Brush Clearing for Overgrown Lots & Fields in Peru, IL
Overgrown lots, field edges and fence rows cut back to usable ground. Brush, briars and saplings are ground down where they stand, with nothing to burn and nothing to haul off.
- Free estimates
- Owner-run by James
- Illinois Valley to the Quad Cities
Brush Clearing, step by step
- What brush clearing covers
- Searching for bush hogging?
- How the work goes
- What you are left with
- When brush clearing is not enough
- Where we do it
What brush clearing covers
Brush clearing is for ground that has grown in but is not full timber. That means head-high brush, briars, scrub, multiflora rose, honeysuckle, saplings and small trees. A person cannot walk into it and a lawn mower will not touch it.
Typical jobs are an overgrown lot, a back section nobody has kept up, a field edge that creeps in a few feet every year, a fence row that has turned into a tree line, and trails or access lanes that have closed up.
Searching for bush hogging?
Most people who search for bush hogging want the same result: overgrown ground cut back so it can be used again. OPS gets there with forestry mulching. The machine is a tracked loader with a rotating drum head. It grinds standing brush, saplings and small trees down where they stand and leaves the material on the ground as mulch.
That matters once the growth is woody. Thick brush and saplings are a mulching job rather than a mowing job. Tell James what is growing on the ground and he will tell you straight whether the mulcher is the right fit for it.
How the work goes
It starts with a free estimate. The details that help most are roughly how many acres, how thick it is, what is growing on it, and whether a truck and trailer can get in.
Before the machine starts, we agree on what is coming out and what is staying. Mark anything you want left: a good tree, a well head, a buried line or a property pin. Then the mulcher works through the growth in a single pass. There are no burn piles and nothing gets hauled off the property.
What you are left with
A layer of mulch sitting on undisturbed soil. The topsoil stays where it is, because the machine is not scraping the ground the way a dozer does. The mulch holds moisture, slows erosion on slopes and holds back regrowth while it breaks down over the following seasons. Most people walk the ground within a day of the machine leaving.
When brush clearing is not enough
Mulching takes growth down at ground level. It does not pull stumps or root systems out. If the ground is going to be built on, dug into or farmed, the roots have to come out, and that is land clearing or site preparation instead. Many jobs are a mix: mulch the bulk of it, then clear the part that has to be built on.
Where we do it
OPS is owner-operated by James Bulfer and based in Ohio, Illinois, about 20 minutes west of Peru. Brush clearing is regular work around Peru, La Salle, Oglesby, Spring Valley, Ottawa and Princeton.
Long, narrow jobs such as fence lines, trails and ditches are covered on the right-of-way clearing page. The full list of towns is on the service areas page.
Brush Clearing near you
Regular work through the Illinois Valley, north to Sterling and Dixon and west into the Quad Cities. See the full service area.
Brush Clearing by town
Illinois Valley
Northwest IL & Quad Cities
The same gate, cleared
Both photos are from a real OPS job. The first is the gate buried in brush. The second is the same gate after clearing.
Is brush clearing the same as bush hogging?
Not quite, but the goal is the same. People who search for bush hogging usually want overgrown ground cut back so it can be used again. OPS does that with a tracked forestry mulcher, which grinds brush, saplings and small trees down where they stand and leaves the material on the ground as mulch. Tell us what is growing and we will tell you straight whether it is a fit.
How big a tree can the mulcher take?
Brush, saplings and small trees are what the machine is built for. Once trunks get past roughly eight inches the work slows down considerably, and it usually makes more sense to drop those separately and mulch the rest.
Will the brush grow back?
Some regrowth is normal, especially with species that come back from the root. Ground that gets used afterward, whether mowed, grazed, farmed or driven on, tends to stay open. Ground that is left alone will need another pass eventually.
What does brush clearing cost?
It depends on acreage, how thick the growth is, how big the material is, the terrain, and how hard the site is to get equipment into. Two properties of the same acreage can be a full day apart in work. That is why estimates are free and why the ground gets looked at rather than quoted off a map.
Can you clear brush in winter?
Yes. Mulching and clearing carry on through the colder months, and winter is often the better time for it. The ground is firm, there are no leaves in the way, and you can see what you are working with.
What usually goes with it
Most jobs start with the mulcher and end somewhere else. All services.
Forestry Mulching
Standing brush and saplings ground into cover in one pass. Nothing burned, nothing hauled.
Learn moreServiceLand Clearing
Wooded or neglected acreage opened back up for pasture, food plots, or a building site.
Learn moreServiceRight-of-Way Clearing
Fence rows, field edges, trails and utility corridors put back to passable.
Learn moreWhat people say after
Word for word from the OPS Google Business Profile. Recent jobs are on Facebook.
“James has done a wonderful job for us. He is timely, efficient and willing to travel where needed. You will not be disappointed.”
“OPS does what they say they’ll do, and do it efficiently and at a fair price. You’ll be glad you hired them.”
“James is a good communicator… he has some super equipment and for sure endeavors to do a great job. He recently rototilled some property for me… then planted it with oats and grass seed. Now it can rain all it wants!!”
“OPS did an amazing job on our property. We hired them to install a drainage system for our pool area, level the ground…”
From First Call to Usable Ground
Call or Text
Call or text (815) 240-9065 or send the form. Roughly how many acres, what is growing and whether a truck and trailer can get in.
We Look at the Ground
James looks at the ground before he gives you a number, so the estimate fits the job in front of him.
The Work Gets Done
We agree on what comes out and what stays. Then the machines go to work, with James running them.
Ground You Can Use
You are left with ground you can walk, mow, build on or farm, and the topsoil stays where it belongs.
Need overgrown brush cleared?
Tell us roughly how many acres, how thick it is, and whether a truck and trailer can get to it. That’s usually enough for a real number.
Straight to James. No call center.
Got a piece of ground?
Tell us roughly how many acres, how thick it is, and whether a truck and trailer can get to it. That’s usually enough for a real number.