3 Dangers To Leaving A Tree Stump Close To Your House

If you have a large, old tree stump next to your house, you may wonder if there is any harm in leaving it there. If so, consider the following three dangers of having one so close to your home while making your decision.

Rotten Wood Attracts Termites

Wherever there is old, rotting wood, termites tend to follow. Once they find the stump, they will likely make their home there, burrowing through the wood and aiding in the decomposition of it.

While you may think that this could help with the deterioration of the stump, this could actually prove to be detrimental to your house. Although the stump is what initially attracted the termites to the area, it is just a matter of time before they set their sites to the wood in your home. Eventually, you may have an infestation that causes severe structural damage.

Hollowed Out Holes Provides Shelter For Snakes

As the wood rots or is eaten away by termites, holes will start to form inside the stump. These dark, narrow passages can become inviting to any snakes in the area that want to use your stump as a place to hide from the heat of the sun and from predators. It also gives them a place to look for prey of their own, such as mice and gophers.

Especially if you have poisonous snakes in your area, you want to avoid having anything in your yard that would attract them, including a large tree stump. This could prove deadly to you and your family, as well as any pets you may have.

Roots Are A Hazard While Mowing

Along with large stumps comes roots that spread out from the base. As dirt erodes from around the roots, they will start to stick up out of the ground. Depending on how large the tree grew before it was cut down, these roots could pop up above the ground many feet outward.

Once the roots go above ground, they could be hazardous to you while you are mowing your yard in two ways. First, if you hit a root that is still solid, you could damage the blade on your mower. Second, if you hit a rotting root, the wood could break off and become a projectile that could hit you, anyone standing around, or even a window.

After reading through the dangers of having a rotting tree stump in your yard, you may decide that it is time to get rid of it. If so, you may want to contact a tree service that provides stump grinding to discuss your options for getting rid of it. Contact companies like Tree Landers for more information.