- 1). Cut as much of the growth as you can from the shrub with pruning shears. Prune as far down as possible with the shears until the branches or trunk becomes too thick to cut. Gather up and discard trimmings.
- 2). Remove the remaining thick branches and trunk of the shrub by cutting with a regular saw or a chain saw. Cut the trunk as low as possible to the ground.
- 3). Dig into the ground with a shovel around the trunk. Remove the dirt approximately 6 inches surrounding the trunk.
- 4). Work a landscape bar under and around the root ball, pushing down on the end of the bar to loosen the root ball and force it up. Go around the root ball several times until the root ball starts to give way.
- 5). Cut into the root ball with the shovel and remove it and the trunk from the ground.
- 6). Till the soil with a garden tiller to remove roots. Stop the equipment regularly and remove roots from the tiller tines. Till the ground until roots no longer surface from the soil. Smooth the soil with a garden rake after finishing with the garden tiller.
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