Stump Removal

['bert]

How do you guys deal with stumps? I have removed several trees around my property that were ill (now firewood) but would like to also have the stumps gone. I am not ambitious enough (read: lazy) to dig down and cut up the roots for removal, nor am I rich enough to hire a stump removal service.

I have been told to drill holes in the stump to help it rot - does this work? & how long does it take (a year or several years)?

Any good idea's out there??

 

[Backwoods Savage]

We don't do a thing with our stumps. However, I have had a couple in the past that I did drill holes in and then fill with salt. They rotted okay but I can't really say if it was the salt or that they just rotted. Naturally with holes water can get in and sit there which would also help with the rotting. We've even used used oil (someone will probably jump on this) on some small witch hazel stumps and that seemed to work pretty good.


Hey, this is my 3,000th post! Wow.

 

[BrowningBAR]

How do you guys deal with stumps? I have removed several trees around my property that were ill (now firewood) but would like to also have the stumps gone. I am not ambitious enough (read: lazy) to dig down and cut up the roots for removal, nor am I rich enough to hire a stump removal service.

I have been told to drill holes in the stump to help it rot - does this work? & how long does it take (a year or several years)?

Any good idea's out there??

I either rent a stump grinder or hire someone with a stump grinder. It cost me $100 to remove 7-10 stump on my property last summer.

 

[SteveT]

I've had pretty good results with a product called Stump Out. The stumps i applied it to were getting pretty well rotted the next year and gone the second; I think it would have taken several more years untreated.

 

[TreePapa]

To get the stump out (eventually), see if your local garden center has something like this:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=204590636&listingid=50556200
(silly to buy it online, as the shipping is more than the product!)

It prolly won't win any races but should, eventually, get the job done.

A year or two ago, we had a Catalina Cherry (Prunus lyonii) cut down from the middle of our patio (it was in a "planter hole" in the middle of conc. slab patio). We had the tree service grind the stump ... they went down maybe six or eight inches, and we threw some dirt on it. Problem was, it didn't want to stay dead! I kept having to cut back shoots. Finally, I dug back down to the remains of the stump and roots, used my 3 # ax and my cordless Ryobi sawzall clone to remove as much of the roots as I could. Then I drilled into the remaining roots w/ a 1/2" bit, and put root killer (something like this: http://www.hectorshardware.biz/shop/product.asp?dept_id=160301&sku=436424&) in the holes.

It seems to have stayed dead since. Earlier this summer, I laid flagstones in a sand bed to fill the hole. Next year, I'll prolly redo it better, w/ mortar between the flagstones and take a little more care to make sure the stones are level with the surround patio.

Peace,
- Sequoia

 

['bert]

i think even with salt it will freeze here in the winter, it was -44C Jan 29 2008. Not sure about oil, but i have heard a splash of diesel fuel will help things along. If I cut one side of the roots (my back hurts thinking about it) should I be able to pull the stumps with a tractor (JD 2755)?

 

['bert]

not one stump, more like 15 - 20 range from 8" across to 20"

 

[ksting]

M80's?

 

[Highbeam]

Stumping is the hardest thing you can do to your tractor. Plenty of risk to man and machine. I've pulled and dug out my share of stumps and next time arond I'll rent a stump grinder or hire out the pulling. Once the stumps are out of the ground or ground up I can finish the job with my tractor.

You have too many stumps that are too large. If they are evergreen trees expect decades for them to rot out. The bigger they are the longer it takes. Have you ever run into the old growth stumps with the spring board notches? They are still quite solid and have had 50-100 years to rot.

 

[tonelover]

I recently pulverized one with an ax until it was below ground enough to cover with surrounding dirt. I wouldn't want to do 15-20 of them that way though.

 

[Tony H]

I had 5 ground this last summer for 125.00 and 3 were big oaks. I also have drilled some holes in a smaller one and put in some of that "stump away" stuff and after a few years it was soft and ready to take an axe to.
My next door neighbor rents one every few years and takes out 10 or so each time.

 

['bert]

First off I have to put this post here so my 200th post will be with Dennis' 3000 - kinda of equal to my wood pile and his %-P

What is M80's?

edit: M80 - wife has already said no to recreational explosives; that was my first thought :coolsmirk:

 

[LLigetfa]

I am cheaper than I am lazy so I won't hire a stump grinder. What I do is dig around the stump and cut the radial roots. I usually do it while the tree is still attached and the weight of the falling tree pulls the stump out. If there is no longer a tree attached, I split the larger stumps into quarters and use a come-along to pull each section out.

Some small stumps I just cut flush with the ground and drill a bunch of holes in it so that water can rot it. After it rots, a bash it to bits with a sledge. Only problem with rotten stumps is the mushrooms.

 

[ksting]

First off I have to put this post here so my 200th post will be with Dennis' 3000 - kinda of equal to my wood pile and his %-P

What is M80's?

edit: M80 - wife has already said no to recreational explosives; that was my first thought :coolsmirk:

Glad you caught on. I had a good chuckle when you asked that question. .........And you could always wait until the wife isn't home!

 

[Jamess67]

Drill a big hole and fill with black powder and insert a LONG fuse, light and run.

 

['bert]

ksting, you also have to remember that fireworks are not all that common in Canada. We have them, but they tend to be fairly expensive and not the real good ones that you have in the US. That is why I asked the question, and then I thought I better get my lazy fingers up off the keyboard, and decided to google it.

 

[Hurricane]

I have heard of drilling holes and pouring in molasses. It attracts the bugs that will chew into the wood for the molasses. It may take a few times of pouring it on but someone told me it works.
If you have the machine why don't you dig the roots on one side and push the tree over, the weight of the tree helps the root come out. When I get done cutting I have the root that needs to be buried. My buddy whose backhoe I borrow taught me that trick. Obviously it does not work on very large trees.

 

[Hogwildz]

An old feller down the road had a fairly large stump. He burned it. Not sure what he burned on top of it, but its just about to ground level now.
I only noticed it burning a few days. Not sure how long it took.

 

[Nonprophet]

I've burned stumps before with diesel fuel. It's important to use diesel and not gas because of the lower flash point. I drilled holes into the stumps, and then poured diesel on them and waited a few days, then poured more, waited a few days, then poured more. The idea is to get them as saturated as possible with the diesel--the light and let burn. It works!


NP

 

[savageactor7]

I cut 'em as low as possible, lay in some dished 1" check marks ### with the tip, then make a few more deeper plunge cuts to trap water closer to the heart. After awhile things start growing that helps rot the wood so you can use a spud bar to hasten the removal. Free, minimum labor takes about 3-4 years to get the stump slightly below ground level. Some stumps are quicker than others to rot.

 

[crazy_dan]

just tell the kids to not dig up the stumps. of course you got to sell it like you mean it.
give it a couple days and they will all be dug up for ya.

if that does not work
Ammonium nitrate and couple other ingredients = lots of fun and no more stumps

 

[savageactor7]

I've seen a few youtube videos of using black powder on stumps...pretty impressive.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

i think even with salt it will freeze here in the winter, it was -44C Jan 29 2008. Not sure about oil, but i have heard a splash of diesel fuel will help things along. If I cut one side of the roots (my back hurts thinking about it) should I be able to pull the stumps with a tractor (JD 2755)?

All tree stumps are not created equal. Some have many, others have few. Some go deep while others are shallow. Naturally, size also matters.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

First off I have to put this post here so my 200th post will be with Dennis' 3000 - kinda of equal to my wood pile and his %-P

What is M80's?

edit: M80 - wife has already said no to recreational explosives; that was my first thought :coolsmirk:

Methinks you need to match the size of wood piles. After all, you do get a little cooler than we do. We are surrounded by these big lakes which keeps most of the extreme cold at bay. Now get out there and get to cutting wood rather than grinding stumps. lol

 

[i3bpvh]

I've burned stumps before with diesel fuel. It's important to use diesel and not gas because of the lower flash point. I drilled holes into the stumps, and then poured diesel on them and waited a few days, then poured more, waited a few days, then poured more. The idea is to get them as saturated as possible with the diesel--the light and let burn. It works!

x2 plus then we have a 2 day bonfire ontop of it. kinda a waste of firewood but it's a good time.