How to Get Rid of Tree Stumps -Beforehand, we must ask the question of the removal of a tree stump. The most ecological solution is to let nature do it and wait for the strain to decompose naturally. Depending on tree species, the strain may be inactivated to prevent it from producing rejects.
Why not leave a piece of the trunk and use it as a support? Flower pots or a basin filled with plants will give a nice effect. You can also dig the stump and put soil and plants on it. In a few years, the strain will decompose and eventually disappear without you having made great efforts.
If you are full of courage, know that a large strain
is very difficult to pull. It is better to eliminate it on the spot. We offer several less harmful methods for the environment. It will allow you to destroy the stump without adverse consequences for your garden.
Solutions formerly recommended with chemicals such as sodium chlorate or ammonium sulphamate are no longer allowed in Europe because they are excessively polluting. The use of glyphosate (the famous component of Round-Up) is a pesticide harmful to the environment to avoid. The use of salt removal often recommended is not recommended because of the toxicity of salt in the soil.
How to Get Rid of Tree Stumps
1 – The destruction with a devitalizer of the tree stump
The devitalization of a tree stump is recommended for vigorous tree species that produce many rejects. This is particularly the case of maple, ash, acacia, poplar, lilac, Laurel … On the contrary, softwood strains do not produce rejection and therefore do not need to be devitalized.
There are different products called destructor or devitalizer strain. It is mostly a pesticide used as a brush cutter (Fluroxypyr + Triclopyr). On a stump, it is used pure (see the technical gestures below). It acts in the same way as the brush cutter applied to the sprayer. The product is carried by the sap and poisons the plant that dies quickly.
Technical gestures :
- Buy a strain reliever in sufficient quantity depending on the size of the strain to be treated
Have a drill equipped with a large diameter wood drill. Drill vertically several deep holes in the stump as well as in the visible roots. - Using a funnel pour the devitaliseur into each of the holes.
- Check the level every month and add ammonium sulfate if necessary.
- The strain will be destroyed in a few months or even a year. As soon as it begins to fragment, you can accelerate its disappearance by tearing the friable parts.
- Ammonium sulfate (or sulfate of ammonia) is a component that exists naturally. Ammonium sulfate contains nitrogen and sulfur. It is manufactured in the fertilizer industry but has many other industrial applications. In the garden, it is often used as a compost activator. Its principle of action is to provide nitrogen to microorganisms. These feed on them using nitrogen and carbon contained in the wood of the strains that they break down.
The ammonium sulfate can be replaced by potassium nitrate (or saltpeter), another agricultural fertilizer also used for preserving deli meats (E252). It causes a slow burning of wood that quickly turns the stump into charcoal.
2 – The destruction of a tree stump by fire
Technical gestures :
- Proceed in very dry weather and at times when fires are allowed in your municipality. Avoid in dry areas as in the south of France not to cause a fire.
- Make some nice cuts on the stump using an ax or chainsaw, then cover it with dry pine needles and twigs. You can also drill many holes with a large diameter wood drill and pour a flammable liquid that is not very energetic (deflavored oil or kerosene).
- Light the fire and feed it constantly so that the stump is destroyed in depth.
3 – Remove the stump
More complex to implement, the uprooting of a stump, especially if it is imposing, requires adequate equipment.
Technical gestures :
- Do not forget to protect yourself with gloves, glasses and thick clothing.
- Dig all around the stump with a pick and remove the roots well.
- If the stump is small, cut the roots with a straight cut, otherwise, use a saw or chainsaw.
- Once the roots are cut, extract the stump by levering with a spading fork or a crowbar if the stump is light, otherwise, use a pull or manual winch.
- Use care not to hurt yourself.
- Evacuate the stump in a dump or burn it on the spot if the regulation of your commune authorizes it.
Mr. Bricolage’s advice: To pull off a very large stump, hire a professional with a backhoe or mini excavator. He will handle the machine without doing too much damage in your garden.
4 – Plan the strain
When the stump is large, the last solution is planing. This requires specific hardware driven by a professional. If you are used to big jobs, you can rent this type of machine in a rental equipment.
The operation will consist in gradually trimming the stump a few tens of centimeters below the ground level. The stump planer shreds the wood into small pieces. Once the stump and the apparent roots have been treated, only a pile of coarse wood chips remains. This heap largely exceeds the soil but under the effect of the decomposition, it disappears quickly. These fragments of wood decompose in about 6 months.
5 – Gardener tips and tricks
The ancestral trick advised by Mr. Bricolage: do as our elders who used the properties of garlic to devitalize a strain. Proceed in the summer so that the garlic germinates well. Dig holes in the stump and place cloves of garlic on them. By germinating, they will release a toxic substance in the sap that will overcome the strain. This process does not work with all tree species.
There are other more or less reliable tips from gardener to a gardener or spread over the internet:
- install a silo to compost or directly a pile of compost on the stump. The decomposing activity of the composting plants will accelerate the disappearance of a stump of a tree species that does not produce a rejection.
- pouring salt from the snow into holes is effective but should be avoided because of the toxicity of the salt. This would make the site sterile for a few years.
- put a black tarp to deprive the stump of light. This will have effect with a vigorous tree species that will quickly lift the plastic to find the light
- pour milk or milk Ribot after drilling holes, as accelerator decomposition of wood. This has never proven effective in testing forest advisory organizations
- spreading jam and/or sugar on the stump to attract the ants to make their anthill there is more of a joke than serious advice
