6 Leaf Cleanup Tips

Autumn is arguably the most enjoyable season of the year: temperatures begin to cool off, the leaves begin to turn, and families can spend more time outside in the cool, comfortable weather. With leaves turning and the weather cooling though, you can expect to see your lawn covered with fallen leaves in a matter of days. 

The answer is yes. Leaves left unattended are not only an eyesore, but they can also damage your lawn in a variety of ways. Leaves can deprive your lawn of adequate nutrition by blocking water, nutrients, and healthy air from reaching the roots, invite lawn pests, diseases, and problems like snow mold and brown patch, and block one of the most important elements for growing healthy grass: sunlight. 

These six tips will help make your leaf cleanup more efficient this fall.

Before you start cleaning up leaves, check your local area for guidelines and regulations for disposing of yard waste. You don’t want to move a pile of leaves to the curb to find out that leaf pickup doesn’t start for 2 weeks.

We recommend using a leaf blower to reduce the physical strain of fall cleanup. If you do not own a leaf blower, you’ve come to the right place. We have a large selection of blowers including gas blowers, electric blowers, and even state of the art battery powered blowers. Many of our local, independently owned Do it Best stores have a rental department, reducing the cost of a power equipment investment.

Got a brand new leaf blower or just now digging it out of the garage since last year? Make your job easier by following these steps:

• Wait until the leaves are dry before using a leaf blower. Wet leaves are hard to move unless you are using a high-powered blower.

• Blow leaves into smaller piles rather than blowing them across the yard.

• Use the wind to your advantage. Before you start moving the leaves, take a minute to determine wind direction and blow with the wind.

Once the leaves are put into piles, lay a tarp or a large blanket on the ground beside the pile. Then rake the pile onto the tarp/blanket. Next, grab all 4 corners of the tarp/blanket and slide it across the lawn to the desired location.