Cutting down a tree can be a major time-consuming project, but once the tree is gone you will be left with the stump. Removing a stump can be as big a project as felling the tree. Fortunately, there are a number of techniques and methods that you can use to remove a tree stump without having to hire a professional to do this for you.

Removing A Tree Stump By Hand

A lot of people who want to remove a tree stump by hand actually go about it in the wrong way. To use this method successfully, you need to be working on a small stump. If the stump is from a diseased or old tree, that will also help you. To remove a stump by hand you will need to have a chainsaw or saw, a pick mattock, a shovel, an ax and a truck with some chain.

To start, you will need to use the chainsaw to remove any branches that are attached to the trunk of the stump. You should then remove the top portion of the trunk, but you need to leave enough of the trunk to use as leverage. Using the pick mattock and shovel, you will need to reveal the roots around the base of the stump. Using a hose, you should wash away the soil to reveal more of the roots.

Once the roots are exposed, you will need to cut them with an ax. You should then pull and push the trunk to reveal more roots that you then cut with the ax. This needs to continue until you have the trunk entirely uprooted. If the trunk will not budge, you should connect the chain to it and pull the stump out with your truck.

Removing With Tree Stump Killer

If the manual labor of removing a tree stump is not for you, you should consider using a chemical solution. To do this, you need to have a drill, a chainsaw, an ax and potassium nitrate. To start the removal you will need to cut off as much of the stump as possible using the chainsaw.

Once this has been done, you will need to drill 1-inch holes around the entire perimeter of the tree stump. You should then move to the inside of the stump and drill some more holes. Each hole should be around 8 to 12 inches in depth depending on the size of the stump. You should then drill some holes into the side of the stump at a 45-degree angle so they meet up with the other holes.

You need to then pour large amounts of potassium nitrate into the hole and then will the holes with water. Once this is done, you have to wait 4 to 6 weeks for the chemicals to work, but it might take longer depending on the size of the stump. After this amount of time, the stump should be spongy. You will then be able to use an ax to break up the stump.