Forestry Mulching and Land Clearing in LaBelle, FL: Lot, Brush and Palmetto Clearing
LaBelle is pasture and dead citrus on both banks of the Caloosahatchee, cabbage palm hammock along the river, melaleuca wherever a ditch dried the ground. The plat east of town is slash pine and palmetto lots; outside it the parcels run five to eighty acres off SR 80 and SR 29. Our Punta Gorda crew comes down SR 31, about 55 miles, transport included: skid steer forestry mulcher, $2,600 a day. In LaBelle the river is the only thing that moves faster than the melaleuca. 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 LaBelle
Forestry mulching clears a platted lot in one day, $2,600, and five acres of grove regrowth in two, $1,500 to 2,500 an acre by density plus the exotics surcharge where melaleuca has taken over. It is a land clearing method that uses specialized equipment to grind trees and vegetation into mulch where they stand.
Melaleuca and Brazilian pepper both resprout from the stump, so every cut gets herbicide within minutes. Palmetto on the platted lots is a root mat; a bush hog shears it and the lot will overgrow in two summers. Brush clearing on the river flats goes to the mulcher, which floats on muck where a dozer sinks.
Land Clearing Services in LaBelle, FL
Pellegrino Land Works provides land clearing in six forms, a land clearing company serving Hendry County since 2012 with insured crews.
- Selective clearing: melaleuca, pepper and dead citrus out, live oak and cabbage palm kept.
- Pad work is full site clearing: stump grinding, root rake and rough grading in that order. 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 SR 80 and SR 29: site work, site prep, haul-off by the load. Commercial clearing runs under the development order.
- Residential land clearing on platted lots and the five-acre homesites off SR 29.
- 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, river flat or plat. We do not pour concrete, drill wells, set septic or demolish houses.
Lot Clearing for New Homes in LaBelle and Port LaBelle
The City of LaBelle issued 53 single-family permits in 2025 by the Census Building Permits Survey, and unincorporated Hendry issued 411, most of them in Port LaBelle. Most land clearing projects here are one platted lot: a dozen slash pines, palmetto, melaleuca on the ditch side. One mulcher day, then stumps, then fill. A quarter-acre infill lot is $1,800 flat.
For the groves, 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 off SR 29 prices the same. Fill after clearing raises the pad, and on the river flats the water needs a swale, so the drainage line goes on the estimate. Property owners who schedule site preparation between November and May avoid the extra wet-season day; the dirt work wants a dry week.
How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in LaBelle?
Land clearing costs in LaBelle 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.
| Work | Price |
|---|---|
| Skid steer mulcher, stems to 8 inches | $2,600 a day |
| 300-hp mulcher plus dozer, large acreage clearing and groves | $4,000 a day plus transport |
| Palmetto, pine and grove regrowth, mulched | $1,500 to 2,500 an acre |
| Melaleuca or Brazilian pepper thicket | add $500 an acre |
| Full clearing to dirt with stumps, grading included | $3,000 to 5,500 an acre |
| Stump grinding | $4.50 an inch, $150 minimum per stump |
| Haul-off | $700 to 1,300 per 10-yard load |
The price depends on the size and the exotics. Ten or more stumps and we grind by the day. 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 LaBelle
Hendry County ties clearing to a development order under its land development code. Pasture and grove under greenbelt classification as bona fide agriculture is exempt. Professional clearing starts with that answer.
- Gopher tortoise: FWC survey within 90 days, no work within 25 feet of a burrow without a relocation permit. We tape the line off every apron.
- Florida panther: FWS consultation applies on the pine and pasture south of town, and red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees stay.
- Bald eagle: 660-foot nest buffer. Nests sit along the Caloosahatchee.
- Water: SFWMD holds the Environmental Resource Permit here. Clearing is not a trigger; filling a wet flat or moving a ditch is. On the ROW, flagging the wet crossings was the first job of the morning.
Acreage piles can still burn under a Florida Forest Service burn authorization pulled that morning; platted lots cannot. Most of what we cut is mulched in place. Send the parcel ID first, and the permit history is read before I show up for the site visit.
Land Clearing LaBelle Area: Services Across Hendry County
Our land clearing service in LaBelle runs from the Punta Gorda yard down SR 31 and SR 80 with no transport line, and one trip covers LaBelle, FL and the surrounding area.
- Port LaBelle: platted lots east of town on both sides of SR 80.
- Alva and Felda: river hammock to the west, pasture and pine to the south.
- Clewiston at the lake, and commercial properties in LaBelle along SR 80 and SR 29.
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 exotics price the same here as in Lee.
Land clearing near LaBelle
Nearby city pages
Request a Free On-Site Estimate on Your Lot or Grove
Send the form with the parcel ID and what the ground is for: a pad, pasture you can mow or a clean lot to sell. Brandi texts you a scheduling window within an hour. You hold the price in writing before I leave the site; the on-site estimate is free. Call (352) 619-3597 if you want the melaleuca talked through first. Every project opens the same way.
Land Clearing FAQs for LaBelle Property Owners
How much does land clearing cost in LaBelle, FL in 2026?
$1,800 for a quarter-acre infill lot, $2,600 for a platted lot on the skid steer, $3,000 to 5,500 an acre to bare dirt with stumps. Melaleuca adds $500 an acre, and a wet flat moves the day count depending on site conditions. Call (352) 619-3597 and the written number follows the site visit.
What is the cheapest way to clear a melaleuca stand?
Mulching with cut-stump treatment, $1,500 to 2,500 an acre plus the $500 surcharge, and a follow-up pass for seedlings. 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 irrigation mains, a gas pipeline easement along SR 80, and power at the road.
Can you clear a lot that still holds water?
Yes, on the mulcher, which floats on muck where a dozer sinks. June through September adds one day on wet ground. Areas with dense melaleuca in the low spots get a second look before I set the day count.
Can I burn the piles on my LaBelle acreage?
On acreage, yes, with a Florida Forest Service burn authorization pulled that morning. On a platted lot, 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.