Not always, and it is worth saying so plainly. Plenty of hedges are perfectly reasonable to do yourself, and the honest answer depends on four things: height, length, what it is, and how much you mind the result.
Height is the main dividing line
| Height | Realistic DIY? |
|---|---|
| Below shoulder | Yes — hand shears or a light trimmer |
| Up to head height | Yes, with a decent trimmer and patience |
| Step ladder height | Possible, but the top line suffers |
| Beyond a step ladder | No — this is where accidents happen |
| Needing a platform | Definitely not |
Length matters more than people expect
A ten-metre hedge at head height is a pleasant Saturday afternoon. Sixty metres of the same hedge is a different proposition — not because any part of it is hard, but because of the volume of material.
The cutting is the quick bit. Raking up, barrowing, loading and disposing of the arisings is where the day goes, and on a long hedge that is several trips to the tip and a car that smells of conifer for a fortnight.
Where a professional finish actually shows
If the hedge is a boundary nobody looks at, a rough cut is fine and doing it yourself makes sense. If it is a feature of the garden, three things separate a professional cut and none of them are about the machine.
- A true top line, set with a line rather than judged by eye. On any run over a few metres, an eye-judged top dips and rises in a way you notice without being able to say why.
- A batter on the faces — slightly wider at the base than the top. This is partly appearance and mostly horticulture: it keeps light on the base so the bottom stays green instead of going bare.
- Square ends. Where a hedge stops it should stop deliberately.
When it is worth paying regardless of size
- Any reduction rather than a trim. Getting the species question wrong on a conifer is permanent.
- Anything at height. As above.
- A hedge with trees grown up through it. That is tree work, and it may be protected.
- A neglected hedge being brought back. Where to cut to, and whether the species will take it, is worth getting right once.
- A boundary dispute hedge. Cutting your side of a neighbour's conifer flush to the line can leave a permanently bare face — worth advice first.
If you are doing it yourself
- Cut to the same line as last time, not to wherever the growth has reached. This one habit is what stops a hedge creeping.
- Do the faces as well as the top, every time.
- Taper it slightly, wider at the base.
- Work top-down so cuttings fall clear of what you have already done.
- Check for nests before starting between March and September, and leave any section that has one.
- Sharp blades. A blunt trimmer tears rather than cuts, and torn foliage browns off at the edges.
The nesting bird position, accurately
It is not an offence to cut a hedge during the nesting season. The offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is intentionally taking, damaging or destroying a nest while it is in use or being built. So the obligation is to look properly first and leave any occupied section — which applies just as much to a homeowner with a trimmer as to a contractor.
The 1 March to 31 August ban you may have read about is a farming rule, from the Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024. It applies to agricultural land and expressly excludes hedges within the curtilage of a dwelling house.
Not sure whether it's worth paying for?
Describe the hedge and we'll tell you straight, including when the answer is that you could do it yourself.
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