How to Remove a Tree Yourself (and When Not To)

Read this before you decide

This guide covers the one kind of tree removal that’s reasonable for a homeowner: a small, healthy tree in open ground that can be felled whole. Everything else — trees that have to come down in sections, trees near a house or lines, dead or leaning trees, anything you’d need a ladder for — belongs to a professional crew. Tree work has one of the highest fatality rates of any occupation, and those numbers include people who do it every day.

If your tree passes the checklist below, the cost comparison says DIY will save you a few hundred dollars. If it doesn’t, no amount of savings is worth it.

The checklist

Every one of these should be true:

• Height under about 20 ft, trunk under about 10 inches across
• Clear ground at least 1.5× the tree’s height in the fall direction, and nothing valuable within that radius in any direction
• No power, cable, or phone lines within 10 ft of any part of the tree
• The tree isn’t dead, hollow, split, or leaning hard away from where you want it to fall
• You can do the whole job from the ground — no ladder, no climbing
• You have, or are willing to buy, real protective gear: chaps, helmet with face screen, eye and ear protection
• Someone else is on site as a spotter

What you’ll need

Rent or buy a chainsaw with a bar at least 2 inches longer than the trunk diameter — a 16–18 inch saw covers most small trees. Add plastic felling wedges (never steel — they’ll wreck the chain if you touch them), a small axe or hammer to drive them, and a rope if you want a helper to add gentle pull in the fall direction. The full line-item list with prices is on the cost page.

The gear that matters most is the gear people skip. Chainsaw chaps stop the chain when it hits them; a saw at full speed goes through denim and skin in a fraction of a second. A helmet with a face screen protects against falling branches, which injure more people than the saw does.

When to stop

Even mid-job, stop and call a pro if: the tree starts to lean the wrong way during the back cut, the tree hangs up in another tree instead of falling, you find rot or a hollow when you cut into the trunk, or a branch gets caught overhead. A hung tree in particular is one of the most dangerous situations in tree work — don’t try to cut it free.

Continue only if you’ve read the steps below and nothing about them gives you pause.

Step by step

1. Check permits and utilities

   Confirm with your city whether the tree needs a permit (often based on trunk diameter). If any branch is within 10 ft of a power line, stop — call the utility. Many will trim or remove the tree for free, and contact with a line can be fatal.

2. Assess the tree and pick the fall direction

   Look for a natural lean, heavier branching on one side, dead limbs ("widow-makers") overhead, and rot at the base. The tree wants to fall toward its lean; work with it. You need clear ground at least one and a half tree-lengths in that direction, with no structures, fences, vehicles, or people.

3. Clear the base and plan two escape routes

   Remove brush and trip hazards around the trunk. Mark two escape paths at roughly 45 degrees back from the intended fall line — never straight behind the tree, because the butt can kick backward. Walk both paths so you know them by feel.

4. Gear up

   Chainsaw chaps, a helmet with face screen and hearing protection, safety glasses, gloves, and boots with ankle support. Check the chainsaw's chain tension, chain brake, and fuel. Have a second person present, standing well back, watching the top of the tree and ready to call out.

5. Cut the notch on the fall side

   Make a 70-degree open-face notch on the side facing the fall direction: a downward angled cut, then a flat cut meeting it, removing a wedge about one-fifth to one-quarter of the trunk diameter deep. The notch aims the tree, so take time to sight it along the fall line.

6. Make the back cut and leave a hinge

   From the opposite side, cut horizontally toward the notch, about 1–2 inches above the notch's flat cut. Stop with roughly 10% of the diameter left uncut between the back cut and the notch. This strip — the hinge — controls the fall. Never cut through it. Drive a plastic felling wedge into the back cut if the tree doesn't start to lean.

7. Retreat as the tree starts to fall

   The moment the tree begins to move, shut the saw off (or engage the chain brake), set it down, and walk briskly along an escape path, watching the tree. Do not turn your back on it and do not run. Stay clear until everything, including any hung branches, has settled.

8. Limb and buck the downed tree

   Work from the trunk base toward the top, standing on the uphill side of the trunk, cutting limbs on the side opposite you. Watch for spring poles — bent branches under tension that snap back when cut. Then cut the trunk into sections you can lift or roll. Keep the bar out of the dirt; it dulls a chain in seconds.

9. Deal with the debris and the stump

   Brush goes to a chipper rental (~$150/day), a green-waste facility ($50–$250 per load), or a curbside bulk pickup. For the stump: rent a grinder (~$150–$300/day), dig it out, or let it rot with a nitrogen-rich stump remover over a year or more. Pros charge $100–$450 to grind it if you'd rather not.

What would this cost you? The tree removal calculator prices the DIY version with the tools you already own and a value on your time, next to a pro quote.