"Land clearing" can mean two very different jobs. One grinds the brush in place and leaves the ground covered. The other strips the ground down to dirt. Picking the wrong one either costs you money you didn't need to spend, or leaves you with ground that isn't ready for what you're building.
- Forestry mulching: grinds brush and small trees in place. No piles, no hauling, soil stays covered. Best for reclaiming land, woods, trails and fence lines.
- Dozer/excavator clearing: pushes everything out, roots and stumps included. Needed where you'll build, pour or put down a driveway.
- A lot of jobs need both: mulch the whole property, then fully clear just the building footprint.
How forestry mulching works
A forestry mulcher is a big rotating drum with carbide teeth, mounted on a tracked machine. It chews through brush, honeysuckle, saplings and small trees and spits them out as wood chips right where they stood. We run CAT 299s with Fecon heads and a CMI C175 for the bigger stuff.
What you're left with: open ground covered in a layer of mulch, stumps ground down low, and your good trees still standing.
- No burn piles and nothing to haul.
- The mulch layer holds soil in place and slows erosion.
- Selective. We take what you want gone and leave the rest.
- Rubber tracks are a lot easier on the ground than a dozer.
How bulldozer clearing works
Traditional clearing uses a dozer or excavator to push trees over, rip out stumps and roots, and pile it all up. Then the piles get burned, hauled off or ground up. The result is bare dirt.
- Roots and stumps come out. That's what you need under a foundation, a slab or a driveway.
- Bare ground is ready for grading and excavation.
- But it leaves exposed soil that can wash, and the piles have to go somewhere.
Which one do you need?
Forestry mulching is usually the right call when:
- You're reclaiming an overgrown yard, pasture or woods
- You want honeysuckle and brush gone but the big trees kept
- You're cutting trails, fence lines, shooting lanes or survey access
- You're clearing a lot so buyers or a builder can actually see it
- Erosion is a concern, like on a hillside or near a creek
Full clearing is the right call when:
- You're building a house, garage, pole barn or anything with a foundation
- You're putting in a driveway, parking area or gravel pad
- The site needs to be graded
The combo approach
A lot of our jobs are both. Say you've got five wooded acres and you're building a house. You don't need five acres of bare dirt. You need the house pad and driveway cleared out and everything else opened up. We mulch the property, then deal with stumps and roots in the footprint where you're building. You save money, keep more of the land intact, and have a lot less erosion to deal with.
More on that in our post on clearing for a pole barn, shop or gravel pad.
Not sure which one you need?
Tell us what you're planning and we'll tell you what it actually takes. See our forestry mulching and land clearing pages, or call for a walkthrough.
Common questions
Is forestry mulching cheaper than bulldozer clearing?
Often, because there's no burning, hauling or grading. But it depends on the job. If you need ground ready for a foundation, you need the stumps and roots out in that spot.
Does forestry mulching remove stumps?
It grinds stumps down low to the ground, but it doesn't pull the roots. Where you're building, stumps and roots need to come out.
Will forestry mulching cause erosion?
It's one of the better options for erosion. The mulch layer covers and protects the soil, unlike bare dirt after dozer clearing.
Can you do both on one property?
Yes. That's common. We mulch the overall property and fully clear just the areas you're building on.
Get a free quote
Bulk Co is a forestry mulching and land clearing contractor based in Harrison, Ohio, serving properties within 50 miles of Greater Cincinnati. Tell us what you've got and we'll come walk it.