Why an Old Stump Is Worth Taking Out of Your Yard

Plenty of people live with a stump for years. It was a big tree once, it came down, and the stump became part of the yard: a place to set a flower pot, a spot the mower swings around. It's easy to stop seeing it. But an old stump isn't a neutral object. Tree Stump Masters lists four reasons on its own site for taking stumps out, and each one is worth a closer look if you've got one sitting in your lawn.

It gives insects somewhere to live

Wood that's been dead for a while softens, cracks and sometimes goes hollow in the middle. To insects, that's housing. A decaying stump can sit a few steps from your back door and quietly host a population of something you'd rather not have near the house. Tree Stump Masters puts it plainly: stumps attract insects. Removing the stump takes away the habitat, instead of chasing the bugs one spray at a time.

If the stump is close to a deck, a fence, a shed or the foundation, that matters more. Insects that move into old wood don't always stay there.

It's a hazard you stop noticing

A stump sits right around ankle height, which is the worst height for it. Tall grass hides it. Dusk hides it. A child chasing a ball or a guest carrying a tray across the lawn doesn't know it's there. Mowers find stumps too, and a blade meeting a hard stump is rough on the blade and on whoever is pushing the mower. The company's list says it in three words: stumps are dangerous.

For property managers, schools, golf courses and anyone responsible for other people on the grounds, that's more than a nuisance. A stump in a common area is something to fix before it becomes someone's bad afternoon.

It spoils the look of the place

Tree Stump Masters describes a stump on your lawn as an eyesore that can spoil the entire look of your property, and it's hard to argue. Picture a fresh-cut lawn, trimmed beds and a stump in the middle of the front yard. Your eye goes straight to the stump. If you're listing a house, hosting a party, or just tired of explaining to guests that yes, you meant to leave it there, that's reason enough.

For rental properties and commercial lawns, it's the first impression that suffers. A tidy entrance with a rotting stump beside it tells visitors that nobody finished the job.

It can start growing again

Many stumps don't give up. Some species send up shoots from the stump and from the roots around it, and those shoots can turn into a thicket of new growth right where you cut the tree down to get rid of it. The company lists that too: stumps cause new tree growth. Cutting the sprouts back only buys a little time, because the stump keeps feeding them. Grinding the stump removes the wood they live on.

There's a practical angle, too. Stumps get in the way of projects: a new fence line, a patio, a play set, a garden bed. Grinding the stump out first is much simpler than building around it, and you only have to make the call once.

What about just letting it rot?

You can, and plenty of stumps are left alone for years. But rotting isn't tidy. The stump gets softer, uglier and more attractive to insects before it finally goes, and it stays in your way the entire time. Meanwhile the space it occupies can't be used for grass, a garden bed, a patio or a replacement tree.

A quick checklist

• The stump is soft, crumbly or hollow, or you can see insects around it.
• You've hit it with the mower, or nearly tripped over it.
• It sits near a walkway, play area, fence line or entrance.
• Sprouts keep coming up from the stump or the soil around it.
• You want the space back for grass, a garden bed, a patio or a new tree.

If even one of those fits, the stump is costing you something already, even if you can't see it yet.

Residential or commercial, big or small

Tree Stump Masters works on residential and commercial lawns. The people it works for include landscapers, builders, tree companies, golf courses and country clubs, and schools. It's a locally and family-owned business that has been grinding stumps around Atlanta since 2009, and it describes the work the same way whether the job is big or small. That covers a single stump in a front yard as well as a long row of them along a property line.

If there's an old stump in your yard and you're wondering whether it's worth the trouble, ask. Tree Stump Masters offers free estimates, and military, first responder and teacher customers get 10% off, with senior citizen and veteran discounts too. Call or text 770-378-4701 and describe what's in your yard.