Clearing land is hard work, and usually involves lots of large heavy equipment not usually operated or owned by weekend warriors. We are not saying you can’t do this, but know that it’s a very large-scale project, even if it’s a small building lot.

Chainsaw

The list of land clearing equipment can start with simple hand tools and extend all the way up to enormous bulldozers used for clearing. You will need a powerful commercial grade chain saw or two and all the safety equipment that one uses with chain saws.

If you’ve never operated a chain saw, then you must obtain training. Cutting down trees is very dangerous. Even when a tree has fallen, it can have stored energy that can cause the tree to roll or move in such a way to cause the saw to bind or the tree to fall on you.

Chain saws used all day in the field require sharpening. If you use a handy special tool, you can field dress a chain in about ten minutes.

Ways of Clearing

There are many ways to do land clearing. The method used is often based on what happens to the trees and bushes that are being removed. It is always recommended to employee or hire an expert in tree removal and clearing, like Jacksonville Area Tree Removal, with a professional they will have the right equipment to clear your lot quickly, professionally, and safely.

Check your area to see if there are company’s that will take your trees and brush for free.

You may locate a contractor that will clear most of your small trees for free. If this happens, be prepared to deal with the left-over branches, that’s left behind.

Some land-clearing experts will push down the entire tree, and then move it over to a place on the land where it can be processed. This will leave you with trees suitable for lumber processing.

Not all trees need to be ground up or cut for firewood. At Jacksonville Area Tree removal we have machines that can grind up entire stumps and we also have clean up services..

Permits

You will need to check with your local government and state officials to see which permits you need. There can be many regulations regarding land clearing including, but not limited to, timber permits, silt fencing, tree ordinances, burning, composting, burying organic material, and more.

Land clearing can be highly regulated in some areas because some may consider it to be a harmful process. Depending on your area, they may or may not allow you to burn the brush and limbs, while other areas might require you to grind and compost the trees and bushes.

Tree Machine Rentals

You often can rent medium-sized equipment that can do a somewhat decent job of clearing land. A powerful skid-steer loader can be rented that is able to move stumps that weigh over two tons. a tracked excavator backhoe can dig drainage trenches and remove stumps with ease.

Do you have the skills?

These types of mechanical equipment be very proficient for an experienced user. It can take hours or days for a beginner to learn how to get the most efficiency from these machines, so don’t expect to get lots of work done the first few times using rented land-clearing machinery.

If you decide to rent heavy mechanical equipment like this, you want to ask the rental company if they have a training facility where you can learn how to safely use the machines.

If you decide to cut down trees using a chain saw, avoid cutting down several trees that fall down upon one another. You could end up with a mess of limbs that make it hard to get in to remove the debris.

Safety First

When starting a land-clearing project try to recruit helpers. You will have some hand work to do with smaller tools and it can become cumbersome if you try to do this alone.

For safety reasons it is also a good idea to have others there for safety reasons. If someone gets hurt, you will have someone else who can give first aid or call for help.

Once you have cleared your land you will need to assess if erosion will be a problem. One way of holding the topsoil in place is to seed the ground with some sort of grass that will help with erosion. Talk with a local extension agent or government soil district employee who knows how to preserve this valuable natural resource.

To insure your land clearing project goes smoothly, quickly and safely it is always recommended you use a professional tree removal service like Jacksonville Area Tree Removal Service. You will be assured the job gets done right,.