Is It Ok To Leave A Tree Stump?

What’s The Harm Of A Tree Stump?

Most people think tree stumps aren’t a big deal. Once a tree is cut down, the real problem is gone, right? Wrong! Tree stumps aren’t just unsightly, they can also cause some real problems. Stumps can even lead to expensive damages to your yard and home! Read on to learn the reasons to remove a tree stump.

Stumps Still Grow! Tree stump roots can actually continue to grow. That means that the harmless stump in your yard could be damaging your home’s foundations or pipes.

Stumps are tripping hazards. This is especially true if there are ever children on your property. If so, it’s even more important to get rid of a tree stump.

Stumps can house pests. Dead tree stumps can attract invasive insects such as ants and termites. From there, these pests may spread to a nearby healthy tree or even to your home, causing extensive property damage. It’s much easier (and cheaper) to properly grind a stump than it is to exterminate a termite infestation and repair your home. For this reason alone, it’s well worth removing a tree stump.

Stumps are eyesores. With the tree gone, that stump is now just taking up space (both visually and physically). Reclaim your yard by getting rid of it! Beautifying your yard will make you feel better and will increase the value of your property. Simply put, properties with tree stumps are less valuable.

Is It Better To Grind A Stump Or Remove It?

Stump grinding and stump removal both come with their pros and cons. Choosing which route is best for you mostly depends on the future plans you have for your landscape.

The stump removal process is the more intrusive of the two. It involves heaving up the bulky tree stump and then digging out all the tree’s widespread roots. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of time, elbow grease, and powerful tools to get the job done. The upside? After stump removal, you’re left with a clean slate open to any new ideas you have for your landscape. What’s not so great is that stump removal leaves behind a large hole that can be an eyesore until it’s filled in.

Stump grinding is much less intensive. In this case, arborists use a machine to completely shred the stump down into small wood chips. Grinding is much more efficient than stump removal, however, it does leave the tree’s roots behind. If the stump is large, the chip pile produced can also be quite large, but the chips can be used as mulch for other plants in your landscape.

How Long Does It Take For A Tree Stump To Rot Away?

The stump left behind by a large tree can last up to 10 years without treatment. The exact amount of time it takes a stump to decay varies depending on the species of tree and the conditions in your yard. If you do not want to wait, there are ways you can encourage a stump to break down on your schedule instead of nature’s.

Root Systems

Trees produce extensive root systems that spread out and down from the base of the stump. These roots can remain active for long periods of time, causing the stump to produce new shoots with green foliage for several years after you cut down the tree. You can accelerate the decomposition of the leftover roots by allowing shoots growing off the stump to reach about 1 foot in height before cutting them off the stump. This encourages the roots to deplete their resources quickly so that they begin decomposing faster. In most cases, allow four to five years for the root system to decay before you plant another tree on the ground that was beneath the foliage of the old tree.

Stump Decay

Although it can take years for a stump to decay completely, you can usually break apart and remove the bulk of the stump long before it completely breaks down. Species resistant to decay will lose roughly 80 percent of their mass after seven years under normal conditions while most species will lose 80 percent of their mass in only four years. Stumps in areas with warm climates tend to decompose more rapidly thanks to the increased activity of bacteria and fungi in warmer soils.

How Does Epsom Salt Work On Tree Stumps?

Believe it or not, cutting it down is often the easy part when it comes to removing trees from your property. The real challenge comes when it’s time to remove the tree stump, which may remain alive even after you’ve cut the tree down. This can be a long and difficult process but if you don’t do it then you may discover that the tree stump is doing damage to your property and creating safety hazards to the residents of your home.

There are several ways that you can go about removing tree stumps from your property. For starters you can hire a tree service professional for the stump removal. We typically use a stump grinder, which is a heavy duty instrument weighing around 1,000 pounds, and we grind the stump down into the ground. Sometimes, we can remove the stump using other methods, like a shovel, chainsaw, or digging bar. Of course, there are those DIY-ers out there who attempt to remove stumps with fire or by chaining it to a pickup truck and wrenching it out, but our methods are safer.

Now, in rare circumstances, we may use Epsom Salt. Epsom Salt is a way of chemically removing a tree stump. And, the fact is, you probably already have some of this type of salt in your home. It’s a common household remedy for a variety of problems. You might have used it when preparing a bath to soak in when soothing sore muscles, or – believe it or not – even as a laxative. It can however also be used to remove unwanted tree stumps.

Using Epsom Salt To Remove A Tree Stump

There are several ways you can go about using Epsom Salt to remove a tree stump. For the first one, you will need a drill bit in addition to some dry Epsom Salt. You will want to drill holes all around the stump, leaving a few inches between each one. After you have done this, carefully pour the dry Epsom Salt into each hole. Then very slowly add water to each of the holes to moisten the salt. Do not completely saturate the salt that fills the holes, simply moisten them. Then cover the stump with a tarp so that rainwater cannot get inside the holes and wash the Epsom Salt out. Over time, this will draw the moisture out of the stump, causing it to rot more quickly and preventing it from reshooting.

The other option is to mix a solution inside of a large, five-gallon bucket. You will need a high concentration of salt for this solution to be effective. It’s best to use two gallons of water to one gallon of Epsom Salt. Once you have mixed the solution together, all you have to do is pour it all over the stump, as well as on the roots and around the nearby soil. Then cover the stump with a tarp and repeat this process about once a week. Eventually, the solution will dry out the stump and cause it to rot faster.

As the stump decomposes, chip off parts of it as they become dried. Gradually, the stump will become smaller and smaller and eventually you should be able to pull what remains of it out of the ground. Make sure you get as much of the root system out as possible when removing the stump, and you will finally have removed that stump from your property.

After you have successfully used Epsom Salt to remove the stump from your property, you will need to dispose of the stump properly as well. It’s not necessarily something your city will pick up along with the other waste in your yard, so make sure that you’ve done your research on how to dispose of the remains of your stump properly. Oftentimes, local recycling centers will accept them.

Of course, if you hire a professional tree service provider to remove the stump, we’ll haul the remains of the tree off to be disposed of for you.

The last step is to repurpose the space where the stump once was. Fill the hole you have left with topsoil and spread grass seed over it. Soon enough, with regular watering, grass will grow in the area and you will be able to put your area to whatever use you would like!

This is a long, drawn out process but it does get the job done. If you want it done quickly and efficiently however, then contact Mr. Tree and we can get the stump (and its roots) removed quickly!

What Is Bleach And What Does It Do?

Bleach is the generic name for any chemical that is used for cleaning, removing stains, coloring hair, etc. It is available in different strengths, and people use it for both domestic and industrial purposes. Often bleach refers to a solution of sodium hypochlorite or liquid bleach.

When I moved to a beautiful house, everything was perfect except a large tree stump that was close to the back wall. Initially, I just let it be unless a guy who came to unclog my sewage lines told me how dangerous that tree stump was for the house! I was constantly having problems with the sewage lines and even water pipes. Every few months, there was clogging in the pipes, and I had to call a professional to clean these out.Once I decided to get the stump out, the next question was how to do it? The number of people I asked the more ideas and suggestions I received. I did a lot of research and tried to find as much as I could about each method. Finally, I was down to the option of bleach for this operation. I will share the many reasons and ways one can use bleach for killing a tree stump.

How Do You Rot A Tree Stump Fast?

There are good reasons why removing a tree becomes necessary. One example is when a tree becomes unstable because of the lightning strike. Trees age just as we do and die naturally. They are subject to disease and pests.

Aging, ill, and dying trees are dangerous when they are in domestic settings. Trees that are damaged in storms and drop limbs or fall can be hazardous. Many lives have been lost in this way. Tree removal becomes necessary. And there stands the stump. 

How To Get Rid Of The Stump

When a tree dies in its natural environment, it takes from three to seven years to decompose. The time varies according to the environment and whether the tree is a hardwood or a softwood. Local climate factors control the time taken to decay. Humidity and moisture content is essential for speedy decomposition. Trees are usually cut down, leaving a stump at about waist height. These present an unsightly problem. Cutting the stump off at ground level goes a long way to helping solve this problem. But the remains still have to be attended to. Options are to leave it; hire a stump grinder; burn it, or find a way to rot it as quickly as possible.

Tree stumps might pose no particular problem and can happily be left alone to finish the rotting process. In domestic environments, this isn’t practical or even safe. The tree may continue to grow or put out suckers that will become invasive in the garden. Trees and fallen branches can become difficult obstacles. In smaller areas like backyards and gardens, the landscape needs to be free from hazards and user friendly. Farmers need to remove trees and stumps when building fences, and the local government must keep the public environment free from risks as well.

If you are very creative, you might be able to convert the tree stump into a nice seat or surface for an outdoor table. But the stump is often in the way, or the space occupied by the tree stump is needed for replanting. 

Is Tree Stump Removal Necessary, Or Is It Better to Grind a Stump?

Soon after you are done with the arduous task of removing a tree piece by piece, you come across the robust stump. It requires smart thinking on what course of action to take with a stump that once carried the entire tree. Confusing thoughts may strike your mind whether to leave the stump or get it removed with the rest of the tree. You may also think of grinding the stump. You can get the stump removed either by hiring a professional stump grinder. Other options may include buying a can of tree stump removal. A large number of tree stump removal brands are manufactured from powdered potassium nitrate which enhances the rotting process.

Reasons for Removing Tree Stumps

You might have been facing confusion whether to hold stump or remove it. Well, experts feel that it should be removed. An old tree stump may not cause any issues in the beginning. But the longer it remains, the more troubles you may face. An old stump may become a stumbling block when you are mowing your lawn. It may prove hazardous for you and your family members.

Should You Leave the Tree Stump in the Garden?

The moment you remove a tree from your garden, you will be left with its stump. And, if you leave it as it is, the stump will develop a slow process of decaying. Soon it may invite harmful pests like ants or termites which may pose various dangers to your wellbeing. Termites can cause irreparable harm to other plants in your garden. Therefore, removing tree stumps or grinding them down can be the best option for you to avoid several problems.