Lawn + Garden Projects
Clearing Brush


BLACK+DECKER B+D Contributor 121 Projects
Nuisance trees, invasive plants, and thorny groundcovers latch on to your land and form a vegetative barrier, greatly limiting the usefulness of a space. Before you can even think of the patio plan or garden plot you wish to place in that space, you’ll need to clear the way.
If the area is a sea of thorny brush or entirely wooded, you’ll probably want to hire an excavator, logger, or someone with heavy-duty bulldozing equipment to manage the job. But on suburban plots, brush can usually be cleared without the need for major machinery.
Cutting and removal tools used for brush clearing should be scaled for the job you’re asking them to do. Simple hand tools can handle much of the work, but for bigger jobs having the right power tools is a tremendous work saver. Dress for protection when taking on a brush-clearing job. You never know what mysteries and challenges reside on your property behind the masses of branches and bramble. Wear boots, long pants, gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection. Follow a logical workflow when clearing brush—generally, clean out the tripping hazards first so you can access the bigger targets more safely.