When it comes to preparing fields and pastures for use or performing regular maintenance to remove overgrowth, landowners essentially have two options at their disposal. These are brush hogging and hand clearing.
While every landowner knows that it is crucial to remove overgrowth to keep land working at full productivity, there is a good chance that they have never considered the advantages and disadvantages of these two methods for preparing the land. Here we will take a moment to examine each of these methods and what they can offer you.
Bush Hogging
Bush hogging is a form of rotary mowing that uses powered tractor machinery to remove unwanted vegetation, including failings, bushes, and tall grass. Unlike lawnmowers that use fixed blades, bush hoggers use rotating blades fixed on a set of hinges which allow the blades to “bounce back” after making contact with fixed items such as rocks and oversized tree stumps. This allows them to clear thick vegetation without becoming stuck or damaged like a traditional mower.
Pros
When it comes to preparing the land, fast bush hogging has no competitor. With powerful rotating blades that crush and slice through vegetation ranging from small trees to grass, it can remove all of the unwanted vegetation from an area in little time. This is a large boon when the land has been left all season without significant maintenance leaving saplings and grass to blend together.
Cons
Bush hoggers are designed to cut through just about anything with their powerful blades, and when these machines meet a tree, they will shatter them into bits and pieces that may need to be raked up later. In addition, though the trees will be cleared close to the surface, there will often be a small stump left behind just above the surface, which can prove to be a nuisance.
Hand Clearing
Hand clearing is just what it sounds like, clearing the land with nothing other than basic hand tools such as pruning loppers, saws, and digging shovels. Using these tools, you can move between trees to cut them below ground level to remove any visible stump.
Pros
If you want to get the job done neatly and you aren’t worried about the time it will take, then hand clearing is the way to go. By cutting down the entire sapling at once, you can avoid dealing with any shredded remains. Plus, because you are working by hand, you can ensure that the stump is removed below the surface.
Cons
Cutting down saplings and vegetation by hand is highly labor intensive. If there is significant growth or a large number of saplings, hand clearing may quickly become unfeasible or, at the very least, extremely difficult. Particularly, late in a season, it may be difficult to even tell saplings apart from the surrounding vegetation.
The Verdict
When it comes to clearing a field fast or clearing a heavily overgrown field, bush hogging is the way to go. These powerful machines can get the job done fast with little hassle. However, for small and only lightly overgrown fields or pastures, hand clearing can be an effective and neat option that can still get the job done.
Contact Us
For fast and effective bush hogging and other land-clearing jobs, contact Coastal Brush Control LLC. Our experienced team is licensed, insured, and ready for your toughest land clearance and mulching jobs. Call us at 910-915-6619 and connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.
