Are you asking about clearing leaves at all or just using a blower to do the work?

This is necessary. Wet leaves are slippery (don’t ask me how I know.) They invite vermin, not to mention ticks. They can get moldy. They block storm drains. As far as leaf-blowers go, the lithium-ion battery ones aren’t awful. I still use a rake, but my raking days are numbered, so I mow them (cheaty mulch.) I hope I can stay leaf-blower independent, but if I need one, I’ll buy one. I don’t want wet slimy moldy leaves around my house.

Darn things should be banned, with exceptions for folks with disabilities or aged 70+. Rakes work fine.

I switched to an electric leaf blower. So quiet compared to those gas monstrosities

Go over them with the lawnmower several times and mulch them into the grass. It's good for the soil.

I use an electric leaf blower after doing a mulch-mow to help spread it all out more so that my yard doesn't suffer too much... Because you can't really rake them once they've been mulched. I don't do this to protect my lawn (fuck grass, I mostly have creeping clover, dwarf fescue, and moss) but rather to avoid issues with pests and as a natural and free nutrient to the yard. If I have extra / excess leaves then I will gather them all up and either use them in my firepit or add it to my compost pile.

I also then use my blower for several neighbors who are elderly. They can't rake their lawn, they don't have money to pay someone else to do, and my stamina is on par with someone twice my age because of bad life choices - so I'm not able to spend the time and energy raking everybody's lawn.

I also make sure to do it in the middle of the day to minimize anyone being disturbed by it. It doesn't take a terribly long time because I live in a very wooded area and wait until most of the leaves have come down (because fuck doing it 2-3x a week).

How about you go talk with your neighbors if it bothers you so much?

As long as they’re not using them late at night. It is what it is. I don’t enjoy the sound of them either but people do indeed have the right to use leaf blowers. Especially if you have a huge yard. Wet rotting leaves are a welcome mat for termites and other bugs. Along with a ton of other problems. I always bag them and take them to the yard waste places. People that are putting them into the streets right now is annoying. They haven’t gotten signs up about it yet.

As for the noise of it, that’s city life. Cities are loud. There are a million other noises that are problematic, but the sound of a leaf blower for an hour isn’t going to hurt. The only way to avoid it is to live far away from other neighbors or have a large plot of land where there aren’t any trees around to drop leaves.

I'm doing this next week. Running the mower with and without the bag attachment. Gotta bag some for the chickens to play in and dig through

cant hold a beer with a rake😃

Specifically the blower. And I understand that a lot of people are physically unable to rake, so I wouldn't recommend a ban on all blowers, but maybe a ban on gas-powered.

Fair points in the first paragraph, but I don't agree that the steady loud-ass whine of a gas-powered leaf blower should be considered part of city noise. I actually like the mix of normal city noise (passing cars, motorcycles, music, occasional honks, sirens, shouting). But the leaf blower drowns out all other city noise.

I agree, but this is only practical if you're dealing with a small amount of leaves. When you have a small army of fully mature maple trees around one's yard and you decide to just chop it up with the mower, you end smothering your lawn with a layer of leaf mulch. It's a mucky mess in the spring and it prevents light from reaching the grass underneath. Additionally while yes leaf mulch will biodegrade, it does not do so on a fast enough timeline. It can take an entire year if not more for this layer of mulch to completely breakdown.

Gotta get the leaves off the yard, ain't gonna do it with a rake.

The problem for me arises when you introduce people with apparent OCD (my neighbors) to a leaf blower. This brings out the worst. My neighbors leaf blow 5 or 6 times a day to get each leaf as it falls off the tree. Its bad. Better this year than last tho

True. Gotta keep up with it, it won't work with huge amounts of leaves.

I've found they breakdown faster if you're treating your lawn either fully or at least partially with organic fertilizer. More microbes and all that.

It's much faster. You can blow leaves off a lawn in a few minutes, compared to hours of raking. A thick layer of leaves can smother grass and lead to bare patches in a yard.

Plus you get to feel like a ghostbuster. blowing leaves is oddly satisfying.

Better than raking them up. Raking is slower and harder on the back. The noise is temporary and the result is a clear lawn. The electrics are quieter but less powerful. What would take a few hours by raking can be done in 30 minutes with a blower.

Blower does the work of like 3-4 rakes at once plus it looks dope. The backpack gas ones are loud but damn do they move product

Better to mow them

If you can drive around in your coal powered Tesla, I can fire up my gas, powered leaf blower and take care of my yard the way I see fit 😂

Battery ones don’t perform as well and last all of 20 minutes between charges if you’re lucky. That’s like using a broom instead of a rake.

Little bit is good lot is bad.

My neighbor uses one before 8am daily. Rude AF.

If you have a small area to rake, raking is not bad and it's good exercise. I have about 3/4 acre of lawn and mow it with a tractor and in the fall I use the tractor to pick up the leaves. I use a blower on the drive way, in beds and under shrubs and blow it all onto the lawn. This takes less than a day to do, if I had to rake all of that it would take a weekend plus. Power equipment is noisy but you can't beat the convenience. I also do my gutters with a blower.

I have one neighbor that leaf blows 7-9am. Next one 9-11am. Another one 12-2pm. Next one 2-4pm. Another 4-6pm. (All times approximate- but you get the idea)

that time of year? this is going on 8 months a year. landscapers use them for fucking everything, including blowing everything into the street. all summer that's all i hear all day, fucking leaf blowers. i'd 100% support a ban on them outside of a few months a year when leaf cleanup is necessary.

i hate the blowers but we have a shit ton of garden beds and other stuff. a rake wont cut it. gotta use the blower.

That’s ridiculous lol I’m sorry