Clearing Land. what tools?

[glocke12]

I recently purchased my parents 5 acre home. Two acres are mowed, two are wooded, and one acre is full of cedar and thorn bushes. Id like to thin out some of the cedar and remove the thorn bushes, but what is the best way to get rid of brush that is as tall as a man, and several feet wide and several feet deep ?

I thought of using a chainsaw on these, but to be honest, Im the kind of person who you would read about undertaking such a task and than ending up cutting off his arm. Any suggestions ? Would a chainsaw actually work?

 

[smokeyrabbit]

How long do you want it to take? Goats are the best way to get rid of brush, there are even companies that will bring in their herd for the job. Or you can pay a guy with a bulldozer to tear it all out. Don't bother with the chain saw.

 

[glocke12]

I have all summer. I cant afford to bring heavy equipment in, and besides the one acre I am talking about I only want to thin since it provides habitat for alot of wildlife. I want it to be a transition zone between the mown area and the wooded area.

The thorn bushes I want to clear have had a decade to grow, so in some cases the branches are a 1/2 inch thick or more, goats will eat trhough that?

 

[smokeyrabbit]

Yep. For your size area, I would try to find someone to bring their herd in until it's clear, rather than starting your own, unless you want to get into goat farming.

 

[mikeypizano]

You may be able to try one of those weed whackers with the blades on thme but they may not be that strong for the thorn bushes. When I used one to clear some stuff for a guy it was some thick weeds about 1/4" or so thick and it took awhile.

 

[adk]

For branches that are 1/2" thick, you will probably need a sawblade. If you just want to thin things out and don't want to completely get rid of the thorn bushes, you could probably rent a gas powered hedge trimmer. They can easily cut through most of the outer branches of the bushes and at least thin them out quite a bit. Hedge trimmers aren't as dangerous as chainsaws, but they can still put a pretty big gash in your leg very easily.

 

[LumbermanSVO]

Goats are also a good pet. My friend has a couple, they keep the brush clear and whenever they've gotten out they came right back when my friend went outside. They are very mild mannered and don't bark all night long. Cheap to buy as well.

I was drunk and started to make goat noises at them. This caused them to start humping. Nothing like being the cause of gay goat sex.