How to Chop Down Trees in Animal Crossing

Clear space and get building supplies

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Updated on June 27, 2021

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Chopping down trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is one of the main ways to get essential building supplies and clear space to customize your island. It's pretty straightforward—but only if you have the right tools.

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How to Chop Down Trees in Animal Crossing

To chop down trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, follow these steps:

Equip yourself with your axe.

You can't use a basic, Flimsy Axe to cut down trees. It's not strong enough. You need either a Stone Axe, Axe, or Golden Axe.
Position yourself facing the tree you want to chop down.
Hit the tree three times with your axe (press A to use your axe, like most tools).
After the third hit, the tree will fall over and disappear, leaving behind a stump. If you leave a stump, it will always stay a stump—the tree will never grow back.

One nice thing in Animal Crossing, unlike some other games, is that there's no stamina for your character. You can chop down as many trees as you like. However, your axe will eventually wear out and break.

Flimsy Axe: Breaks after 40 uses
Stone Axe: Breaks after 100 uses
Axe: Breaks after 100 uses
Golden Axe: Breaks after 200 uses.

Want to max out your Animal Crossing experience? Check out our list of cheat codes for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Why Chop Down Trees in Animal Crossing

There are four primary reasons to chop down trees in Animal Crossing: New Horizons:

To get the fruit hanging from the tree. You do this by hitting the tree with your axe a few times, but you don't need to chop down the tree.
To get bundles of wood from the tree. Each time you hit the tree with your axe, another pile of wood will appear, up to a total of three. You might get the same type of wood or different kinds.
To leave a stump. Stumps are fun to sit on, and some bugs only land on stumps, making them easy to catch.
To clear space. When you chop down a tree and remove its stump, you can plant flowers, place objects, or even build houses where the tree used to be.

After you chop down trees in Animal Crossing, a tree stump is left behind. As mentioned above, you may want to leave it. But, if you're going to clear the spot by getting rid of the stump, you'll need an upgraded shovel. A Flimsy Shovel isn't strong enough. Equip any other shovel, stand next to the stump, and press A to dig up and remove the stump. Doing this leaves a hole—Press Y to kick dirt into the hole and cover it up.

Screenshot of Animal Crossing New Horizons character with a shovel

Watch Out for Wasps!

One of the dangers of cutting down a tree in Animal Crossing is that some trees have wasp nests hidden in them. Anger the wasps by chopping down their tree, and they'll chase you until they sting you. Here's how to avoid this fate:

When you find a tree you want to chop down, equip your net.
With your net in hand, face the tree and shake it by pressing A.
If there are wasps in the tree, this will bring them out. Use your net to catch them before they sting you.

If you forget to equip your net before you shake the tree, use the hotkeys on the left Joy-Con to equip your net and capture the wasps quickly.