Trees can be a lovely addition to your property or garden, they provide shade on hot summer days and help to create privacy. However, sometimes a storm can cause dramatic damage to your trees or they can get infected with a disease and die. In that case, the tree might fall over or needs to get cut down. What’s left is an unsightly tree stump that is not only disturbing in terms of space, it can also become camouflaged by leaves and other plants, especially in Melbourne fall. Therefore, a hidden stump on your property can become dangerous for yourself, your family and especially guests that are not aware of the stump. There is a high risk of tripping over the stump and getting hurt, which is why you should consider tree stump removal in Melbourne.
What Happens If I Don’t Remove a Tree Stump?
Sometimes, people think it’s easiest to just cut the stump to ground level, and therefore reduce the risk of tripping over. If a tree on your property falls over for some reason and you are left with a tree stump, it is not only dangerous for people to get hurt when not seeing the stump, there are also other concerns involved. If you don’t get the stump removed professionally, it might send out new sprouts that might turn into new, unwanted trees. Additionally, it can cause difficulties for future paving or other construction projects. In the worst case, a forgotten tree stump on your property might attract termites that might move and destroy surrounding homes, fences, sheds, and trees.
Ways to Remove a Tree Stump
When deciding to get a tree stump on your property or in your garden removed, there are two major ways of doing it, that both come with advantages and disadvantages:
- Stump Grinding
The first method of removing a tree stump is grinding it to the ground. Like that the risk of people getting hurt by accidentally running into the stump or tripping over it gets eliminated. Grinding a stump is considered to be environmentally friendly, extremely safe, and usually goes a little bit below ground level. In most cases, a high-speed stump grinder is used to grind the stump, as well as visible roots. This method is the preferred way of stump removal when the timing is an important factor, as it is the fastest method. However, as mentioned before, cutting a stump to the ground instead of removing the entire stump involves the risk of attracting termites that can cause significant damage. Additionally, the roots that are left in the ground are likely to continue growing and potentially turn into new trees. Moreover, planned landscaping and gardening projects might get more complicated.
- Stump Removal
As explained above, the roots of a ground stump can lead to unpleasant events. If you want to avoid annoying new sprouts and termites on your property, you should seriously consider getting the entire stump removed. In that case, heavy equipment is required, which comes at the cost of both financial and environmental resources. Moreover, using this type of equipment is usually not common in domestic situations. When removing the entire tree stump, surrounding vegetation and soil has to get lifted out of the ground as well, which means there will be a large hole left on your property. If necessary, that hole can be evened out at a later point. This method is required if you are planning to plant a new tree in that spot in the future, however, it is the most time-consuming way of removing a tree stump.
Which Way of Removing the Tree Stump is Best For Me?
Which of the two experienced methods is best for you completely depends on your individual situation. If you have any plans for landscaping and gardening on your property in the future and access to the financial resources for the equipment that is required for complete stump removal, then this is most likely the best option for you. However, if you are short in time and want to save money, you should probably consider getting your tree stump ground by a professional. For either method, hiring an expert in the field of tree stump removal is absolutely essential. If you attempt to remove the stump yourself, there is a major risk of getting hurt or doing it the wrong way.