Land Clearing
Overgrown acreage, lots, pasture and cutover opened up with excavators, dozers, a tree shear and root rakes, or mulched in place. The debris goes out on our own trucks.
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Maybe you bought a wooded lot in Petal and need a pad for the house. Petal keeps adding houses: Census counts show 46 new single-family homes permitted in 2024 and 37 in 2025. Out in Forrest County, it may be acreage off Old Richton Road or near Macedonia gone to pine and sweetgum. Either way, the land has to be opened up first.
Presto Contractors is based in Waynesboro and comes to Petal for land clearing with dozers and a tree shear. Where the ground should stay covered, we use forestry mulching instead. We also do dirt work, build house pads, lay water and sewer lines and take down old structures. Call or text (601) 410-5339.
Tell us about the land, the lot or the job. We look at the site and put the quote in writing.
USDA soil maps show two main soils around Petal. Heidel sandy loam covers the steeper hills and drains well. Prentiss loam covers the flatter ground, and from January through March water sits 2 to 2.5 feet down in it. Plan pad work on that flat ground around the wet months.
Soil scientists set up a soil series named Petal in Forrest County in 1975. It is loamy on top with clay below, and water perches on that clay in late winter and early spring.
For Prentiss ground, the soil survey lists loblolly pine and sweetgum among the common trees. USDA land cover data puts about half of Forrest County in evergreen forest and nearly a fifth in wooded wetland. That is Pine Belt country: most of the land here is in trees.
Petal sits on the east bank of the Leaf River, across from Hattiesburg. The river set its record crest at the Hattiesburg gauge in April 1974, just over 34 feet. At that level, the National Weather Service lists serious flooding in Petal.
More recently, the river reached 27.5 feet in March 2016, well above its 22-foot flood stage. Petal's current FEMA flood maps took effect in November 2021. If your lot is in a mapped flood zone, the city requires an elevation certificate with the building permit.
That is why a house pad built up with fill and shaped to drain matters in Petal. We haul the fill in on our own trucks and grade the pad so water runs away from the house. We build the pad to the height on your builder's plans.
Inside the city limits, Petal's Building Department approves site plans for homes and businesses. Digging in the city takes a permit from that office, and the city requires an 811 locate first. We dig to the permit and the locate marks.
State law calls for the 811 request at least 3 working days before the digging starts. In most cases, the utilities mark their lines only to the meter. Lines on private property are usually the owner's to find.
Out in the county, the Forrest County Planning Department does not run building codes. It does keep floodplain and stormwater ordinances, and it asks to hear from you before any development. A house on a septic system also needs the state health department's soil and site evaluation first. Check with the city or the county before the work starts.
Two strong tornadoes have crossed Petal, in February 2013 and January 2017. Both did EF3 damage in town, National Weather Service records show. The 2017 storm was 900 yards wide in the Petal area and downed trees out to Old Richton Road. In January 2026, a severe winter storm also brought a federal disaster declaration for Forrest County.
After a storm, you may have a barn too damaged to fix or pine down across your acreage. We take down storm-damaged houses and outbuildings and haul the debris away. On acreage, the downed pine comes out with the rest of the clearing. Where the ground has to be clean, it gets root raked.
Communities and areas we serve around Petal: Evelyn Gandy Parkway, Main Street, Hillcrest Loop, Leaf River, Carterville, Sunrise, Leeville, Barrontown, Macedonia, Old Richton Road, Corinth Road, Twin Lakes Road.
Petal ZIP codes served: 39465.
We come over from Waynesboro, look at the site and put the quote in writing.
(601) 410-5339 Overgrown acreage, lots, pasture and cutover opened up with excavators, dozers, a tree shear and root rakes, or mulched in place. The debris goes out on our own trucks.
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A mulching head grinds brush, saplings and small trees into mulch where they stand. The roots stay in the ground, and the mulch stays on top as cover.
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We take a raw lot to a site ready to build, with the pad built up and shaped to drain. Fill dirt and gravel come in on our own trucks.
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Excavators and dozers for cut and fill, digging, ditches, drainage and grading. Dirt comes in and goes out on our own trucks.
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We trench and lay water and sewer lines, storm pipe and culverts for houses and commercial sites. We also cut conduit trenches for your electrician and backfill them.
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We cut pasture, fields, overgrown lots and fence lines with a bush hog. Choose a one-time cleanup or seasonal mowing, with the quote in writing.
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We take down houses, mobile homes, barns and old slabs, and the debris leaves on our own trucks. Then we clear and grade the lot so it is ready for what comes next.
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Yard grading, drainage, pads, haul roads and site utilities for industrial plants and commercial sites. Our own trucks haul the rock and dirt on and off the job.
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Location pads and lease roads for oil and gas operators in the Wayne County and south Alabama fields. Rock and dirt go on and off location in our own trucks.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Petal. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us about the land or the job, and text photos if you have them. Call or text (601) 410-5339 or use the form, and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the land, the lot or the job. We look at the site and put the quote in writing.