Invasive Species & Brush Removal

Walk into most woodlots in Northeast Wisconsin and the understory is not native anymore. Common and glossy buckthorn, bush honeysuckle, autumn olive and black locust have filled in underneath the canopy until nothing else gets light. Nothing regenerates, deer stop using it, and a stand of timber that should be worth something quietly stops being worth anything.

We take that understory out mechanically. The mulching head grinds it where it stands and leaves the canopy trees you want to keep. In one pass a woodlot goes from impassable to walkable, and sunlight reaches the floor again for the first time in years.

Here is the part other outfits will not put on their website: mechanical removal alone does not kill woody invasives. Buckthorn and honeysuckle resprout hard from the stump, and the first two or three years after a cut are when the seed bank in the soil goes to work. Getting a lasting result almost always takes follow-up — a maintenance pass, and in most cases a chemical treatment on the cut stumps done by a licensed applicator.

J Schleis Services does not do chemical work. Justin is pursuing a Wisconsin pesticide applicator license and does not hold one yet, so we do not apply herbicide, we do not sell it as part of a package, and we will not pretend the mechanical pass alone finishes the job. What we will do is cut it out properly, tell you exactly what follow-up your property needs, and coordinate our timing around whoever you have doing the chemical side.

What’s included

• Common and glossy buckthorn removed from the understory
• Bush honeysuckle, autumn olive and multiflora rose cut out
• Black locust and other aggressive volunteer stands mulched
• Canopy trees and desirable regeneration left standing
• Woodlot understory opened back up so light reaches the floor
• Written notes on what follow-up the site will need and when
• Scheduling coordinated around a licensed applicator’s treatment window
• Honest talk about resprouting before you spend a dollar

Why J Schleis Services

J Schleis Services is Justin Schleis — one owner, one machine, and no crew to relay your instructions through. The person who walks the property with you is the person running the mulcher. That is the whole pitch, and on this kind of work it is worth more than it sounds: land clearing goes wrong when somebody cuts what you meant to keep.

We are fully insured (general liability, certificate on request) and the work carries a 2-year workmanship warranty. We are a new company — started in 2026 — and we would rather tell you that than have you find out. What we will not do is take a deposit for work the ground is not ready for, or quote you an acreage rate over the phone that turns out to be wrong once we see it.

Common questions