Land & Lot Clearing in Dundalk, MD

The kinds of clearing we do

Most of our Dundalk clearing work falls into a few groups:

• Overgrown back lots and alleys where volunteer trees, ivy and vines have taken over behind rowhomes and duplexes.
• Waterfront yards along Bear Creek, Back River, Lynch Cove and the Patapsco where brush has blocked the view or access to the water.
• Vacant and infill lots being prepared for a new house, garage, addition or sale.
• Fence lines and easements that need to be opened up for a new fence, a survey or utility access.

What usually needs to come out

Left alone, open ground around Dundalk fills in with a familiar mix. English ivy climbs trees and pulls them down with its weight. Porcelain-berry and Oriental bittersweet smother shrubs. Multiflora rose forms thorny thickets, and phragmites crowds wet edges near the water. Box elder, black cherry, mulberry and Callery pear seed in everywhere. Hurricane Isabel in 2003 left plenty of broken and leaning trees along the shoreline, and many lots still have the regrowth from that storm.

Our approach is selective. We remove the invasive tangle and unwanted volunteers, then look carefully at what is worth keeping. A good oak, maple or sycamore can anchor a yard for decades once the vines are cut off it.

Clearing near the water: the Critical Area

Much of Dundalk lies close to tidal water, and Baltimore County enforces the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area program on land within 1,000 feet of tidal waters and tidal wetlands. Within that area there is a buffer, at least 100 feet from the shoreline, where clearing is tightly controlled. Removing trees or natural vegetation there generally needs an approved buffer management plan from the county, and trees that are taken out usually have to be replaced with new plantings.

Before we quote a waterfront property, we check whether the lot is in the Critical Area and how close the work is to the buffer. If approval is needed, we can help you prepare what the county asks for and plan the replacement planting. Doing it the right way protects the creek, avoids fines and keeps your sale or permit on track. Clearing farther from the water still has to respect property lines and utility rules, but is far simpler.

How the work goes

1. We walk the site with you, flag trees to save and mark utilities, fences and boundaries.
2. Vines are cut at the base and pulled from trees we are keeping.
3. Brush and saplings are cut and chipped or hauled. Larger trees are felled or taken down in sections. See our tree removal page.
4. Stumps are ground where ground disturbance is allowed, using our stump grinding service.
5. We clean up, then seed, mulch or plant as agreed, so bare soil does not wash into storm drains or the creek.

Small machines and hand crews let us work in tight alleys and narrow side yards without tearing up lawns.

Timing

Late fall through early spring is the best time to clear. Leaves are down, the ground is easier to read, vines are easier to see and birds are not nesting. We can work in summer when needed, but we check for active nests first.

Protecting what you keep

Clearing around trees you want to save takes care. We keep machines out of the root zone as much as possible, avoid piling brush or soil against trunks and cut roots cleanly when digging is unavoidable. Vines are cut at ground level and left to die back on the trunk rather than ripped off, which can strip the bark. After clearing, a layer of mulch over the root zone helps those trees settle into their new, more open setting.

Clearing FAQs

Can you just thin a lot rather than clear it?

Yes. Many owners only want vines and brush removed while trees stay.

Will ivy and multiflora rose come back?

Root sprouts are common the first year. A follow-up visit keeps them in check.

Where do you work?

Dundalk, Edgemere, Sparrows Point, Essex, Rosedale and southeast Baltimore.