Why stump grinding is the best way to remove stumps:7 ways not to remove stumps

Stump grinding isn’t the only way to remove stumps; it just happens to be the best way. To illustrate this point, we’ve put together as many different ways to remove stumps as we can think of.

Stump grinding isn’t the only way to remove stumps; it just happens to be the best way. To illustrate this point, we’ve put together as many different ways to remove stumps as we can think of.

Use a chainsaw
The first and worst idea is to try and cut it out with a chainsaw. The dirt will destroy your chain, fast. Don’t ever let your neighbor, your brother-in-law, or somebody on the internet try to talk you into this one. It won’t work. You’ll just ruin your chain and put your own limbs at stake to accomplish nothing.

Blowing up a stump with explosives
This comes in as a close second for worst stump removal method, missing the coveted top berth only because well, it could actually work. However, that small win doesn’t matter when you consider that that this is both extremely dangerous and extremely illegal. Its much better to leave this one to crazy Australians and just safely watch the whole thing from 9,000 miles away:

Acid or other chemicals
If you have the time, you could use acid or epsom salt to make the stump brittle. But this takes a longtime and still requires you to do the work of busting the stump out in the end. A large stump is going to demand its share of sweat and blisters, even if it is dried out and fragile.

Bust it out in chunks using wedges
You’ll need a chainsaw for this one:

This may be the method you want to use if you’re going to try the epsom salt or acid experiment. But again, this is going to be a lot of work. Keep in mind that larger stumps are going to have longer, thicker roots, and weigh a heck of a lot more.

Use fire
You could, theoretically, burn it. We recommend against this idea, as this is potentially dangerous, and slow, and doesn’t quite come up with the same clean results. You’d need the right tools and the right amount of spare time to keep the fire going and keep it contained.

Yank it out with some horsepower
You could try hooking up a truck or tractor and giving it a tug. This could be a lot of fun, but don’t expect great results. Unless, maybe, you were to cut the tap roots. If you’re going to do that, don’t stick your chain saw down in the dirt. Use a shovel or reciprocating saw.

Dig it out with an excavator
If you decide that illegal and dangerous methods are not for you (please decide that), you can always excavate it. As we’ve explained before, that takes more time, costs more money, and leaves you with a gaping hole in your yard.

In conclusion
Yes, there are alternatives to stump grinding. These methods are dangerous. They also are much slower and require way more work.

Stump grinding takes no more than a few hours (for one stump, under most circumstances), leaves you with a good clean surface, and you never even have to break a sweat. On top of that, you get a nice pile of wood mulch for your yard projects as a bonus.
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Get an estimate on your tree or stump removal here. Snohomish Tree is a tree and stump removal service serving Snohomish County and beyond.