Key takeaways
- Brush mowing: grass, weeds and light brush; fast on open ground.
- Masticating: heavy brush and small trees ground into chips that stay on the ground.
- Hand clearing: steep ground, near the house, near trees you are keeping, and for haul-off.
- Whatever the method, the target is reduced and separated fuel, not bare soil.
Battle Born Tree Service runs a brush mower and a masticating head on its Bobcat track loader, plus chippers and crews for hand work. This guide describes the methods in general terms.
Side by side
| Method | Good for | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Brush mowing | Dry grass, weeds, light brush, firebreak strips | Not for thick brush or trees; cut material stays on the ground |
| Mastication | Dense brush, small trees, overgrown lots, thinning | Needs room for the machine; leaves a layer of chips |
| Hand clearing | Steep or rocky ground, close to buildings, around trees and utilities, haul-off | Slower; labor-heavy |
What does brush mowing do?
A brush mower cuts vegetation at the surface and drops it. It is the usual tool for grass and weed control across a lot or along a fence line. Cut grass and weeds are still fuel until they break down, so what you do with the cuttings matters. Our brush mowing service covers lots and larger parcels.
What is mastication?
A masticating head is a rotating drum or disc that grinds standing brush and small trees into chips. We run ours on a 2014 Bobcat T870 track loader. It takes a lot with heavy brush and crowded small trees down to a thinned, open condition in one pass, without hauling everything away.
The chip layer stays. Keep it away from the house: University of Nevada, Reno Extension's guide says Zone 0 should have no combustible mulch, and Zone 1 mulch should be in patches, not continuous. See wood chips: uses and limits.
Hand clearing
Hand crews work where a machine would be unsafe or too blunt: steep slopes, close to the house, around trees you want to keep, near fences, septic and utility lines. Saws and chippers take brush and limbs, and the chip truck hauls what you do not want left. Limbing up trees is also hand work. See ladder fuels and limbing up.
Choosing a method
Walk the lot with the estimator and mark what stays. A mix is typical: masticate the dense areas, mow the open ground, hand clear near the house and the trees you are keeping. The Living With Fire guide asks for separation in Zone 2 and cautions that removing all vegetation can increase invasive weeds such as cheatgrass. Call 775.232.8243 for a free estimate.
Questions for the estimator
Ask what the lot will look like when the work is done, what happens to the cut material, how the crew will protect the trees and any structures, and whether the plan keeps some living cover. Ask about slopes and rocks that may limit machines, and about utilities, wells and septic systems that must be marked first. A free estimate should answer all of these.
Rules to know
NRS 472.500 lets the State Forester Firewarden direct owners to remove a fire hazard. Outside incorporated cities and towns, burning brush or other material needs a written permit under NRS 472.520, with limited exceptions. Check for HOA rules and any county grading or clearing requirement before work on a building lot, and call 811 before any digging or grinding below grade.
Sources
- University of Nevada, Reno Extension: Living With Fire (SP-23-07) (read October 17, 2026)
- Nevada Legislature: NRS Chapter 472, Forest and Watershed Lands; Fire Protection (NRS 472.500 and 472.520) (read October 17, 2026)