To remove tree roots, expose them with a shovel or a trench, cut them free with a pruning saw, loppers or an axe, and pull them out working from the far ends back toward the stump. Small roots are a hand job, a whole root system or root ball comes out with an excavator or a grapple loader, and roots of a tree you are keeping should be cut sparingly or not at all.
Decide which roots really have to go
Most roots can stay. Roots of a tree that is gone rot where they lie, and digging them out of a lawn tears up far more ground than they will ever cost you. Roots have to come out where something needs that soil: a patio base, a footing or post hole, a raised bed you will dig every spring, a trench for a pipe. So mark out the area you actually need clear, and stop there. Chasing every root to its tip is a lost weekend. NC State Extension points out that a tree's roots may run out to triple the spread of its branches, or further. You will never get them all, and you do not need to.
Find the buried lines before the shovel
Roots and pipes share the same soil, and roots often grow tight round a line that leaks a little water. Get a locate request in through 811 at least three working days ahead, which is what NC811 asks, and the utilities mark their public lines free of charge. Lines that belong to you are not part of that service, so you have to find your own irrigation pipe, yard lighting cable, invisible fence wire, gas line to a grill or outbuilding, and septic lines. Dig by hand within a couple of feet of anything marked or suspected. A root that will not budge may be wrapped round something you do not want to cut, so look before you swing the axe.
Hand removal, step by step
Start where the roots are thin, out at the edge of the area you need clear, and work back toward the stump. Iowa State University Extension describes the method on a stump: dig down a foot or two in a ring around it and saw through each side root you meet. Use an old pruning saw or a reciprocating saw with a coarse blade, because soil dulls teeth quickly. Loppers handle anything thumb-thick. A mattock or a digging bar pries roots up once they are cut on both sides. Pull each section out rather than leaving cut pieces buried, and pile them somewhere you can haul from.
How deep to go
Not as deep as people fear. Most of a tree's spreading roots sit in the upper part of the soil. Take white oak, a common big tree in the mountains: the Forest Service's silvics account reports its main side roots mostly lie less than two feet down, and that a young tree's taproot dwindles as it grows. For a patio base or a bed, clearing the top foot or so is usually enough. For footings, go to the depth the footing needs and clear wood from the whole area under it. Any big chunk left under something built will rot and leave a gap.
Roots of a tree you are keeping
Cutting roots off a living tree is not free. Clemson Extension counts root damage from digging and construction as a stress that weakens oaks against disease, and its advice for protecting trees during building work is to route lines around important root systems or tunnel beneath roots rather than trench through them. It also suggests building on posts and pillars near trees instead of long footers. The closer a root is to the trunk and the thicker it is, the more it matters. Before cutting big roots of a tree you want to keep, ask your county Extension office for advice.
When a machine makes more sense
A whole root system is a machine job. An excavator, or a compact track loader fitted with a root grapple when the root ball is smaller, loosens the ground round the stump, snaps the remaining roots and hoists the lot out. That job is called full stump removal: the wood is trucked away and the hole filled. If all you need is the stump gone from a lawn, a grinder takes it below grade and leaves the roots to rot. If you are doing the digging yourself with rented equipment, read digging a stump out with a machine first.
Fill, firm and finish
Every root you pull leaves a channel, and every trench is loose soil. Fill with soil, not with the chips or bark that came out, firm it as you go, and leave it mounded a touch above the surrounding grade so it settles level. Top with real topsoil if grass or plants are going over it. Expect to add a little more after the first heavy rains. If you are clearing for a hard surface, compact the fill properly or bring in the base material the surface needs, since loose fill under a patio or path will sink and crack whatever sits on it.
Common Questions
How do you get rid of tree roots after you cut the tree down?
Under a lawn, leave them. They die and rot over a few years. Grind the stump below grade, fill the hollow with topsoil and seed it. Dig roots out only where you need the soil for something: a patio, a footing, a bed or a pipe trench. For a whole root system, a machine lifts the root ball out.
Can you remove tree roots without killing the tree?
A few small ones, yes. Large roots close to the trunk are a different matter, because they feed and anchor the tree, and Clemson Extension ties root damage to disease in trees such as oaks. Take the fewest roots you can, as far from the trunk as you can, and get advice before cutting big ones.
How deep do tree roots go that I need to dig out?
Most spreading roots are shallow. A Forest Service account of white oak puts most of its main side roots in the top 21 inches. For a bed or patio, clearing the top foot or so usually does it. Under a footing, clear all the wood down to the footing depth so nothing is left to rot beneath it.
What to Do Next
If the roots belong to a stump that needs to come out whole, send a photo of it, the way in, and what is going on that spot. Call (828) 574-4474 for a free quote on lifting the root ball out, or on grinding it if that is all the spot needs.