Q: What is the best tool to remove stumps?

• <div><p>What tools you&rsquo;ll need to remove a tree stump will depend on the method you choose. Generally, a shovel, mattock or pickax, chainsaw, garden shears, and a wheelbarrow will help, but do your research once you choose your DIY strategy. You should also be sure to add safety supplies like goggles, ear protection, gloves, and more to your list, no matter which method you choose. </p></div>

Question 1

What is the best tool to remove stumps?

Accepted Answer

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What tools you’ll need to remove a tree stump will depend on the method you choose. Generally, a shovel, mattock or pickax, chainsaw, garden shears, and a wheelbarrow will help, but do your research once you choose your DIY strategy. You should also be sure to add safety supplies like goggles, ear protection, gloves, and more to your list, no matter which method you choose.

Question 2

Are there alternatives to stump grinding or direct removal?

Accepted Answer

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The most common alternative is burning the stump first, then dealing with the cinders and ashes. As you can imagine, this option creates fire hazards, especially since roots can burn underground, hidden, for long afterward. That’s why many states and cities have outlawed the use of stump burning entirely. We do not recommend this option as a viable alternative unless you get a permit from the local fire department and practice all safe burning procedures.

Others prefer a more long-term DIY approach of degrading the stump with home mixtures like Epsom salt and vinegar injected directly into it. This may help the stump decay faster, allowing homeowners to dig it out themselves, but it’s still a lengthy process. It usually takes months for a stump to start falling apart with such treatments, and in the meantime, it can be vulnerable to rot, insects, and other problems.

Question 3

Will a palm tree regrow from a stump?

Accepted Answer

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Palm trees will not regrow from a stump once the tree has been cut down. This type of tree is unique because the root and stump system will slowly decay after the tree is gone, unlike other species that can regrow. That’s why it’s preferable to remove dead or decaying palm tree stumps quickly as they can become an eyesore and don’t offer future growing potential.

Question 4

Are palm tree stumps hard to remove?

Accepted Answer

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Unfortunately, palm tree stumps are one of the most difficult types to remove due to how their roots grow. Unlike other trees, palm tree roots grow horizontally and vertically. Palm tree roots grow as deep as three feet into the ground, although soil and growing conditions could mean they go as far as 50 inches into the earth.

If you want to be able to repurpose the grass in the area where you removed a stump later, you’ll have to dig quite deep—and perhaps wide—to trim away all the roots.

Question 5

Will vinegar kill a tree stump?

Accepted Answer

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Vinegar is another household item that can kill a tree stump over time. Vinegar’s acetic acid works to dissolve the stump’s outer layer through its carbohydrates. However, this compound alone is not enough to kill a large tree stump or one in a hard-to-reach spot. Other methods like stump grinding and applying herbicides work much faster and more effectively than using vinegar.