On this page
- Land Clearing Services Available in McLennan County
- Residential Land Clearing for New Homesites in Waco, China Spring and McGregor
- Mesquite and Cedar Forestry Mulching, Brush Clearing Across McLennan County
- How Much Does Land Clearing Cost per Acre Here?
- Terrain, Soil and Vegetation on McLennan County Acreage
- USACE Shoreline Rules, Burn Bans and Oak Wilt Windows Before Land Clearing
- Areas We Serve in McLennan County: Waco, Hewitt, China Spring, McGregor
- Ready to Clear Your Mesquite? Get an Estimate
- FAQ
Land Clearing Services Available in McLennan County
Six posted prices cover the land clearing projects we get here.
- Forestry mulching services on mesquite and cedar: $900 to $4,000 an acre by canopy.
- Lot clearing for a homesite: a half-acre lot is one skid steer day, $2,800.
- Clearing brush and underbrushing on creek bottoms and old fence rows, by the day.
- Stump grinding: $4 per inch of diameter, $175 minimum per stump.
- Site prep and dirt work services: grubbing, rough grading and drainage at $160 an hour with operator.
- Bush hogging on agricultural land: $60 to $90 an acre, $400 minimum.
Our crews have the equipment to handle 8-inch stems on the skid steer and old mesquite, cedar, pine and hardwood on the 300-hp machine. Tree removal and storm cleanup go by the hour. Concrete, wells and septic belong to other trades.
Residential Land Clearing for New Homesites in Waco, China Spring and McGregor
McLennan County permitted 770 single-family homes in 2025 per the Census Building Permits Survey, up 4 percent. Most residential jobs run one to five acres of mesquite, hackberry and cedar: the homeowner wants the live oaks kept, the undergrowth gone, and the pad grubbed before the slab crew comes. Half an acre to an acre is one skid steer day, $2,800, with trees and branches mulched where they fall. The 1.2-acre lot we cleared in Liberty Hill came in at exactly that. Small residential lots pay the same day rate. Site preparation on blackland adds a drainage swale, because clay holds water for weeks.
Mesquite and Cedar Forestry Mulching, Brush Clearing Across McLennan County
Forestry mulching grinds mesquite at the root crown and puts the wood back as a two to four inch mulch layer. The layer slows erosion on slopes toward the Bosque and Brazos rivers. On our jobs west of town the mix is mesquite, cedar, which is ashe juniper, and live oak motts to keep. Cedar prices by canopy: $900 to $1,400 an acre under 30 percent, $3,000 to $4,000 for old growth. Selective clearing keeps the oaks and the grass. An 8-acre mesquite and post oak pasture in Parker County took our crew two days, $8,400, and a bush hog pass each June keeps it clean. Mesquite will overgrow a pasture from any crown left in the ground, so the crown comes out.
How Much Does Land Clearing Cost per Acre Here?
Mesquite and cedar pasture mulching runs $1,800 to $2,600 an acre at medium cover throughout McLennan County, and full site clearing to dirt runs $2,000 to $4,500. Two rules first: rock and caliche on the limestone side add a day, and wet blackland adds a day from November to April.
- Skid steer mulcher: $2,800 a day, transport included within 60 miles of a yard.
- 300-hp mulcher, 8 ft head: $4,200 a day plus transport.
- Haul-off: $650 to $1,200 a load, $1,100 minimum trip.
- Pond or stock tank site excavation: dozer at $160 an hour with operator.
EQIP cost-share through NRCS pays 50 to 75 percent of the payment-schedule rate for brush management, practice 314, once your plan is approved. The on-site estimate is free. I walk the property with you, count the mesquite crowns per acre, and write the number down. Call (832) 987-3495, or send the form, and Teo returns the call before the end of the business day.
Terrain, Soil and Vegetation on McLennan County Acreage
The county's divide is the Balcones edge, roughly along I-35. West of it the ground rises onto limestone and caliche under cedar, mesquite and live oak. Lots near Lake Waco run 30 to 50 percent cedar canopy with mesquite on the flats. East of I-35 the blackland prairie flattens under hackberry, mesquite and post oak, and it holds water for weeks. The Brazos River bottoms carry pecan, hardwood and FEMA-mapped floodplain. Wet blackland floats a mulcher and swallows a dozer. Site conditions get read on the first pass: canopy percent, rock, soil color, water standing in the low spots. Medium-canopy woodland cedar runs 2 to 3 acres a day on the skid steer.
USACE Shoreline Rules, Burn Bans and Oak Wilt Windows Before Land Clearing
No state permit covers clearing your own land in Texas, and McLennan County's rules are short. The county judge or commissioners court declares burn bans, and TCEQ outdoor burning rules cover piles. Mulching leaves no pile. On Lake Waco the Corps of Engineers owns the shoreline strip, so nothing gets cleared below the government line without a USACE permit. Texas A&M Forest Service asks that live oaks not be wounded February through June for oak wilt, so we mulch around the oaks without touching a limb in that window. Along the Brazos and Bosque the county permits dirt work on FEMA-mapped floodplain.
Areas We Serve in McLennan County: Waco, Hewitt, China Spring, McGregor
Waco has its own page and carries the residential and commercial work: infill lots, commercial development pads along I-35 and SH 6, tree clearing on a new fence line at the edge of town. China Spring and Crawford bring cedar and mesquite tracts, McGregor and Lorena bring blackland pasture. Waco, TX and the surrounding areas into Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Limestone and Hill counties sit inside the service area. Of the 254 counties in Texas, this is the one with the most mesquite per mile of I-35. The Central Texas page covers the region.
Ready to Clear Your Mesquite? Get an Estimate
Send the form with the acreage and the nearest farm road, or call (832) 987-3495. Teo calls you back before the end of the business day, and the crew lead walks the pasture with you inside the week, counting crowns. Serving McLennan County from Johnson City, with insured crews and posted prices. Mesquite does not die when you cut it. It takes it personally.
