Believe it or not but the worst part after cutting down a tree is its stump. Although it does not harm you but its presence has no advantage whatsoever, in fact it can become a nuisance and may need to be removed by an arborist service.

Problems Of Having A Stump

• The first problem of having a leftover stump is that it can become an eyesore. It does not look attractive in fact can make your yard or garden look ugly. Imagine a beautiful, well-trimmed and neat garden with an unsightly stump in the middle.
• A stump can be a source of tripping or falling down or coming in the way of you and your family and this can be trouble.
• Also, it disturbs the mowing of the lawn. You can’t mow and trim the lawn easily and steadily but the stump will cause problems and disturbance.
• Due to its roots under the ground, you cannot add new pavement, sidewalks, construction, pipelines, or any sewer lines. In fact, the roots can disturb the pipelines under the ground.
• Although a stump may not prove to be a problem at this point, after some time, a dead tree stump will become a host to different pests and insects. Thus, with time the stump will begin to rot and decay and the rotting will spread to other plantations in the yard such as other trees and their roots, grass and new plantings. This may lead to other existing and new plantation to get infested as well and diseased.

So now when you know that a dead stump can actually lead to problems, you need to extract it, but the question is by what way?

Should You Get Your Stump Grinded Or Get It Removed?

These are the two ways to get rid of a stump but which should you go for will be your decision. We can make your decision making easy by telling you the pros and cons of each method.

What Is Stump Removal?

This method is extensive as well as teeth gritting. It requires special tools, a lot of manual hard work, elbow grease and hours and hours of tiring work. But the result is that you are left with a fully clear area and the roots are also extracted away. It requires digging up the whole stump area and then pulling out each and every root. This way the risk of damaging and interfering with the sewage pipelines, sidewalks and pavements is cleared. You are left with a piece of land in which you can plan out your future plantations.

The major drawback of stump removal, other than intensive manual labor and use of powerful tools, is that you are left with a huge hole in the land which again can make your yard look unkempt till it is filled.

What Is Stump Grinding?

Stump grinding is a much easier process and one which is quite effective. In this the arborists use a specialized powerful machine which breaks and grinds down the stump into small flaky chips and bits. The result is that the stump is removed from the sight but the roots still remain underground. The space is valuable for you to use and plant and is not an empty hole. After the stump grinding is complete you will be left behind with.

The major drawback here is that the roots which are spread 4 to 12 meters from the place of the stump can still rot and decay and cause infestation and diseases to other nearby trees and plantations. Secondly, the roots will interfere with the underground pipelines and sewage system and cause trouble. Thirdly, the roots will rot on their own or can be speeded up by some chemicals but the process of decaying will take 8 to 10 years.

Conclusion

Whatever process you decide, whether stump grinding or stump removal, it will depend on the future of your yard and plantation. The stump removal is hard in the initial stage but in the end the land is completely cleared off. While stump grinding is efficient at first but the decaying process is very long. Moreover, it’s wise to hire tree removal services Chevy Chase who also deal with stumps to get them removed efficiently.