Overgrown shrubs turn your property into an eyesore. Dead or diseased shrubs make your home look neglected. Maybe you inherited ugly foundation plantings when you bought the place, or maybe those junipers have finally grown into the siding. Either way, you are stuck with shrubs that need to go, and digging them out yourself is harder than it looks. Roots run deep. Stumps stay stubborn. And if you do not get every piece out, they grow right back.
We remove shrubs completely at MVP Lawn Service. Roots, stumps, debris, everything. Call us at (352) 361-9059 for a free quote. We are insured, experienced, and we haul it all away so you do not have to deal with the mess.
Common Mistakes Homeowners Make
People think shrub removal is easy. It is not. The biggest mistake is cutting the shrub at ground level and calling it done. That stump will sprout new growth within weeks, and you will be right back where you started. Roots stay alive underground, sending up shoots every spring.
Another mistake is underestimating the root system. A shrub that looks small above ground might have roots spreading six feet in every direction. Homeowners start digging, hit a root ball the size of a washing machine, and give up halfway through. Now you have got a half dug hole and a shrub that is still alive.
Using the wrong tools is common too. A shovel and an axe are not enough for mature shrubs. You need a mattock, a root saw, sometimes a winch or a truck to pull the root ball out. We have seen people rent a backhoe without knowing how to operate it and tear up their yard worse than the shrub ever did.
Ignoring utility lines is dangerous. Shrubs planted near the house often have roots tangled around water lines, gas lines, or electrical conduit. Dig in the wrong spot and you could flood your yard or worse. We always call 811 before we start. You should too, even if you think you know where everything is buried.
Frankly, I would not try removing a shrub bigger than three feet tall without help. The work is brutal, and if you do it wrong, you will pay more to fix the damage than you would have paid us to do it right the first time.
What to Expect During Shrub Removal
We start by assessing the shrub and the area around it. How big is the root system? Are there utilities nearby? Is the shrub close to a fence, a building, or other plants you want to keep? All of that affects how we approach the job.
Next, we cut the shrub down to a manageable height. This gives us room to work and reduces the weight we are pulling out of the ground. We do not leave tall stumps. Everything gets cut close to the soil line so we can access the root ball.
Then we dig. We trench around the shrub in a circle, exposing the major roots. Depending on the species, roots might go down two feet or more. We cut through the roots with a root saw or loppers, severing the connections that anchor the shrub in place.
Once the roots are cut, we pull the root ball out. For small shrubs, a shovel and some muscle work. For big ones, we might use a winch, a truck, or a mini excavator. We have pulled root balls that weighed three hundred pounds. You are not getting that out with a garden spade.
After the shrub is out, we fill the hole with soil and grade it level. We haul away all the debris. Branches, roots, dirt clumps, everything. You will not have a pile of dead shrub sitting in your driveway for a week.
The whole process takes anywhere from an hour for a small shrub to half a day for a mature hedge row. It depends on size, species, and how long the shrub has been in the ground. Older shrubs have bigger, tougher root systems.
Warranty and What Is Included
When we remove a shrub, it is gone. We do not leave stumps or root fragments that will sprout next season. That is part of the job. If a shrub grows back because we missed a root, we come back and finish it. That has happened maybe twice in all the years we have been doing this, but if it does, we fix it.
Our service includes everything. Cutting, digging, hauling, filling the hole, grading the soil. You do not pay extra for debris removal. We do not leave a mess. The shrub goes in our truck, and we take it to the dump. You do not have to deal with it.
We are insured. If we damage a sprinkler line or nick a gas line, our insurance covers it. That is not a warranty, but it is protection you do not get if you hire some guy off Craigslist. Things happen on job sites. When they do, you want someone who can make it right without you footing the bill.
What we do not cover is replanting. If you want new shrubs or sod in place of the old ones, that is a separate service. We can do it, but it is not included in shrub removal. Same with stump grinding for trees. Shrub stumps get pulled out completely. Tree stumps are different, and that is a different service.
We also do not cover damage caused by roots we did not remove. If a shrub had roots under your driveway and pulling them out causes the concrete to settle, that is not our fault. The roots were already causing the problem. We are just exposing it. Most of the time this is not an issue, but it is worth mentioning.
Local Considerations in Irvine, Florida
Irvine is a small community, so most properties are residential with mature landscaping. Shrubs here tend to be older, which means deeper roots and tougher removal jobs. If your shrubs have been in the ground for twenty years, expect the root ball to be substantial.
Florida soil varies. In some parts of the state you hit sand a foot down. In others you hit clay or rock. Around Irvine, soil conditions can make digging harder or easier depending on your specific lot. Sandy soil is easier to work with, but roots spread wider. Clay holds roots tighter, but you can trench through it with the right tools.
Humidity and heat are factors. Shrub removal is physical work, and doing it in July is miserable. We start early in the morning during summer months to avoid the worst of the heat. If you are doing it yourself, plan for that. Heatstroke is real, and digging out a shrub in ninety degree weather will put you on the ground if you are not careful.
Most services in Irvine, Florida are scheduled within a week or two, depending on the season. Spring and fall are busy. Summer slows down because of the heat. Winter is steady. If you need a shrub out before a specific date, call early. We do our best to accommodate, but we cannot always fit rush jobs into the schedule.
There are no special permits required for Shrub Removal on residential properties in most cases. If the shrub is on a property line and your neighbor is involved, that is a different conversation. Technically, you can remove anything on your side of the line, but it is polite to give your neighbor a heads up. We have seen disputes over shared hedges. Do not be that guy.
Dead shrubs do not fix themselves. Overgrown hedges do not shrink on their own. If you are tired of looking at shrubs that make your property look neglected, we will get them out. Call MVP Lawn Service at (352) 361-9059 for a free quote. We are insured, we have the equipment, and we will haul everything away. No mess left behind.
