Hello folks, my wife and I would like to clear out some major brush in our backyard. We have never dealt with this type of problem before being that we've lived in apartments until recent. I am wondering if it is a job that requires me to hire people or if there are tools out there that would make it easier to take care of. If anyone has done this before or know of any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. I attached photographs to the message. We would like to cut back about 10 feet past the wall.

How big are the trees? (If trees of any size are involved, hire a "tree monkey".) Or is it just brush and small trees? Are you a DIY sort of guy? Do you know how to use a chainsaw? How fast do you want the job done?

You can hire a company to do this sort of work or you can clean it up yourself. If you hire the work done, make sure they have a business license and are carrying liability insurance. Sometimes, you can get the price down by having the yard company chip all the brush on sight and leaving it behind.

If you do it yourself, you will need a dumpster, lopping shears, work gloves, maybe a small chainsaw. Its not a difficult job, just a labor intensive job. Dumpsters are priced by number of days, how many times they need to be dumped, what's in them and weight. So, you only want to keep it for a couple days and you want to pack it well so you don't run out of space before you run out of job. "Green" dumpsters are cheaper because you can only put yard waste in them (no furniture, etc.).

Alternately, you can rent a chipper and make your very own mulch. Make sure the chipper is adequately sized for the job.

Another approach since this is a new yard for you would be to limb up any mature trees and ball up (prune heavily) the shrubs. That would be a neater look and you would have the growing season to observe what you actually have there. Might be some treasures.

For Fire safety, if for no other reason, you really need to keep a clear area around your home. That being said, is there a home above you that you don't want looking down into your back yard? If so, I would just prune for shape and keep the roots for erosion control.

None of those look like any big deal... but I garden for a living...

Personally, I'd go out there with a limb saw and a limb loppers, and clip the dead limbs.

I can't really tell how much you are trying to clear, but all that stuff looks relatively small as opposed to something that you would need a chainsaw for...

I don't know how moist the soil is at your house, but as it's the rainy season here, I'd attempt digging out those small trees and large shrubs with a shovel and mattock... without cutting them down.

To dig them out, you need to get gravity to help... dig around the roots, and push against the trunk.

Really need some idea as to your physical fitness...