Brush Clearing

[getdown]

Hey Guys,

I wanted to get the consensus on this topic from you more experienced people. How do you all find your local markets for "brush clearing". By Brush Clearing, I don't mean people coming in with skid steers and mulcher attachments to clear 50 acres for a development. I'm talking about simple backyard clearing (~1 acre in most cases) that the big guys don't even want to consider. Where it's really only cost effective to grab a machete and a brush cutter and lopper.

Is this work generally unpopular? If so, I might be blessed...because for some weird reason I absolutely love doing it. Am I receiving a lot of business as a startup because nobody else wants to do this? I'm not low balling, I'm probably giving middle of the pack estimates. I understand that I live in Florida and its summer time so everybody's backyards are growing like jungles, but there are so many landscapers/lawn guys around here the will mow lawns for 20 bucks, but they won't clear out a corner of someones yard for the going rate.

Do you all find that these size clearing jobs are unpopular for the smaller outfits that would possibly consider them? I'm loving it. I'm not sure I can keep up doing it 5 days a week for 20 years, but I do enjoy it.

I just wanted to ask those questions, but also open up a general conversation about the topic of small scale clearing. Some of you guys with more knowledge probably have a lot of ideas and experience to share about best techniques, equipment and ways to approach/tackle jobs.

In my particular instance, living in Florida the ecosystem is much different than most other places in the US. I'm pretty much always working on flat ground, and dealing with pretty aggressive undergrowth of vines, slash pine, palmettos, etc.

Right now, I'm literally using loppers, a machete, a stihl kombi km 130 with the brush cutter attachment, and a pickup truck to haul debris to the road (in my county the garbage man picks up yard debris 2x a month!!!). I want to get a chipper/shredder to mulch stuff for easier cleanup (+ free mulch), a chainsaw, and some kind of Brushcutter (2 wheel tractor like a DR, the old Gravely's, Goat, or a BCS). I like that the DR's can be converted with attachments into a chipper and also a 48" deck for regular finish mowing).

Thanks in advance everyone and I look forward to hearing what you all can offer to share!

[Duekster]

Clean up is what I call small jobs so it is not confused with clearing.
They can pay well particularly if you can get them on a hourly or not to exceeed price. Mowing is a bread and butter service with a lot of competititon.

As a result there is little profit in it except for the solos and small operators where the owner is also provding labor. That is to say they are not really making a profit as much as creating a job for themselves.

[getdown]

You definitely made a good point, and I agree. There are a lot of people who want to get paid to drive their cadillac zero turns across a lawn and collect a "paycheck"...especially in this economy where a lot of people have lost their jobs, and want to be able to justify holding on to their pickup trucks. I'm not bad mouthing it at all. But I definitely notice that for all the pickup truck and lawn mower guys crowding my small town, when I do a "clean up" (I will refer to it this way now too), my new customers tell me that they called lots of places, and nobody showed up for an estimate. There's definitely a large gap between the guys willing to mow and blow, and prune the occassional dead limb from a tree...and the guys who are willing to drop 5 pounds in sweat day in and day out. It's kind of to my advantage. And I'm honestly kind of lucky because for whatever freak reason I really actually enjoy cleanup work...it's very strange.

[easy-lift guy]

It sounds like your filling a niche market. The type of work your doing is extremely labor intensive, and although you say your loving it at the moment your correct about being able to continue well into the future. Your labor is the single greatest asset you have to work with ATM. Depending on your budget and where you See yourself in the next year
or Three, I would suggest up grading your equipment to handle most of the hand work your presently using. It will cost more, but given the shear amount of work no one seems to want to do except your self, you need to work smarter with better equipment.
easy-lift guy

[Dave does lawns]

As long as they are priced correctly, they often show more profit then mowing. We "internally" offer what we call a "Jungle cut". It could be anything from not being mowed in two weeks all the way up to a year. Funny thing is I charge a very hardy price and still end up turning these customers into weekly mowing accounts. How do I do this?

The other guys pull up for estimate, and see the yard an keep going without talking to customer.

I will stop every-time, and even if I cannot do the job due to lack of time or tools I will just be honest, sometimes they call me in the future and sometimes they actually refer me to others.

I then set pricing so that when all is said and done the customer knows in the end its cheaper to have it mowed regularly.

[lawnkingforever]

I do alot of brushclearing jobs. No money around here in brushmowing large acreage, the good money is in smaller lot clearing. I have cleared out hillsides, drainage ditches and ponds, foreclosures ect... This work is not for the weak. I have kicked up many bee nests, snakes and other things. As long as the pay is right I will do it. If it is not a current customer, I always require payment upfront. I always make sure to be clear about the finished product before I start also, so the customer understands what end result will be. My wb brushmower does a very good job of chewing up the weeds and leaves decent looking cut.

The DR finish mowing attachment is cumbersome and not
worth the money. The grader blade attachment is worthwhile. Comes in handy for loose material like snow, gravel and dirt. Also buy the DR with the 30" deck and the largest kaw. engine available if you are looking at that brand. IMO the walk behind brushmowers with the 12- 15hp engines simply do not have enough power for many of my applications.
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[getdown]

Wow! Thanks everyone. I'm overwhelmed by you all reaching out and the amount of help I've received already!

Easy Lift Guy. I appreciate your tips, and I definitely agree. Doing this 5 days a week to keep up with all the work I'm getting, over 365 days a year will become extremely, extremely, difficult. I will not only need a great vacation, but probably a new back, and a good chiropractor. Right now, I definitely am at the beginning stage where my blood sweat and tears is what is going to get me through and established and paid. I DEFINITELY agree, that I will be saving a portion of my money for some kind of skid steer with a mulcher attachment, or at least some kind of equipment that will, in the longer term, take some of the weight off my shoulders. Does anybody know about the PECO Brush Blazer? Kind of a "mini" skid steer?

Dave Does Lanws-I agree, it pays well. I definitely see, also, how it could done that I would convert these customers to full time maintenance contracts. A lot of them come in assuming it will be a one time gig (maybe call me again in 12 months), but then they realize, "Hey my yard looks like it used to, maybe I should keep it that way"!

LawnKingForever- I agree, definitely not for the weak of heart. I have been lucky to this point with snakes (I've seen a few black racers, but no confrontations, they just slid off). I'm sure I will have my day sooner or later. If anything is poisonous, I have the number for 911 memorized. Although, I do work in some pretty rural areas. What do you carry, or suggest, if anything to help prevent "losing" this battle? I carry a little can of wasp spray with me. Those little jerks...they can be vicious. Although I can't blame them. I wish, however, that we could just work things out in a "non-conflict" approach, haha. Yeah, I wasn't completely sold on the finish mower for the DR anyways. On one hand, I was interested because it seemed so useful to get multiple uses out of one machine, but on the other hand, I didn't want to stress that engine too much or rely on just one machine so much. I am more interested in the DR shredder/chipper attachments if I go the DR route. Do you have any experience with those? I will be using it for the regular "florida brush" type of things, hopefully, including palm fronds...do you know how that would go with that machine? Also, do you have any suggestions to rival the DR? I'm looking to start out with something in the "DR Price Range". Eventually, I will upgrade, but right now I'm looking to pickup (in the near future) some kind of capable brush cutter and a chipper/shredder...possibly a chain saw (probably stihl ms 261).
Any suggestions?

Guys, I'm really, really appreciative. You are all great to be sharing your knowledge with us at Lawnsite...you are all amazing resources, and much appreciated!

[mjlcare2]

Give us some example of your pricing for these jobs.. it would of course have to be worth it financially to justify the work and i'm sure that's why most don't

[Florida Gardener]

I call these clean-ups and I take em all day long. They are very profitable and way better than cutting grass. Around here a 1 acre property with what you describe that hasn't been maintained in 6-12 months would easily go for thousands. I love clean-ups. Very, very profitable.
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[lawnkingforever]

I bought my DR a few years ago. There are many different brands and price ranges out there, do your research. I looked at billy goat, giant vac, gravely and a couple other brands. The DR is far from perfect but it fit my needs and was priced right. Turning it can be a chore, but it will mow pretty much anything it can push over. For light duty the chipper should do fine, don't expect too much from it though. That statement came from a dealer that services DR equipment. Having a deck that pivots was a factor in buying the DR, makes it easier to clear around ditches and uneven terrain.
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