Eliminating a stump

You could drill a few holes and put rock salt in them. Or get somone with a small stump grinder!

Craig

wahoowad said:

I have a couple stumps I plan to create today after dropping trees in my yard. They are not big - maybe 10 to 12 inches max. It will not be convenient to pull them with my truck due to location. Do the commercial stump eliminator products work? Supposedly you drill a hole in the stump, pour in some product and it rots away in a matter of weeks/months...?

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The direct answer from what I've tried is "no" they don't work. Haven't tried rock salt. The fastest thing I've seen in my yard has been to pile a lot of grass from the mower on, and keep it wet. That promotes rot. Takes about 3 years. I also cut deep groves in them with the saw and put some grass or dirt in the grooves so that moisture gets trapped in them An initial hit of some gasoline to kill the tree keeps it from attempting to grow.

I've also tried to burn stumps out, but I think that actually preserves them and prevents natural decay.

Let nature take it's course. Or get a stump grinder. 150 bucks (yeah I know, that's a lot to ditch a couple stumps) and their gone in 20 minutes.

I've been in the green indusrty for 25 years..Those products dont work. Warren has it . Cut grooves in the stump and keep organic matter on top of the stump. keep moist and in 2 years it will be soft enough to pick away and remove.

I've done the stump grinder bit. I think it was $50 for 4 hours at the local rental shop...plenty of time to do 3 large stumps. I used the "modest" sized version. I think it had a 12-14hp engine but was push powered. The "big boy" had a bigger engine and hydraulic controls for all motion. You may check around with any neighbors and see if they have stumps, too - they could help split the cost of the grinder.

Corey

The fastest and easiest way is to use a stump grinder. Don't screw around with that Stump Out crap and other snake oil that doesn't work
JOHN

My neighbor will leave about 6 feet of stump above the ground, hooks up a strap and yanks them out withe a old truck he has. I dig around them a little and get out the chain saw cutting the trunk a little below ground level. I then cover it with soil and grass seed. Best one I saw was a planter it had a hole cut in the top filled with soil and planted with annuals.

Stumps can be tough.

Years back I tried dynamite once and it scared the peejesus out of me, my neighbors and four dogs. Two problems with this method: 1) it's real noisy and you'll get complaints (maybe arrested, I almost was) and 2) it's totally unpredictible where the stump will land. The stump I launched flew about 80' in the air, at an angle, and missed my cherry '57 Chevy by 10 feet.

The drill hole/chemical method isn't recommended for anyone who doesn't buy green bananas, hides their own Easter eggs or is impatient to any degree. Anything is better than this.

Now what I do, for stumps of any size, I dig'em out, cut as many roots as I can with a long heavy chisel (made for the job), chain the thing then yank it out with the tractor. It's not my favorite past time but, like in life, sometimes you just have to do it.

Aye,
Marty

Grandma used to say, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog."

Years ago had a problem with Chinese Elm. They sucker like no other. The original tree was in my neighbor's yard. He apologized and gave me his solution. It should work for you. Take a 3 lb. coffee can, cut both top and bottom off. Set in middle of the stump and fill with charcoal. Light on the bottomnand let burn, replenishing the charcoal as needed, but always plenty. After a day, there will be a serious hole burned in the stump. Continue to load charcoal and let it burn under ground. After a few days of heat forced drying, the stump will start to burn by itself, but continue the charcoal.

With the elms I burned for two weeks, but it took out the tap root and all the suckers. What was left as char from the main trunk we whacked it a few times with a sledge and it broke up. We did stick a garden hose down after a couple of weeks for fear it might continue to burn. I think it took maybe 25 lbs, of charcoal.

Like others have said. Get your shovel out and dig an area about 2-3' out and I would hand saw all the roots you can dig up or around. Then pull the stump out. I did this this past summer with a pine tree and other trees and it saves you money. Gives you exercise and you can also shovel the dirt on a tarp and after the stump is gone back fill the hole.

If you stump grind them out then you will have for a couple of years a constant sink hole if the mulch created from grinding is not removed until the mulch alll composts. Digging and removing works faster all the way around and leave less there to attract ants or other unwanted bugs.

If your stumps are not within a few feet of readily movable combustiles (ie twigs, fallen, branches, and the like), they sell this stuff at home depot, cannot remember name of stuff. Basically, you follow directions and mix it with kerosene or diesel, drill some 3/4 to 1 inch holes in the top of stump and pour in. Light it up, there will be flames for about 5 min. Then it just glows an orange-red and burns for about 8 to 10 hours, slowly burning stump away. I tried it and it works.

I had a 40" diameter silver maple stump, paid a stump grinder guy 200 bucks, but its now GONE, he got the roots and all, had a LARGE trailer mounted grinder

I've used the kero method. Cut the stump off as close to flush as you can, drill a bunch of decent sized (1/2") holes inthe top, pour kep over it, and light it. stand back. Burns for a little while, and the remainder is a brittle burnt mess easy to mash with an axe or shovel. you get to mash about as deep as you drill, so keep that in mind.

After that, throw some dirt over it and forget about it.

Steve