Raking Leaves? Drop the Rake and Stop What You’re Doing (2024)

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Raking Leaves? Drop the Rake and Stop What You’re Doing? ›

Although people often rake and bag leaves to prevent their lawns from being smothered and to make yards look better, in most cases, you're fine not moving them. In fact, many environmental experts say raking leaves and removing them from your property is not only bad for your lawn but for the environment as a well.

Creating a habitat for animals

Leaves left on your lawn also act as a habitat for lizards, birds, turtles, frogs and insects over the winter, according to the USDA. Leaf litter is also a food source for animals and used as nest material, according to the National Wildlife Federation.

The benefits of leaving leaves on your lawn

National Wildlife Federation naturalist David Mizejewski advises leaving the leaves on your lawn. "Fallen leaves offer a double benefit," Mizejewski said in a blog post. "Leaves form a natural mulch that helps suppress weeds and fertilizes the soil as it breaks down.

While leaving fallen leaves in their natural state may help your property's ecosystem thrive, it may not be ideal if your goal is a well-kept lawn. A thick layer of leaves can starve your grass of sunlight and cause it to die. Lingering leaves can also stain walkways and decks.

Leaves have nutrients, which can be recycled into your lawn. The concern is if your leaf layer is very thick and will smother the grass. If you have just a few leaves, such as 20 percent of the lawn covered, you can just ignore them. They will blow around, settle in, and break down on their own.

To best support wildlife and soil health, experts say leaves should be left where they fall. A hearty leaf cover provides a habitat during the cold winter months for critical pollinating species such as bees, butterflies and moths.

That's because fallen leaves provide habitat and food for a wide variety of beneficial insects (such as those that pollinate or feed on pests) throughout the winter, says entomology Ph. D.

As mulched leaves decompose, they work as a soil amendment, adding organic matter and improving soil. Mowing leaves instead of raking also helps to reduce landfills.

Raking is serious work

The repetitive motions coupled with repeated bending, reaching, twisting, lifting, and carrying can easily lead to a pulled or torn muscle or worse. These strains often occur in the shoulders, arms, and neck. Especially if you don't regularly exercise these areas.

All the bending, reaching, twisting, lifting, and carrying can easily lead to pain due to a pulled or torn muscle. Muscle strains can occur to your shoulders, back, arms, and neck—especially if you don't regularly exercise these areas.

Is it better to leave your lawn long or short for winter? ›

The ideal grass height for winter is between 2 inches and 2.5 inches. This keeps grass short enough to resist disease spread, but not so short that it becomes overly stressed by cold temperatures.

Although people often rake and bag leaves to prevent their lawns from being smothered and to make yards look better, in most cases, you're fine not moving them. In fact, many environmental experts say raking leaves and removing them from your property is not only bad for your lawn but for the environment as a well.

10-20% coverage of your lawn might be okay, but I certainly would make sure the leaves aren't covering any more than that. Excessive leaf matter on your lawn going into winter is bad for several reasons. First, it will smother the grass and if not removed very soon in the spring it will inhibit growth.

Data suggests that one square meter of leaf litter could house between 40,000 to 50,000 springtails, tiny arthropods that are easy to overlook but important to ecosystems. Trashing leaves takes away an important source of protection for these and other critters in the colder months.

Experts say raking and removing leaves can be worse for your yard – and for the planet, too. Leaving at least some of the leaves in your yard can help fertilize your grass and other plants, provide shelter for animals and even reduce emissions from landfills.

Don't listen to anyone who tells you that you can leave dead leaves where they are. Not only can they clog drains and cause your garden to flood when the rain inevitably comes, they deprive your grass of vital nutrients. Like all plants, grass needs air and sunlight to survive.

Leaf mulch is part of a tree's natural cycle. It is nature's way of recycling important nutrients and protecting the tree's roots during the harsh winter months. Leaf mulch also fortifies soil by providing rotting stuff, which is the foundation of healthy soil.

The soil will benefit from this, as the chopped leaves will enhance the lawn's fertility. They also provide good insulation for soil during the winter, and help keep soil's moisture during the spring, as well as suppressing weeds.

Loose leaf piles should be placed behind the curb or edge of pavement without blocking the sidewalk. Do not rake or blow leaves into the street as they present a safety hazard and a flooding concern when leaves are washed into storm drains.