Stump Removal

I would like to get rid of a tree stump that is starting to rot and is just a couple feet from the house, I guess mainly because I'm afraid it will start getting a lot of insects. It is too close to the walkway to have it pulled out. I have a container of Hi-Yield Stump Remover which contains potassium nitrite. You're supposed to drill holes down into the stump, 12” deep, then additional holes 3” down from the top of the stump, connecting with the bottoms of the other holes, then pour the stuff in.

I'm just afraid that rainwater or something will cause some of the stuff to splash on the house, and then the house will begin rotting. What do you think?

Loretta

That stuff will speed up the process some but will still take a long time and you will still have rotten wood near the house. The simplest best method is to hire a stump grinder and have them take the stump down below ground level 8 to 10 inches. Fill in the top and plant some flowers or ground cover or shallow rooted plants for a few years. Many of these guys just leave the wood chips in the hole. Some do landscaping and will fill with top soil or just leave it for you to DIY. The rental stump grinders are mostly too small to do a good job unless you have some small roots you want to grind up.

They can do that even though it's right up against a concrete walkway?

They can get a few inches away, at least my guy I use can. He then uses a chainsaw, shovel, ax etc to get up to the edge. He will go out away from the stump also and get roots that are sticking up.

They will come and give an estimate for free and all they can say is no I can’t get it with the walk. If it’s very close to the house suggest or ask if they bring a sheet of plywood to place against the house to protect the siding.

In some cases if the tree had lifted the walk you will want to pry up a section anyway and level it out or pour a new section. I have left them rot and had them removed both. My dad used to drill holes and pour stuff in the holes. Just getting water in the holes will make it rot faster. I don’t think the stuff they sell will harm your siding. I worry more about ants and bugs in the rotting wood. I had one a few years ago a huge maple that was about 15 feet from the house. I cut the stump off as close to the ground as I could and placed a big rock on top with some dirt making a mound and covered it with bark and made a planting. It’s been about 5 years and digging around there I notice the stump is mostly gone. Could have been the mulch helping to rot it out.

Very interesting and helpful information. Thank you, bud16415!