mowing or cutting down any new growth.
- Planting desirable vegetation that will compete with the brush. The best method depends on the specific type of brush and the desired outcome for the area.
Conclusion
Today you learned how to remove small shrubs and trees from your land and make it new for a total makeover. Below, we have provided a brief summary for your reading:
- The first thing you need to do is to survey your land and plan ahead. Decide which of the trees and shrubs you still want to keep
- You should start by cutting off smaller brushes, weeds, and shrubs first. This will clear enough space for the removal of larger trees
- Always take strict safety precautions. Wear protective eye goggles, gloves, and clothes that cover your entire body
- A grubber is an instrument that can be used to pull out trees and shrubs from the roots along with their roots. This ensures that these plants don’t grow back again
- One end of the grubber has jaws that will engulf the tree and the other has a chain that can be attached to a truck and used to pull the tree out
- Use a mower or a strimmer to remove the smaller weeds and bushes from the lawn
- You can also use a chainsaw to cut small trees close to their base. Then use a stump grinder to get rid of the remaining stump
- You can also dig manually to remove the leftover roots
- After you are done with this, excavate the topsoil of your land and level it using a compactor
We are more than sure that now you are all set and confident on how to clear overgrown land all by yourself!
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