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How to use a Makita hedge trimmer

Updated: October 2026

You have the trimmer beside a garden privet or hawthorn, and you want a straight cut without jamming the teeth or hitting a nest. This is how to use a Makita hedge trimmer, or a bar that runs on a Makita pack: look first, cut the sides before the top, then oil and clear a jam with the battery off. Prices sit on the [Makita hedge trimmer comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/makita-hedge-trimmer). Peter F. wrote this in October 2026 from the RHS, Electrical Safety First, a UK-hosted DUH523 manual, GOV.UK and the RSPB. There is no lab cut. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have the trimmer beside a garden privet or hawthorn, and you want a straight cut without jamming the teeth or hitting a nest.

Our top picks

Makita Makita DUH523RF LXT hedge trimmer with 3.0Ah battery

Best overall

Makita Makita DUH523RF LXT hedge trimmer with 3.0Ah battery
9.4/10about £199.41
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KIESBOHR KIESBOHR CSL502 51 cm hedge trimmer for Makita 18V

Best value

KIESBOHR KIESBOHR CSL502 51 cm hedge trimmer for Makita 18V
9.2/10about £74.99
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KIESBOHR KIESBOHR CSL303 2-in-1 grass shears and hedge trimmer

Alternative

KIESBOHR KIESBOHR CSL303 2-in-1 grass shears and hedge trimmer
9.0/10about £49.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Before the blade moves
  2. 2.Sides first, then the top
  3. 3.Oil, jams and rain
  4. 4.Dates, nests and the point where you stop

Before the blade moves

Walk the hedge before the motor starts. Look for wire, old ties and a nest. The RHS starts with that look, then a sheet so you are not raking clippings off the lawn. Electrical Safety First asks for both hands and a firm footing. A cordless Makita has no lead. The DUH523 manual says you remove the battery before a jam or any maintenance, and you fit the blade cover when you carry the tool. A UK reviewer of the short KIESBOHR CSL303 finds the switch awkward. That is not a reason to tape a switch closed. If you do not own a tool yet, length and opening are the buying guide.

Sides first, then the top

Cut the sides from the bottom upward, then the top. The RHS order lets the clippings fall clear. A string line gives you one height, rather than a wave you only see from the house. Taller hedges are tapered so the top is narrower than the base, or the overhang shades the bottom and it thins. A garden privet of about 1.5 metres is a side pass, then the string, then a light top. Forcing a stem past the opening is how the blades jam. On the DUH523 sheet that opening is 15 mm. Large-leaved evergreens are the exception the RHS flags. A trimmer shreds a laurel leaf, so secateurs keep the leaf whole. Box and a tight privet take the bar. When the top sits above your shoulder, stop and change tool. That reach is the tall hedges page.
Makita Makita DUH523RF LXT hedge trimmer with 3.0Ah battery

Testsieger

Makita Makita DUH523RF LXT hedge trimmer with 3.0Ah battery
9.4/10about £199.41
View offer

Oil, jams and rain

The DUH523 manual says you smear the blade with machine oil before use and about once an hour. That interval belongs to that model. One CSL502 reviewer oils before and after. That is one buyer's habit, not the Makita sheet. If the tool is another brand, follow the sheet in its box. Pack off before you clear a jam, and leave the grease on the gear and the crank. Clear a caught stem only when the teeth are still, and fit the cover before you walk the tool back to the shed. Rain is a stop on the DUH523 manual. Battery out, cover on, and the tool indoors. A mains unplug step does not apply once the pack is the power source. Dry sap-wet blades before you oil them for storage.

Dates, nests and the point where you stop

Nests in use are protected in England, Scotland and Wales under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The RSPB prefers cutting from 1 September to 28 February, and still asks you to look. In England the hedgerow rules ban cutting a covered agricultural hedgerow from 1 March to 31 August. A hedge in the curtilage of a dwelling is exempt. GOV.UK treats allotments as covered. You stop until a nest is finished. Fetch someone else when the wood is old and you cannot tell what will fall, when the job needs a ladder with the bar running, or when a road, a footpath or an overhead line is in reach. Electrical Safety First says avoid cutting above shoulder height. Do not swing a pole toward an overhead line, and do not invent a clearance the sources do not give.

Common questions

How often do I oil the blades?
On a DUH523, the manual says machine oil on the blade before you start and about once an hour. That figure is for that model. A CSL502 reviewer oils before and after, which is a review, not the Makita interval. A third-party tool follows its own sheet. Dry a wet blade before you put it away, or the teeth rust between sessions.
What do I do if the blades jam?
Take the battery off before your hands go near the teeth. The DUH523 manual requires the pack out for a jam and for maintenance, and the blade cover on when you move the tool. The same battery-out step applies to a tool that only uses a Makita pack. Unplug it is the corded version of that step. On the DUH523 sheet the stated opening is 15 mm, and forcing a thicker stem is how the bar stalls.
Can I use a Makita hedge trimmer in the rain?
The DUH523 manual says you do not use that trimmer in the rain. A cordless motor does not change the instruction. On this tool you remove the battery, fit the cover and take it indoors. Wet leaves pack the teeth and turn a light pass into a jam. Dry sap-wet blades before you oil them for storage.
Can I cut a garden hedge in June?
A hedge in the curtilage of a dwelling is exempt from England's agricultural closed season of 1 March to 31 August. An allotment is treated as covered, so that exemption does not apply there. Nests in use are still protected. If you find a nest in the June privet, you wait. The RSPB still prefers 1 September to 28 February.
When should I stop and get help?
Stop when the top is above your shoulder, when you would climb with the bar running, or when a road, a footpath or an overhead line is in reach. Old wood you cannot judge is the same stop, and so is employee cutting where vibration has not been assessed. This page does not choose a model. Once shoulder height is the limit, you change tool rather than stretch.

Related pages

Makita hedge trimmer comparison

Makita hedge trimmer buying guide

Pole hedge trimmer for tall hedges

Makita hedge trimmer bare tool or kit, battery cost

Best Makita hedge trimmer: top pick and best value

Sources

Makita UK product sheets, the British Standard for hedge trimmers, HSE guidance, the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, GOV.UK hedgerow rules and the RSPB. Prices, stars and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk listings. Checked on 23 October 2026.

  1. Makita UK DUH523 sheet (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  2. Makita UK DUH523Z sheet (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  3. Makita UK DUN500W pole hedge trimmer (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  4. BS EN 62841-4-2:2019+A1:2022 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  5. HSE INDG480, vibration in horticulture (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  6. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK, hedgerow management rules: cutting and trimming (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  8. RSPB, birds' nests and nestboxes (retrieved 23 October 2026)