Bush/Tree removal

 OK, we bought a house in lake effect snow area recently.  A few months ago,
there was an ice storm that took down some very large branches of several
trees.  That's not a problem.  The problem is, our property includes some
woods (behind our house).  We have two acres cleared.  At the back of the
cleared area, there is about 150' or so of trees/bushes that mark the edge
of the woods.  Our property extends into the woods a ways, so we can do
whatever we want to, to the trees/bushes that border the cleared area (our
back yard)

Most of the tall vegetation at the edge of the woodline consists of,
well...I'm not sure what to call it.  Bushes, I guess, about 10-15' tall.
Each one of these things is made up of clusters of trunks (for lack of a
better word) that are anywhere from 1/2" to about 2" in diameter.  Or maybe
I should describe each bushy thingie as a tree with hundreds of trunks?
Each trunk is firmly rooted in the ground.  Now multiply that by about a
hundred or so bushy thingies, and that is what comprises the woodline that
borders the back of our yard.

Now the problem.  During the ice storm, several of these bushes got bent
over into our back yard, some of them now reaching 10' or more into the back
yard.  Now they are more like trees growing horizontally just above the
grass.  I need to remove them from my yard.  How do I do that?

Obvious answer is, hire a tree service.  Only, I have a feeling this ice
storm crap could be a regular occurrence.  I'd rather find a DIY solution,
even if I have to throw money at it.  First thought was to buy a chainsaw.
But, I'm not sure that it would be safe to work in the area with a chainsaw.
These are clusters of trunks, hard for a rabbit to squeeze through.  I'm not
sure it would be wise to try to fight my way through the mess while trying
to safely control a very dangerous chainsaw.  And, a chainsaw might be
overkill.  As I mentioned, the thickest trunks are about 2" in diameter.

But then a hand tool like pruning shears has a couple of problems.  First, i
t won't be powerful enough to cut most of the trunks.  Second, even if it
was powerful enough, it would take several weeks to clear all that crap out
by hand.  Any kind of hand saw would be equally useless.  It would take too
much time.

I'm open to any suggestions.  We do have several rental stores in the area.
If someone could tell me what the right tool is, I might be able to rent it.
At worst, if there is a proper tool for this job, I'd be willing to buy it.
Even if it costs more than hiring a tree service, I'd rather buy the proper
tool and own it, because I will save money in the long run.

So, what is the proper approach?  Dynamite?  OK, just joking.  -Dave

 

I'd kill the bushes with herbicide first. Then buy or rent a motorized pole
trimmer. You can reach right through branches and cut them off at the
ground. I've got a trimmer attachment for my Ryobi weed wacker and it's
great limbing dense trees and cutting down nasty bushes like multiflora
roses.

 
Pole trimmer?  Never heard of such a thing, but did a google.  Found
something that looks like a weed wacker with a small chainsaw at the
business end.  PERFECT.  But the one I found is electric.  I'd have to buy
like 15 humongous extension cords, the nearest electrical outlet is about
300' away?

But then you mentioned a trimmer attachment for your weed wacker.  Hmmmmm...
we have a fairly new Craftsman two-cycle (32cc?) weed wacker that is pretty
powerful for a weed wacker.  Even with just string on it, if you slip while
using it, it will dig a deep hole in the ground.  I've also damaged some
wood trim with it (ooops).

I think you've given me two good ideas.  I'm going to look for a gasoline
powered pole trimmer first.  If I can't find that, I'm going to see if I can
get something for my weed wacker that might work.  I'm sure it would have
enough power, if I could find the right attachment.

Thanks, -Dave

 
Buy a straight shaft weedwacker and use a saw blade. YOu can cut up
to4" dia with them without a problem. Go with a stihl; or husky
straight shaft. Do not try it with an bent or angle shaft trimmer as
it will not hold up to the saw blade and will self destruct in no time
as it has a felxible shaft and not a solid driveshaft as the straight
shaft have.

 

I've got a Sears brushwacker/weedeater made by Poulan that's about
12yo.  I use the cheap 7.5" & 8" carbide tipped saw blades on it and
have cleared several acres of heavy undergrowth and small trees up to
4".  I doubt the newer Poulans would hold up to that much use but mine
is still going strong.
KC