Stump Grinding & Removal in Southern Illinois
Old stumps, fresh stumps, giant stumps — gone below grade. No more tripping hazards, no more mower strikes, no more eyesore on the property line.
Quick Answer
Old stumps, fresh stumps, giant stumps — gone below grade. No more tripping hazards, no more mower strikes, no more eyesore on the property line.
It's literally in our name
Stump grinding is the Stumpt specialty. Old farmsteads with 40-year-old maples, fresh clearing jobs with a dozen pine stumps, fence lines dotted with locust stubs — we grind them below grade so you can mow over the spot, plant on it, or just stop looking at it.
Cutting a tree down is the easy half of the job. The stump is what's left behind — a tripping hazard, a mower killer, a spot where nothing grows right, and in the case of species like locust and mulberry, a root system that keeps throwing suckers for years if you don't deal with the crown.
We run dedicated skid-steer-mounted stump grinders with carbide teeth. The machine chews the stump below ground level, throws the chips into a pile of mulch, and leaves a soft spot you can rake over, seed, or plant. That's it — no chainsaws, no stump killer painted on overnight, no waiting for it to rot out over a decade.
We show up for single stumps in a front yard, for batch jobs after a property cleanup, and for big stumps other grinders won't touch. Whatever you've got, we've probably ground worse.
How We Do It
Below grade, every time
We grind 6 inches below ground level so nothing re-sprouts and nothing catches a mower blade. Chips get spread, piled, or hauled — your call.
Any size, any age
Fresh-cut or 30 years old, 8-inch or 48-inch diameter, oak or pine or locust — we've ground them all.
Batch jobs and one-offs
One stump in the front yard or 80 stumps on a recent clearing job. Same crew, same machine, priced fair either way.
Clean finish
Chips raked level, the spot ready for topsoil and seed if you want it. No divot, no mess left behind.
When landowners call us for stump grinding & removal
- Old farmstead stumps left from tree removals decades ago
- Fresh stumps from a tree service that didn't include grinding
- Locust, hedge apple, and mulberry stumps that keep throwing suckers
- Batch grinding after a forestry mulching or land clearing job
- Yard stumps that catch the mower every pass
- Fence line and field-edge stumps that slow your tractor down
- Pine and hardwood stumps from storm-downed trees
- Large legacy stumps other grinders can't get to or won't touch
How the job runs
Send us a picture and the size
Text us a photo and a rough diameter measurement at ground level. We'll quote the batch over the phone or in person.
We show up and grind
Machine in, grinder dropped, stump chewed below grade. Bigger stumps take longer but the result is the same — gone.
Chips handled your way
We can spread them on site as mulch for free, rake them into a pile, or haul them out for an extra fee.
Walk it with us
Before we load up, we walk the finish with you. Any touch-ups are part of the job.
What it costs, and why
Stump grinding is priced by the inch of diameter at ground level. $4/inch is our starting rate. A 20-inch maple runs about $80. A 40-inch hedge apple runs about $160. Batch jobs — five or more stumps at the same address — come with a break. We're happy to price a whole job flat once we know the count and sizes.
Why the equipment matters
We run a skid-steer-mounted grinder with carbide teeth — the same class of equipment that does production grinding on commercial jobs, mounted on a compact machine that fits through a gate. The operator has over a decade of seat time including two years in Antarctica, seven years running combines across North America on custom harvest, and pipeline construction. Stumps are just another Tuesday.
Compared to the other ways to do this
Grinding vs. chemical stump killer
Stump killer takes 6–12 months, often doesn't finish the job, and leaves the stump above grade the whole time. Grinding is done in minutes and the spot is mowable the same day.
Grinding vs. digging the stump out
Excavator removal costs 3–5x more, leaves a crater that needs backfilling and compaction, and wrecks the surrounding turf. Grinding leaves a soft spot and mulch.
Professional grinding vs. rental grinder
Rental walk-behind grinders handle 12-inch stumps poorly and anything bigger not at all. You'll spend a Saturday doing what we finish in 20 minutes — and one broken carbide tooth on a rental machine costs more than hiring it out.
Related Services
Stump Grinding & Removal across Southern Illinois
We bring stump grinding & removal to landowners across the St. Louis Metro East and Southern Illinois from our base in Patoka, IL.
Frequently Asked
Ready to Walk Your Land Again?
Send us photos and rough acreage. We come look, give you a flat quote, and put you on the schedule. Free, fast, no pressure.
Serving Southern Illinois, the St. Louis Metro East, and surrounding counties