You can clear underbrush by hand with loppers, a saw or a brush cutter, which suits small areas and owners with time. For acreage, dense alder, hazel or buckthorn, or brush mixed with small trees, a forestry mulcher clears it in place and leaves no piles behind.
Start by Deciding What Stays
Underbrush is the layer of shrubs and young trees growing under the taller trees. Clearing it opens the woods, lets you see and walk through, and gives the trees you care about more room. Before any cutting, walk the area and decide what stays. Mark keeper trees with ribbon. Young oaks, white pine and healthy birch are often worth saving.
Then look for what you cannot see from the edge. Old fence wire, rock piles, wells, wet holes and property pins hide in brush. Knowing the boundary matters too, so you clear your own land and not the neighbor's. A plan made now saves hours later, whether you do the work yourself or hire it out.
Clearing Underbrush by Hand
For a small area, hand tools work. Loppers handle thin stems. A pruning saw or bow saw takes the thicker ones. Cut low, close to the ground, so you do not leave sharp stubs to trip on. Drag the cut stems to one spot as you go, or you will be climbing over them all afternoon.
For more ground, many owners use a brush cutter, sometimes called a clearing saw, which is a heavy trimmer with a metal blade. A chainsaw handles the small trees mixed in. Both cover far more ground than hand tools, and both bring more risk. Work in the cooler months if you can. The leaves are down, you can see the stems, and there are fewer bugs. Expect sore arms and a big pile of brush at the end.
Staying Safe in the Brush
Brush clearing hurts people every year. Wear eye and ear protection, sturdy gloves and boots with good grip. If you run a chainsaw, wear chaps and a helmet with a face screen, and learn how kickback happens before you start. Never cut above shoulder height.
Watch for spring poles. These are stems bent under tension by snow, a fallen tree or other brush. Cut one the wrong way and it can whip back hard. Watch your footing on uneven ground hidden under leaves. Ticks are common in northeast Minnesota brush, so tuck in your pants and check yourself after. Work with someone nearby, or at least tell someone where you are and when you expect to be back.
Buckthorn, Alder and Hazel
Three plants make up much of the underbrush problem around here. Buckthorn forms dense thickets, keeps its leaves late into fall and sprouts again from cut stumps. Alder grows in clumps on wet, low ground and can be hard to reach on foot. Beaked hazel fills the understory in many of our aspen and birch woods and comes back from its roots after cutting.
All three resprout, so cutting is the start, not the finish. Plan to recut the new shoots while they are small for a few seasons. Buckthorn has its own follow-up questions, covered in our guide to buckthorn removal in Minnesota. For any treatment plan beyond cutting, the DNR and your county extension office are good places to ask.
What to Do With the Cut Brush
Hand clearing leaves you with brush, and lots of it. A small area can make a pile taller than you. That pile has to go somewhere. Options include chipping it, hauling it to a yard waste site, leaving a pile for wildlife at the back of the property or burning it under a permit when the rules allow.
Each option takes time or equipment, and burning has rules of its own in Minnesota. We wrote a separate guide on what to do with brush in Minnesota that walks through each one. Think about disposal before you start cutting, because it is often the part that takes the longest.
When a Mulcher Makes Sense
Hand clearing makes sense for a corner of the yard or a short path. It gets hard to justify on acreage, in dense thickets, on wet alder ground or where small trees are mixed into the brush. The work stretches over many weekends and the brush piles keep growing.
A forestry mulcher grinds underbrush where it stands. The operator works around the trees you marked, and the ground is left covered in mulch instead of piles. There is nothing to burn or haul. We work all year, so it can happen in winter when the ground is frozen and the brush is easy to see. Our brush and underbrush clearing page explains the service. For a look at your woods, call or text Calvin at (218) 461-7376.
The Short Version
- Mark the trees you want kept and find hazards before cutting.
- Hand tools suit small areas. Brush cutters and saws cover more but add risk.
- Wear protective gear and watch for spring poles and ticks.
- Buckthorn, alder and hazel resprout, so plan follow-up cutting.
- On acreage or dense thickets, a mulcher clears it with no piles left.
Quick Answers
What is the fastest way to clear underbrush?
On anything bigger than a small patch, a forestry mulcher is usually the fastest, because it cuts and disposes of the brush in one step. By hand, a brush cutter and chainsaw are faster than loppers, but you still have to deal with the piles.
What tool should I use to clear underbrush myself?
Loppers and a hand saw for small stems, a brush cutter with a metal blade for larger patches, and a chainsaw for small trees. Match the tool to the thickest stems you have, and wear the protective gear each one calls for.
When is the right time of year to clear underbrush?
Late fall and winter are good for most woods. The leaves are down, you can see what you are cutting, bugs are gone and the ground is firm. Check local burning and shoreland rules before you plan disposal or work near water.
Do I need to remove the roots when I clear underbrush?
Usually not. Roots hold the soil and digging them out is a lot of work and disturbance. Expect some resprouting and plan to cut the new shoots while they are small.
See our brush & underbrush service or call (218) 461-7376.