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Quick Answer
For small, light clearances (under 50 square metres of moderate overgrowth), DIY is usually cheaper if you have the time and tools. For larger or heavily overgrown gardens, hiring a professional is often cheaper in real terms when you factor in tool hire, waste disposal, and the value of your own time.
The Hidden Costs of DIY
Tool hire
To clear a moderately overgrown garden you need:
- Brush cutter or strimmer: 50 to 80 per day from a hire shop
- Hedge trimmer: 30 to 50 per day
- Wheelbarrow: 20 to 40 per day
- Mattock and loppers: 30 to 60 to buy if you do not have them
- Protective gear: gloves, goggles, ear defenders: 30 to 60 to buy
- Waste bags or hippobag: 10 to 150
For a 2-day clearance, tool hire alone can come to 200 to 350.
Waste disposal
This is the big hidden cost. Green waste disposal is regulated. You cannot just put it in your black bin. Options:
- Council tip: free for household waste but most tips limit you to 6 bags per visit. A typical clearance produces 20 to 40 bags. That means 4 to 7 trips.
- Council green waste bin: 60 to 100 per year subscription. Takes months to clear a clearance worth of waste.
- Hippobag: 150 to 250 per megabag including collection. Each bag holds about 1 tonne.
- Skip hire: 200 to 400 for a 6 yard skip. Need a permit if on the road, 30 to 80.
For a typical clearance, waste disposal alone costs 150 to 400 if you do it yourself.
Your time
This is the cost most people ignore. A professional 2-person crew can clear a 100 square metre moderately overgrown garden in 1.5 days. That is 24 person-hours of work. If you do it alone, it will take you 4 to 6 days of hard physical work.
What is your time worth? If you are paid 20 pounds an hour, 6 days of work is nearly 1,000 pounds of your time. If you would rather spend that 6 days with family, on hobbies, or just relaxing, the cost is even higher.
Physical cost
Garden clearance is hard physical work. Brambles cut you. Ivy is heavy. Soil and rubble break your back. Most people who do a full clearance themselves end up with cuts, blisters, aching muscles, and sometimes worse. Back injuries from heavy lifting are common.
If you are not used to physical work, budget 2 to 3 times longer than you think. And accept that you will be useless for anything else for a few days after.
Pest and disease risks
Overgrown gardens harbour rats, ticks, and wasps. Weil's disease from rat urine in stagnant water can be fatal. Tick bites can cause Lyme disease. Wasp stings can be dangerous if you are allergic. Professionals know how to spot and avoid these risks.
Real Cost Comparison
| Garden | DIY cost | DIY time | Professional cost | Professional time (your time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small courtyard 30 sqm light overgrowth | 50 to 150 | 1 to 2 days | 250 to 400 | 1 hour |
| Family garden 100 sqm moderate overgrowth | 250 to 500 | 4 to 6 days | 500 to 900 | 1 hour |
| Large garden 300 sqm heavy overgrowth | 800 to 1,500 | 10 to 14 days | 1,500 to 3,000 | 1 hour |
| Full plot with shed, trees, brambles | 1,500 to 3,000 | 3 to 4 weeks | 2,500 to 5,000 | 1 hour |
The professional costs include labour, waste disposal and all equipment. The DIY costs include tool hire, waste disposal and protective gear but not your own time.
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When DIY Makes Sense
Small gardens
If your garden is small and the overgrowth is light, DIY is genuinely cheaper. A few hours with a pair of secateurs and a trip to the tip is all you need.
You have the tools already
If you already own a strimmer, hedge trimmer, wheelbarrow and the basic tools, the cost of DIY drops significantly. Most of the cost of a one-off clearance is tool hire.
You have the time and fitness
If you are retired, between jobs, or just enjoy hard physical work, the time cost is less of an issue. DIY becomes a reasonable choice.
You have a council green waste bin
If you have a council green waste bin and can clear the garden over a few months, the waste disposal cost drops to nearly nothing. You trade time for money.
You want the exercise
Garden clearance is genuinely good exercise if you are fit. Some people enjoy the satisfaction of seeing a transformation they did themselves.
When Hiring a Professional Makes Sense
Large or heavily overgrown gardens
The bigger the job, the more sense it makes to hire someone. Professionals have the equipment, the experience, and the crew to do in 2 days what would take you 2 weeks.
You need waste removal
If the garden has lots of green waste, hiring a professional with a tipper truck is much easier than multiple trips to the tip. They will also take the waste away for you.
Time pressure
If you are selling the house, moving in, or just want the garden usable for a specific date, hiring someone is the only realistic option. Most people cannot take 2 weeks off work to clear a garden.
Physical limitations
If you have any physical limitation, bad back, or are simply not used to physical work, do not attempt a full garden clearance. The risk of injury is high.
Large shrubs and small trees
Anything with a trunk over 10cm diameter needs proper equipment to remove. Hand saws work but take forever. Chain saws are dangerous in untrained hands.
Asbestos or hazardous waste
If the garden has an old shed with an asbestos roof, or chemicals, or anything you are not sure about, hire a professional. Asbestos removal is a specialist job.
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The Halfway Option
There is a middle ground. You can do the easy bits yourself and hire a professional for the hard bits. For example:
- You cut back the light overgrowth and the professional handles the brambles and trees
- You do the clearance but hire a waste removal company to take the waste away
- You clear the garden but hire someone to do the pressure washing and patio work
This can save money while still getting the hard work done professionally. We are happy to quote for part of a job.
Common DIY Mistakes
Underestimating the waste
Most DIY clearances produce 3 to 5 times more waste than people expect. A "small pile of brambles" turns into 15 bin bags. Always have more waste bags than you think you need.
Digging out weed roots too shallow
Perennial weeds like bindweed and ground elder regrow from any root fragment left in the soil. Digging out the top growth is pointless. You need to dig out every piece of root, often 30cm deep.
Cutting into old wood on leylandii
Leylandii hedges do not regrow from old brown wood. If you cut too hard, the hedge is permanently bare on that side. See our hedge cutting guide.
Pulling ivy off walls
Ivy holds on with tiny roots that damage mortar. Pulling live ivy off a wall can pull off the render or damage the mortar. Cut the stems at the base and let the top growth die before removing.
Ignoring nesting birds
If you cut hedges or shrubs during nesting season (March to August) you can be prosecuted. Always check first.
Try Our Clearance Calculator
Before you decide whether to DIY or hire, use our clearance calculator. It gives you a realistic estimate range for professional clearance based on your garden size and overgrowth level. Compare that to your DIY cost (including tool hire and waste disposal) and the answer becomes clear.
Final Thoughts
DIY garden clearance is not always cheaper than hiring a professional. For small light clearances, yes. For anything bigger, the cost of tool hire, waste disposal, and your own time often exceeds what a professional would charge.
The question is rarely "can I afford to hire someone?" It is more often "can I afford to do it myself?" Factor in your time, your fitness, the equipment you would need, and the cost of waste disposal.
If you decide to hire someone, get in touch. We can quote for the whole job or just the bits you would rather not do yourself.
Further Reading
- How much does garden clearance cost?
- How to restore an overgrown garden
- How much does regular garden maintenance cost?
When budgeting for garden work on mature properties, allow a contingency for unexpected issues such as buried rubble, old foundations or drainage problems that only become visible during the work.
Put this advice into practice
Use the relevant CGM tool or follow a related guide, then send us a few photos if you would like a tailored plan.
Sources and citations
This article draws on the following sources. Specific claims are cited inline where relevant.
- CGM field records (2025-02. Site observations from gardens across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Bedfordshire.
- Royal Horticultural Society (2024). RHS Gardening Advice and Plant Finder. Available at rhs.org.uk.
- Met Office (2024). Regional climate averages, South East England. Available at metoffice.gov.uk.
- British Geological Survey (2024). Soil parent material data for the Chilterns and Thames Valley. Available at bgs.ac.uk.