Digging
One means of removing stumps is to hand dig around the stump, cutting any large diameter roots. This job is hard and tedious. As soil is removal and large roots cut, the stump may be extracted with a lever bar or a hand winch and chain. Once you complete this process on a small stump, you may decide other means of stump extraction is highly preferable to using a shovel and your own energy. Hand digging is strenuous work and can be dangerous when using associated equipment which may be underpowered, under-sized for the loads, or designed for another purpose. An example of inappropriate tool use is using a small soil auger for excavation. Leaving the stump high can give you additional leverage to pull and push on the stump.

Stump Removal Methods (see full text) Author: Dr. Kim D. Coder - Copyright June 2003 Published by: Warnell School, School of Forest Resources University of Georgia. Used with Permission. Reproduction in any form and/or redistribution by any means is a violation of copyright laws.

Decisions, Decisions
What is Best?
Ecological Values
Soil Subsidence
Future Site Use
Conclusions