I have a large lilac bush that has been in my yard for probably 20 years, and it is trying to take over the entire backyard. The more I trim the branches, the more the roots spread. Frankly, it is ugly and hasn't bloomed for 2 years, and I am ready to get rid of it and start again with something else.

But. . . how do I get rid of something so large? I am thinking that a professional is required, unless there is some trick I'm unaware of.

It'll take some elbow grease......

When removing a large bush, I first chop off as many of the limbs as possible with a chain saw or a 'sawsall'. A hack saw will work too but it will be terribly time consuming.

Then, I take a sharp shovel and trench all the way around the stump, going deeper and tilting the bottom of the blade more towards the stump with each go-round. Eventually, you'll cut through all the roots and will be able to haul the rootball out of the hole.

You'll have to spray the suckers with Round-Up or similar to kill it all.

Did I mention this bush is HUGE? I don't have the strength to do anything like this myself. . . and the rootball has to be gigantuan anyway.

Sounds like it's time to hire professionals with professional tools.

Thanks for the help! At least now I know there are no short cuts. . . .

last year my brother removed 4 large bushes for me by tying a chain around the tree and another to the bumper of his pickup and pulled. Believe me they were huge but they came out easy. Then I called a landscape company and they came and hauled them away for 50 bucks. It worked for me

Okay, I cut the branches almost to the ground, but am still skeptical that I will be able to dig out the roots (five feet across) by myself. If I dig a trench around it and cut off the roots going out to the lawn, will the main root system keep growing?

Still wondering if it wouldn't be better to hire a professional with professional tools. I had a stump removed several years ago, and they had a tool that mulched the stump right in the ground.

Barbara, remove what roots you can with a lopping pruner---the lang-handled type...less strain on the muscles. Chain saw, bow saw are also tools for the job.
Dig down at least a foot and remove as much there as possible.
Now if the spot is not going to be used right away for another plant, and you wish to continue to eat away the roots, simply cut into the wood and apply RoundUp weed killer to the open wounds.
This will send herbicide through the wood of the roots, killing it.
Then simply cover them with soil and put sod or seed over it. Time will do the rest.

The plant survived on its roots. Once the plant is gone, there is nothing for the roots to feed.
In some future year, the rotting of the wood in that spot, may produce a bounty of mushrooms, which are just the fruit of fungus spores.
They pose no problem to the use of the land.