Forestry Mulching and Land Clearing in Arcadia, FL: Lot, Brush and Palmetto Clearing
Arcadia is pasture country with dead citrus in the middle of it: dry prairie along the Peace River, groves gone to pepper and cogon grass, live oak hammock on the high spots. Parcels run five to forty acres off US 17 and SR 70. Our Punta Gorda crew is 30 miles down US 17: skid steer forestry mulcher, $2,600 a day. In Arcadia the grove died, the fence stayed, and the pepper took both. Call (352) 619-3597 or send the form. Brandi texts you a scheduling window within the hour.
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Forestry Mulching and Brush Clearing Near Arcadia
Forestry mulching takes five acres of Arcadia grove regrowth down in two days on the skid steer, $1,500 to 2,500 an acre by density, dead trunks and pepper ground together. It is a land clearing method that uses specialized equipment to grind trees and vegetation into mulch where they stand.
Pepper resprouts from any untreated stump, so every cut gets herbicide within minutes. Palmetto along the flatwoods edge is a root mat; a bush hog leaves it and the lot will overgrow in two summers. Prairie pasture is the easy ground, and brush clearing there runs five acres a day unless the myrtle got ahead of the mower.
Land Clearing Services in Arcadia, FL
Pellegrino Land Works provides land clearing in six forms, a land clearing company serving DeSoto County since 2012 with insured crews.
- Selective clearing: pepper, myrtle and dead citrus out, live oak and cabbage palm kept.
- Full site clearing for a pad: stump grinding, root rake, rough grading. Excavation for a pool is the builder's.
- Brush removal, tree removal and storm cleanup on overgrown land.
- Commercial land clearing services for commercial sites and commercial development along US 17 and SR 70: site work, site prep, haul-off by the load. Commercial clearing follows the development order.
- Residential land clearing on in-town lots and the five-acre homesites toward Nocatee.
- Land improvement on pasture that stays pasture: bush hogging, fence lines, landscape clearing around a house.
Residential and commercial properties get the same professional land clearing service. No concrete, wells, septic or house demolition.
Lot Clearing for New Homes in Arcadia and Nocatee
DeSoto reports its permits county-wide, 159 single-family in 2025 by the Census Building Permits Survey, up 124 percent, so the county count is the proxy for Arcadia. Most land clearing projects here are a five-acre homesite cut from a dead grove or a pasture corner: trunks pushed, pepper treated, an oak kept for shade. A half-acre lot in town is one skid steer day, $2,600; a quarter-acre infill lot is $1,800 flat.
For a grove, the comparison is Lake Wales: 20 acres of dead citrus, trees pushed and roots raked, 4 days with the big mulcher and a dozer, $21,000 plus haul. A grove here prices the same per acre. Grove rows are bedded, so the grading pass makes the pad level, and the furrows hold June water until they come down. The drainage plan goes on the estimate with the fill. Site preparation waits for a dry week; property owners who book November to May skip the wet-season day.
Land Clearing Arcadia Prices: Lot, Acre and Grove
Land clearing costs in Arcadia run from $1,800 for a quarter-acre infill lot to $5,500 an acre for full clearing to dirt with stumps, transport included from Punta Gorda.
- Skid steer mulcher: $2,600 a day, stems to 8 inches.
- 300-hp mulcher plus dozer for large acreage clearing and dead groves: $4,000 a day plus transport.
- Grove regrowth, pepper and palmetto: $1,500 to 2,500 an acre by density; solid pepper adds $500.
- Full clearing to dirt with stumps and grading: $3,000 to 5,500 an acre.
- Stump grinding: $4.50 an inch, $150 minimum per stump; ten or more and we grind by the day.
- Haul-off: $700 to 1,300 per 10-yard load.
The price depends on the size and whether the roots come out. June through September adds one day on muck or wet flatwoods. The gopher tortoise survey, $400 to 900, goes on the estimate before the clearing price. Call (352) 619-3597 and the number goes in writing.
Permits, Gopher Tortoises and Drainage Before You Clear Land in Arcadia
DeSoto County permits county-wide under its land development regulations, and clearing tied to a new house runs through the development order. Pasture and grove under greenbelt classification as bona fide agriculture is exempt. Professional clearing starts with that answer.
Gopher tortoise is next: FWC survey within 90 days, no work within 25 feet of a burrow without a relocation permit. We tape the line off every apron. Crested caracara nest on the open prairie, and FWS consultation applies near a nest. Bald eagles nest along the Peace River, buffer 660 feet. Drainage and wetlands sit with SWFWMD. Clearing is not an Environmental Resource Permit trigger; filling a wet flat or moving a ditch is. On the ROW we flagged every wet crossing first.
Acreage piles can still burn here under a Florida Forest Service burn authorization pulled that morning; in town, no. Most of what we cut is mulched in place. Send the parcel ID and I pull the permit history before the site visit.
Land Clearing Services Across the Arcadia Area
Our land clearing service in Arcadia runs from the Punta Gorda yard up US 17 with no transport line, and one trip covers Arcadia, FL and the surrounding area.
- Nocatee and Fort Ogden: grove and pasture tracts down US 17 toward the Charlotte line.
- Lake Suzy: platted lots off SR 70 at I-75.
- Zolfo Springs across the Hardee line, and commercial properties in Arcadia along US 17 and SR 70.
We run land clearing services across Southwest Florida from the same yard, with services throughout the Fort Myers metro on the Lee pages. Southwest Florida grove country prices by the acre and the root rake.
Land clearing near Arcadia
Nearby city pages
Request a Free On-Site Estimate on Your Grove or Pasture
Send the form with the parcel ID and what the ground is for: a pad, pasture you can mow or a clean grove to sell. Brandi texts you a scheduling window within an hour. The free on-site estimate ends with a price in writing before I leave the site. Call (352) 619-3597 if you want the rows talked through first. Every project starts there.
Land Clearing FAQs for Arcadia Property Owners
How much does land clearing cost in Arcadia, FL in 2026?
$1,800 for a quarter-acre infill lot, $2,600 for a half acre on the skid steer, $3,000 to 5,500 an acre to bare dirt with stumps and roots. A dead grove with the roots raked lands at the top of the range depending on site conditions. Call (352) 619-3597 and the written number follows the site visit.
What is the cheapest way to clear a dead grove?
Mulching the trunks and pepper in place, $1,500 to 2,500 an acre, with roots raked only where the pad goes. The land clearing process to bare dirt costs two to three times more. Either way to clear it will make your property buildable; property clearing to dirt pays when the slab is going in now.
Do you locate utilities and pipelines before you remove brush?
Yes. Sunshine 811 locates go in before every job and we walk the property with the flags up. Grove ground carries buried irrigation mains, a gas pipeline easement along parts of SR 70, and power at the road.
Can you clear river flats that still hold water?
Yes, on the mulcher, which floats on wet ground where a dozer sinks. June through September adds one day on muck. Areas with dense pepper in the low furrows get a second look before I set the day count.
Can I burn the grove piles in Arcadia?
On acreage, yes, with a Florida Forest Service burn authorization pulled that morning. In town, no. We grind the piles in place or haul them at $700 to 1,300 a load, which settles the frequently asked questions about smoke.
Get Your Free Estimate
Send the form or call. Brandi texts you a scheduling window within the hour.