Brush clearing (OLD)
How to clear your undergrowth: the complete guide
Clearing undergrowth doesn’t mean cutting everything down : it’s a job of discontinuity — thinning out, pruning, clearing the ground — which is planned over the winter and then maintained. What to cut, what to keep, which tools to use, and at what cost: a practical guide.
Key points
- Four rules: short-cut grass; shrubs planted in spaced-out clusters; trees pruned to a height of 2 metres, with their crowns not touching (generally 3 metres between tree crowns); and the ground cleared of dead wood.
- No trees within 3 metres of the building facades and no branches above the roof.
- The right time : November to March (dormant vegetation, pre-breeding season and drought).
- Burning garden waste is prohibited for private individuals: please take it to a recycling centre, use a shredder and mulch it, or hire a company to remove it.
- Professional budget: often between €1,500 and €4,000 for the initial levelling of a large plot, and considerably less for annual maintenance thereafter.
The objective in a picture
After the building work: trees — but spaced out, pruned, not attached to the house, and set in clean soil. Not a wasteland.
The four technical rules (standards set out in the decrees)
- On the ground : grass cut close to the ground, litter, dead wood, cleared brushwood. This is the fuel that feeds the fire — 80 % of the benefit comes from this.
- Shrub layer : shrubs kept in separate islands (2 to 3 metres between the islands), never as a continuous layer or under the trees (spread out towards the tree crowns).
- Trees : tree crowns at least 2 to 3 metres apart (as per the order), pruning the trunk to a height of 2 metres minimum (50% of the height for small trees), removal of dead and overgrown trees.
- Around the building : 3 metres free of trees and shrubs against the building facades, no branches above the roof, nothing obstructing the windows. (And the First 10 metres as mineral-rich as possible.)
What are we keeping? Your beautiful trees — healthy, well-spaced and pruned — will remain: the OLD does not require clear-cutting, and a sparse canopy actually helps to limit the regrowth of scrub. Fruit trees, olive trees, solitary oaks: preserve them, thin them out, prune them. See also defensive garden to keep it looking good.
When to clear undergrowth
| Period | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| November → mid-March | ✅ Ideal | Dormant vegetation, non-breeding birds, accessible ground, a steady flow of waste at recycling centres. |
| Mid-March → June | ⚠️ Finishes only | Breeding season (avoid heavy pruning of hedges and copses — to protect species), sap rising. |
| Summer | ❌ Light maintenance only | Risk of sparks from tools; regulations restricting work on high-risk days — see work involving sparks. |
Do it yourself or get it done
Oneself
- Tools : petrol/battery-powered brush cutter (cord for grass, blade or hedge trimmer for woody plants), pruning chainsaw (training/caution required!), garden shredder — hiring (€30–80 per day) avoids the need to buy.
- Safety : visor, gloves, cut-resistant leg guards ; never work alone when felling ; sparks = fire safety regulations even in a dry winter.
- Method : start close to home and work your way outwards — if you’re short of time, you’ll have done the most important part.
By a professional
- Search for ‘brush-clearing company’ + your area, or check the lists provided by local councils or the DDT. Insist on a written quote specifying the compliance with the prefectural order, professional indemnity insurance, and the removal or shredding of prunings.
- Price lists figures recorded: €0.30 to €1 per m² depending on density and slope — i.e. €1,500 to €4,,000 for the initial work to bring a 50-metre radius of green space up to standard, followed by €300 to €800 per year for maintenance. Tax credit : 50 % via the ‘personal services’ scheme for small-scale gardening work carried out at home (annual spending limit of €5,000), provided the company is eligible.
- Get together with your neighbours: joint projects bring prices down by 20 to 40 per cent — and a neighbourhood treated as a single, continuous area really does provide protection.
Green waste: a contentious issue
Clearing 50 metres of scrub produces several cubic metres of brushwood. Legal solutions:
- On-site shredding (the best) : use chopped straw in flowerbeds — but not in a thick layer against the walls.
- Recycling centre : free for private individuals almost everywhere ; some local authorities organise spring collections.
- Evacuation organised by the company : to be included in the quotation.
- Burning? Prohibited for private individuals (a fine of €450) — the few exemptions for agriculture and forestry must be authorised by the prefecture. Everything is explained in fire, barbecue, burning : the law.
My compliance process, step by step
0 / 8The risk changes every day. So do your reflexes.
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