Under-Control Undergrowth: Why Controlling It Matters

Undergrowth: it is the tangled mass of vegetation, both dead and alive, that plagues lots and disturbed areas.

It is both a good thing and a bad thing. As part of the natural environment, it provides shelter for animal life and a refuge against harsh elements.

But for property owners, the negatives mostly outweigh the positives.

Here are our best arguments in favor of keeping undergrowth on your properties under control, and why one of our brush cutter attachments is the ticket to success.

Fire Control

Probably the most utilitarian reason for keeping undergrowth under control is that doing so enables you to control and mitigate fire risk.

Wildfires can be a serious threat in many areas of the country, especially in the west, where strong winds and dry conditions prevail throughout most of the year.

The thing about undergrowth is that’s not all living vegetation. Much of it is tangled dead weeds and vines that are bone dry. Sometimes, animals build nests from this dry weave - building what is, in essence, little more than a large tinderbox.

When a wildfire breaks out, often it is the dry undergrowth that enables the fire to continue to spread, even after fire control crews have ostensibly contained it.

So make that your first and foremost reason for controlling tangled, dry underbrush.

Clearing It Can Enrich the Soil

Now, if you clear out the underbrush in your area, consolidate all of the waste, and burn it, you might be ushering in another unique benefit.

Burning that scrap and letting the ash lay fallow over the ground it covered (or actively scattering it) can be quite beneficial to soil health.

Fire recycles nutrients, chiefly salts and other minerals, back into the soil. Ash can also help raise the pH of very acidic soils, which can be beneficial to farmers in certain areas of the country.

So consider that the next time you clear your land. Maybe you should make a burn pile and scatter the ash.

Even just mowing it back under will help recycle some nutrients into the earth. As it decomposes it will release nitrogen and other vital nutrients that would otherwise be lost.

Improve Access, Keep Rights of Way Clear

Our mini skid steer and mini excavator brush cutter attachments are also perfect for keeping rights of way clear and improving access.

For instance, our brush cutter attachments are perfect for clearing trails and fields, paths, fencelines, property boundaries, bond bands, roadsides, and so much more.

These can be used to improve accessibility to your land, as well.

Control Invasives

It’s not just native plants that make their hideout in dense underbrush. Oftentimes, invasives do too, and sometimes they are even the prevailing species.

Weeds like kudzu, Japanese honeysuckle, wisteria, and in flooded areas, Japanese knotweed, among others, will make their haunts in the undergrowth, and they can dominate these microbiomes.

They can be potentially beneficial, as species like Japanese honeysuckles nourish native pollinators like bees and hummingbirds, but if they choke an entire area, it can become a problem.

Control Pests

Animals also make their homes in the underbrush, and unless you’re intensively managing habitat for rabbits and pheasants, more often than not, the animals you’ll find there are pests.

Foxes, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, rodents, and disease vectors like ticks and mites are all right at home in the underbrush.

Clearing it out is tantamount to controlling the population density of these circumstantially undesirable tenants.

Limit Regrowth

It’s easier to keep land clear than it is to clear it, so mowing your overgrown areas every year will be a lot earlier than letting it build up and then going through it.

Our 42” wide brush cutter attachments are rock-solid, dependable, and powerful enough to take care of coarse woody debris up to 3” in diameter, but if you’re dealing with trees and shrubs thicker than this, you’ll need a different piece of equipment.

Keeping it all contained to a minimum from the start is the best policy.

Creates Early Successional Habitat

Have you ever heard of early successional habitat? This is the habitat that consists of young trees and partially open woodland and fields. Undergrowth may be present but it is usually limited.

This is habitat in which many native species, including pioneer species, flourish. Sometimes these species suffer when no early successional habitat is present - so maintaining it is equivalent to seeing to their best interest.

Which means that regulating underbrush helps to keep the natural balance of things.

Maintain or Improve Property Value

Last but certainly not least, removing or at least controlling dense undergrowth will help maintain property value and in some instances, will even improve it.

Curb appeal - you might consider it a farfetched term that should be relegated to the vernacular of realtors, but it is what it is, and it’s applicable in more circumstances than you might care to admit.

Never Surrender with our Brush Cutter Attachments

If you need to control undergrowth along roadsides, on commercial properties, on farms, or for other clients in different settings, a Spartan Equipment brush cutter attachment will Never Surrender.

They are made in the United States with American steel only (never cheap Chinese imports) and are compatible with most major makes and models of mini excavators and mini skid steers.

They’re perfect for farmers, tree companies, and municipalities, can clear growth up to 3” in diameter, are configured with two double-edged blades, and covered by a 1 year warranty.

For more information on our 42” wide brush cutter attachment, mini skid steer brush cutter attachments, and what it can do, please consult the previous link or get in touch with us directly at 1-888-888-1085.