How to Kill a Tree Stump

The rise in human population and man's ever-increasing demands have resulted in the cutting down of trees on a large scale throughout the world. Some of the reasons for deforestation are need of space for expansion, and demand for wood and other resources obtained from trees. Cutting down a tree is not a very difficult task, but the difficulty lies in cutting and getting rid of the stump that remains above the ground. Here are some tips on how to get rid of tree stumps.

How to Get Rid of Tree Stumps

Inexpensive and Cost Saving Way
Even if the tree is cut down, it is nearly impossible to terminate or kill the roots. The roots will cause the stump to grow again. In such cases, the application of some Epsom salt or rock salt on the roots and the stump will help in killing the roots of the tree. For this, you would need to cut the tree stump up to just above the ground level, then apply salt to it and cover it with dirt, which ideally should kill the stump. There are products available in farm supply shops that contain bacteria which cause the stump to decay over a period of time.

Chopping
There's another solution to the problem regarding how to kill the tree stump. Chop the tree stump until it reaches the ground level. Then set the tree stump on fire, and when it is still burning, add inflammable items such as rubber and wood to the fire, till the time the stump is completely burnt. For smaller stumps, cut or chop them down and wait until a few days go by. Then dig out the stump from the ground.

Non Exposure to Light
For this method, you need to chop the stump as short as you can and cover it with a black plastic feed store bucket. It is necessary to place something heavy on top of the bucket so that it doesn't blow off. This will keep the stump away from light, and thus disable the re-sprouting process, which will then result in the death of the stump.

Natural Approach
You can even take a natural approach to kill the tree stump by drilling holes in the stump. Once you are done with the drilling process, you need to stuff the holes with a high nitrogen fertilizer. The fungi in the stump would get fed by the nitrogen, if the stump remains moist. This would result in the decomposition of the wood. If you wish to see the stump decaying at a faster rate, then building a compost pile would serve the purpose well.

Hollowing Method
This method can be applied only when you are not too concerned about the tree stump and are not in a hurry to kill it. This method involves the hollowing of stumps and stuffing them with potting soil. These holes can then be used as planters. The stump will remain alive for some years only till the time the plants are watered and fertilized. Further, absence of water and fertilizers would lead to the decomposition of the stump.

Tree Stump Chemical Remover
A solution of caustic soda would be helpful in killing the tree stump. The procedure is to prepare a solution of 1 part of caustic soda and 2 parts of water. The next step is to pour the solution on the tree stump. This solution needs to be applied for about 3 - 4 times so as to completely kill the tree stump.

Professional Way
You can call up a person who has a stump grinder. These tree stump grinders will grind the tree stump into saw dust. The hole thus formed needs to be filled in with some soil. The saw dust formed due to the stump grinder would be helpful for mulch, that can be useful in a variety of agricultural and gardening purposes.

These are the best methods that can be used in killing a tree stump. After going through all of them, you just need to choose the appropriate method; the one that suits your purpose, surrounding, time and budget the best.