Will you protect the trees I want to keep?

Yes. We tag the keepers on the walk, stay out of their root zones, and clear by hand right around them. Running a machine over roots is how a healthy tree dies two summers later, so we avoid it.

Can you take down big trees too?

Not the large ones near a house, a wire, or a fence. Taking down a big tree is work for a New Jersey licensed tree care company, so call one for that part. Once the tree is down, we can pull the stump and clear everything around it.

No, we pull them. A pulled stump leaves a hole that we backfill and compact, so the spot is solid enough to build or plant on. That matters if a patio, shed pad, or grade change is going over it.

What happens to the brush?

It is chipped or hauled off. Open burning of brush and land-clearing debris is banned in New Jersey, so a burn pile is not an option and we do not offer one.

Can you clear a backyard with no access from the front?

Usually. The tracked mini skid steer fits through a typical side-yard gate, which often saves taking down a fence. We check the width on the site walk.

Do I need a permit to clear my lot?

Sometimes. Princeton requires a permit for removing many trees, and other towns have their own rules. Large disturbed areas can trigger state erosion-control review. We flag what we see on the walk, but the municipality has the final say.

A mini excavator clearing a lot and loading demolition debris into a roll-off dumpster under a bright sky.

Site Preparation

Land & Lot Clearing

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Fast, easy, no obligation. Firm written price after a site walk.

Princeton Excavation does land clearing and ground clearing for residential lots and backyards. We take out the brush, thickets, and stumps that are in your way, protect the trees you want to keep, and leave the ground raked and ready for whatever comes next.

Call (609) 438-8064 Request a Site Visit

How we clear

Clear too hard and a property looks beat up for years. We take out what is in the way and leave what matters.

Selective Clearing
We cut brush, overgrowth, and unwanted saplings by hand and machine, and flag the trees and root zones worth protecting before anything starts.
Stump & Root Pulling
Stumps and the big roots come out with compact equipment, leaving firm ground ready for grading instead of a yard of grinder chips and a buried root ball.
Hauled Off and Tidy
Brush is chipped or hauled off, never burned. We rake the area to a clean, walkable grade and do not leave ruts behind.

Real work, on a real site.

Clearing an overgrown lot and breaking down an old structure for haul-off.

An elevated view of a rough, overgrown lot staged for clearing, with a gravel access drive and surrounding tree line.

Made for yards that are already finished

Most clearing gear is built for raw acreage. A fenced backyard with a few trees you love needs something smaller. Our tracked mini skid steer fits through a standard gate, and the mini excavator can work close to the house, a patio, and your plantings.

Where we work
That suits a crowded backyard, an overgrown corner of a bigger lot, or a spot being opened up for a new building.

Kinds of clearing we do

Clearing is not one job. A homeowner with a choked back corner and a builder-bound lot need different work, so here is how we split it up. It is all residential.

Brush and overgrowth clearing

Neglected ground fills with thorny shrubs, vines, and saplings. We cut it back to open ground, chip or haul the debris, and rake it out. It is usually the least expensive kind of clearing.

Selective clearing around trees you keep

Here the goal is a lot that looks cared for, not scraped. We take out the understory, dead wood, and weedy trees, and leave the oaks, maples, and dogwoods you picked on the walk. Work near the keepers is done by hand, with machines held back from their roots.

Stump and root pulling

Stumps are pulled whole with the mini excavator or skid steer, along with the larger roots, then the hole is filled and tamped. If the stump is the only issue, see our page on stump removal.

Clearing for a pad, addition, pool, or driveway

When something is going to be built, the clearing has to match the footprint. We clear a bit beyond it for working room, strip the roots, and hand the lot over for grading and site prep.

Old fence lines and back corners

Fence rows are where the worst vines hide. Wire, posts, and rooted shrubs come out together, and a fence line that was lost for years becomes usable yard again.

What grows back here, and what that means

Central New Jersey overgrowth is not random. Much of it is invasive, and invasives are built to come back.

The usual suspects

Multiflora rose, Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese barberry, porcelain berry, autumn olive, tree-of-heaven, and Norway maple turn up in most neglected lots around Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset Counties. Rose and barberry make thorny mats. Honeysuckle and porcelain berry climb and smother whatever is under them. Tree-of-heaven and autumn olive spread by root and seed.

Dead ash

Emerald ash borer has killed many ash trees in New Jersey. Dead ash gets brittle quickly and can drop limbs, so a stand of them over a yard is a job for a licensed tree care company. We can clear the downed wood and understory around the work. Princeton treats ash removal under its permit rules.

Cutting is only round one

Many of these plants resprout from roots and cut stems. Pulling the root crown, not just cutting at ground level, is what slows them down. Even then, expect shoots next season. Mowing, cutting them back again, or having us return for a light follow-up keeps the area open.

Ground around Princeton and what it does to a clearing job

The same acre can behave differently from one side of town to the other. The geology is the reason.

Boulders and shallow rock

Diabase, the dark rock of the Princeton Ridge, Sourland Mountain, and Baldpate Mountain, weathers into boulder fields. Argillite and shale sit close to the surface in other spots. A stump with rock wrapped in its roots takes longer to pull, and a boulder we hit may need to be dug around or moved to the edge of the lot.

Clay and wet seasons

Neshaminy and Legore soils on the Ridge carry a clayey subsoil, and the lower ground can stay wet where clay sits over rocky soil. Pulling stumps in wet clay leaves ruts and mud, so we pick the dry window when we can and lay ground protection where it matters.

Picking the machine

The tracked mini skid steer gets through gates and works soft ground. The 2.5 to 3 ton mini excavator pulls most residential stumps. The 5 to 6 ton excavator is for big root balls and heavy rock. The large skid steer and the 5 ton telehandler move material, and the 7 yard dump truck hauls it. We bring the smallest machine that does the job. Work out toward Hopewell Township, Montgomery and Skillman, or Hillsborough often means bigger lots and longer hauls.

Rules to check before the first cut

This is general information, not legal advice. Your town and the state have the final word.

Tree permits

Princeton's tree ordinance (2025-19) requires a permit before removing a tree 6 inches or more in diameter at breast height, an ornamental or evergreen tree 10 feet or taller, any tree whose canopy reaches over a public right-of-way, and specimen, significant, or endangered trees. Replacement trees or a payment in lieu may be required. Permits go through Princeton Public Works. Other towns have their own rules, so call your municipality before clearing.

No burning

New Jersey prohibits open burning of brush and land-clearing debris. The narrow permit exception is for commercial agricultural land. For a house lot, the brush leaves chipped or on a truck.

Soil disturbance and sensitive areas

Disturbing more than 5,000 square feet can require a certified soil erosion and sediment control plan from your county's Soil Conservation District. Clearing in riparian areas, wetlands, or flood hazard areas needs NJDEP approval. Lots near Stony Brook, the Millstone River, or the Delaware & Raritan Canal deserve a check before any work begins.

Call 811

State law requires notice to NJ One Call at least three full business days before digging, and we call it in before pulling stumps.

What land clearing costs

These are typical New Jersey market ranges, not our quote. Clearing wooded or overgrown land commonly runs $1,400 to $6,000+ per acre. Most homeowners clearing part of a residential lot spend roughly $1,500 to $6,000 in total.

The spread is wide because light brush and a lot full of mature trees and boulders are different jobs. Stump count, rock, access, and haul-off volume move the price the most. Full projects have a $3,000 minimum, and the price is firm and written after a free site walk. Smaller jobs can book the crew and machine by the half or full day.

See all excavation cost ranges

How a job goes

From the first call to a clean handover

Walk and Flag
We walk the property with you and tag every tree and shrub that stays. Anything unclear gets decided before a machine starts.
Markout and Permit Check
NJ One Call (811) marks underground lines before we pull stumps. We also point out any tree that may need a municipal permit.
Cut and Clear
Brush and thickets come down first, by hand near the keepers and by machine in the open, so we can see the ground.
Pull Stumps and Roots
Stumps and roots are pulled with the mini excavator or skid steer, and the holes are backfilled and compacted.
Rake, Grade, and Haul
Debris is chipped or loaded out in our dump truck, and the area is raked to an even grade you can seed or build on.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Yes. We tag the keepers on the walk, stay out of their root zones, and clear by hand right around them. Running a machine over roots is how a healthy tree dies two summers later, so we avoid it.
: Not the large ones near a house, a wire, or a fence. Taking down a big tree is work for a New Jersey licensed tree care company, so call one for that part. Once the tree is down, we can pull the stump and clear everything around it.
: No, we pull them. A pulled stump leaves a hole that we backfill and compact, so the spot is solid enough to build or plant on. That matters if a patio, shed pad, or grade change is going over it.
: It is chipped or hauled off. Open burning of brush and land-clearing debris is banned in New Jersey, so a burn pile is not an option and we do not offer one.
: Usually. The tracked mini skid steer fits through a typical side-yard gate, which often saves taking down a fence. We check the width on the site walk.
: Sometimes. Princeton requires a permit for removing many trees, and other towns have their own rules. Large disturbed areas can trigger state erosion-control review. We flag what we see on the walk, but the municipality has the final say.

Service Areas

Princeton, Hopewell Township, Montgomery & Skillman, and surrounding Mercer and Somerset County, NJ.

Reclaiming a lot or backyard? Let's walk the property and plan the clearing.

Owner-operated and by appointment. Tell us about your project and we'll walk the site with you.

Request a Site Visit