Land clearing in Central Florida usually means acreage, not a single yard: a few acres of saw palmetto and scrub oak east of Orlando, a pasture going back to woods out toward Lake County, a homestead tract in Osceola County where the fence line disappeared under grapevine years ago. The job is part machinery and part paperwork, because tortoises, wetlands and county tree rules decide what you are allowed to touch.
Tree Service Orlando FL does not run equipment or clear anything. It is a free phone line. Call (689) 407-5379, tell the automated assistant how much land you have, where it is and what is growing on it, and your call is transferred to an independent, locally owned company that does clearing work in your part of the Orlando area. That company walks the land, prices it and does the work.
Forestry mulcher or excavator: two different results
The machine a company brings decides what the ground looks like afterward, so ask about it before you compare prices.
Forestry mulcher. A tracked machine with a spinning drum of teeth grinds standing brush, palmetto and small trees into a mat of chips and leaves it on the ground. There is no burn pile and little hauling, the soil stays mostly undisturbed, and the mulch layer slows erosion on sandy land. It suits trails, fence lines, fire breaks, pasture recovery and thinning under trees you want to keep. What it does not do is pull roots.
Excavator or dozer. When the goal is a building pad, a pond or a field you plan to till, a company may push out vegetation and dig the root balls and stumps. That leaves bare dirt ready for grading, but it also leaves piles that have to be burned, hauled or ground, and bare sand that needs erosion control.
Many jobs use both: a mulcher across most of the property and an excavator only where something will be built.
Why saw palmetto keeps coming back
Saw palmetto is the plant that defines a lot of undeveloped land around Orlando. UF/IFAS describes it growing from underground or creeping stems in clumps up to 18 feet across, and calls its massive underground stems and waxy leaves the reason it is extremely difficult to control. Even after herbicide, new sprouts form at the base within a year.
For ranchers, UF/IFAS notes that chopping twice in perpendicular directions can control it but is labor intensive, costly and non-selective. For a landowner, the practical point is this: a single pass with a mulcher clears the view and the access, but palmetto will regrow unless the ground is then built on, graded, or kept mowed. Ask any company you speak with what it expects the land to look like in a year, not just next week.
What clearing acreage usually costs
Published ranges are a starting point. The density of growth, the number of trees with real trunks, access for a trailer, wet ground and what happens to the debris move the price more than acreage alone.
| Item | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Typical Orlando land clearing project | $1,392 to $4,588 | Angi, Orlando cost page |
| Per acre in Orlando, all densities | $1,000 to $5,200 | Angi, Orlando cost page |
| Lightly wooded land, per acre (Orlando) | $580 to $2,100 | Angi, Orlando cost page |
| Dense vegetation, per acre (Orlando) | $3,300 to $5,600 | Angi, Orlando cost page |
| Professional labor, per hour (national) | $110 to $250 | Angi, national cost guide |
| Forestry mulching (national) | $400 to $1,500 | Angi, national cost guide |
These are third-party averages, not prices from this line or from the company you are connected with. Real quotes vary. Get the scope in writing: which areas are cleared, which trees stay, whether stumps are ground or pulled, and where the debris ends up.
Gopher tortoises: check before any machine moves
The sandy, well-drained ground that makes so much of Central Florida easy to build on is also gopher tortoise habitat. The gopher tortoise is state-listed as Threatened, and both the tortoise and its burrow are protected under Florida law. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says tortoises must be relocated before any land clearing or development takes place, and that owners need FWC permits to capture and move them.
The trigger is distance. FWC counts any work within 25 feet of a potentially occupied burrow as a disturbance. Relocations are carried out by FWC authorized gopher tortoise agents, and FWC keeps a map for finding agents in your area. Its permitting line is (850) 921-1030, weekdays.
FWC also notes that more than 350 other species share these burrows, which is why it treats the tortoise as a keystone species. A good clearing company asks about tortoises at the first visit and will not run a mulcher across a burrow field.
Wetlands and the water management districts
Low ground, cypress heads, wet prairie and pond edges are common on Central Florida acreage, and they are regulated. Florida's Environmental Resource Permit program covers dredging and filling in wetlands and other surface waters, and new upland construction that creates stormwater runoff. Most residential and agricultural applications are reviewed by a water management district rather than the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Around Orlando there are two of them. The St. Johns River Water Management District counts Orange County among the 18 counties it serves, and the South Florida Water Management District covers portions of Orange and Osceola counties. Which one handles your land depends on where the parcel sits, so look it up or ask before you plan any work near water. In unincorporated Orange County, trees standing in a wetland also need approval from the county's Environmental Protection Division before anyone removes them.
One more state rule matters for bigger jobs. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection requires stormwater permit coverage, with a pollution prevention plan, for construction that disturbs one acre or more, or less than an acre when it is part of a larger plan of development. That usually belongs to the owner or developer, but the clearing company should know whether your project is in that category.
County tree rules for clearing
Every county and city sets its own tree rules. These are the ones Orange County publishes for unincorporated land.
Regulated trees on vacant land
Orange County regulates trees 8 inches or more in diameter at breast height. Any vacant or undeveloped property, regardless of size, needs a tree removal permit to take them out. The county's arbor office is at 407-836-5807.
Underbrush cleaning
The county allows cleaning, including palmetto and shrubs, when it does not harm regulated trees and is done with mowing equipment instead of heavy earthmoving machinery. A voluntary lot cleaning record costs nothing.
Agricultural land and violations
Bona fide agricultural clearing is recorded at no fee. Clearing undeveloped land without a permit is handled as a violation, with its own fee of $230.90 listed on the county's schedule.
Inside the City of Orlando, tree permits are mandatory for commercial properties, at $50 per acre. Osceola County, Lake County and each city in between have their own rules, so confirm with the right office before clearing starts. The tree removal permit guide has more.
Pastures, fence lines and the debris question
Not every clearing job is for a building. A lot of calls around the edges of the metro are about land that used to be open: a pasture where wax myrtle and young oaks moved in, a fence line buried in vines, or a firebreak that needs reopening. Here a mulcher often does the work in one pass, and the company can work right along a fence without dragging it out.
Whatever the machine, there is debris. It can be mulched in place, chipped and hauled, or piled and burned. Burning is the most regulated choice. The Florida Forest Service requires a burning authorization for land clearing and pile burns, with added setbacks and suppression equipment on hand, and the exception that lets homeowners burn ordinary yard waste does not cover land clearing debris. Local governments can be stricter still. If the plan includes burning, ask who will get the authorization.
Hauling is the other route. For smaller loads, see tree debris removal.
Questions to ask the company you are connected with
- Which machine will you use, and will roots and stumps be left, ground or pulled?
- Which trees stay? Will you flag them before work starts?
- Have you checked for gopher tortoise burrows, and do you work with an FWC authorized agent?
- Is any part of the land wet, and who will confirm whether a wetland permit is needed?
- Who gets the county tree permit and any Florida Forest Service burning authorization?
- Where does the debris go, and is hauling in the price?
- Can you send a certificate of general liability insurance and proof of workers' compensation coverage?
Check the company yourself. Florida has no state license for tree trimming or removal, so ask the company for a certificate of general liability and workers' compensation insurance, and for the ISA certification number of its arborist. You can confirm a certification with the ISA's credential lookup (opens in a new tab).
Tell the assistant roughly how many acres, what is growing there and what the land is for. The company you are put through to walks the property and quotes before any machine is unloaded.
How a land clearing call works
- Call any hourAn automated assistant answers (689) 407-5379 and asks what kind of tree work you need.
- Describe the jobGive your name, a callback number, your city or ZIP and what the tree is doing, including anything on a roof, a car or a line.
- Get put throughThe call goes to an independent, locally owned tree service company, which hears a short summary before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company looks at the tree, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back.
How this line works: Tree Service Orlando FL is a free phone line, not a tree service company. It does not trim, remove, quote or schedule tree work and holds no license or arborist certification. Calls are transferred to independent, locally owned tree service companies in the Orlando area. Those companies may pay Tree Service Orlando FL a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.
Related services
- Lot Clearing
- Stump Grinding and Removal
- Tree Debris Removal and Hauling
- Tree Removal
- Arborist Tree Assessment
Guides for this job
The line takes calls from across the Orlando area: