How to Blow Leaves Like The Pros
Pile fall leaves with precision
If your yard grows thick with leaves from deciduous trees during the fall, learning how to blow leaves where you want them to go is essential. Blowing away leaves can also help prevent them from growing matted during the winter.
With a few easy steps like angling the leaf blower in the right downward direction, you can start using your blower like a pro. Let’s review how to blow leaves away like a pro.
Why Is Controlling Where Leaves Blow Important?
A leaf blower doesn’t steer itself. Improper use of a leaf blower will make your leaf problem worse, plastering them on your exterior walls and windows. Piled-up leaves can cause issues, including staining, mildew, moisture damage, and pest infestations.
The best way to avoid those troubles is to carefully guide leaves into concentrated piles at access points on your property. The good news is that once you learn how to control a leaf blower, you can use it for plenty of additional tasks like cleaning decks, clearing walkways, and even drying cars.
How to Blow Leaves Where You Want Them
We’re approaching this project with the assumption you’ve got a handheld blower that’s ready to work. Once you’re ready, here’s where to start:
1. Wait for Leaves to Dry Out
Avoid blowing leaves when they’re still wet. Wet leaves won’t properly move, and they’ll get stuck against fences or tree trunks. Watch the weather, and if necessary break out the rake to deal with a serious leaf problem instead. A small breeze shouldn’t be a problem, but higher winds will wreak havoc on your leaf piles. To maintain control while blowing leaves, wait for a calm day.
2. Start at the Edges of the Yard and Tree Trunks
When blowing leaves, start at the edges and carefully work your way into the center of your yard. In most cases, that means starting by fences and exterior walls and working in concentric circles inward.
Follow the edges of your house and yard, getting the leaves piled up against the foundation and tree trunks. While it's fine to miss a few leaves here and there, you want to catch the clumps as you work. In many cases, the center of your lawn may be bare, or your property may be too large for a single pile. In this case, split your circling maneuvers into two or three sections to group leaves into separate piles.
3. Use a Low Blower Setting and Only Increase If Needed
Start at the lowest power setting and only increase it sparingly. Higher blower settings can damage nearby grass or flower beds and make it hard to control the direction of the leaves.
4. Keep a Downward Angle and Stay Close to the Ground
When rounding up leaves, keep the blower close to the ground, preferably several inches from the surface. If the blower starts damaging small plants or stirring up soil and mulch, lift it up.
You should also angle the blower downward for a couple of reasons. First, this angle provides extra power to move more stubborn leaf clumps. Second, if you angle the blower up too much, it will scatter the leaves in all directions. Keeping the blower pointed down makes it easier to herd the leaves toward a specific point.
5. Practice Curving Motions to Catch All Leaves
Grouping leaves is all about the curve. As you work leaves toward large piles, move your arm in a “C” or “U” like motion. This method catches stragglers and focuses the nearby leaves into a single place. The further to the center you get, the tighter you can make the curving motions until your pile forms.
6. Consider Upgrading to Large Appliances
Sometimes there are too many leaves, too much wind, or too large an area that makes blowing leaves impractical. If that’s the case, you can upgrade to a more powerful machine, such as a vacuum-blower, backpack blower, or driveable rake.
How to Prevent Leaves From Scattering Again
Don’t let your leaf piles scatter before you can put together a disposal plan. To avoid repeating the steps above, here’s how to take care of those piles promptly:
Mind the weather and act fast: Find the right time frame to blow leaves when the air is calm and the weather is clear. Move quickly through the blowing process to control the leaf piles efficiently.
Blow leaves onto a tarp: For large piles, consider weighing down a tarp in the center of your yard and blowing leaves onto it for easier collection. This method takes care of the leaves immediately, so there’s no chance of them dispersing.
Cover the leaves with netting: If you can’t get to leaves right away, cover them up so they can’t be disturbed. The easiest way is to use garden netting, the kind made to protect plants, ponds, and other areas.
Mulch the leaves: If you have a mulching machine or mulching attachment for one of your yard tools, consider mulching the leaves instead of tossing them. Leaf mulch can provide a valuable barrier and soil-improving layer. You can scatter it in flower beds, around tree trunks, or under hedges and bushes.
Keep the kids and pets at bay: We don’t begrudge playing in an irresistible pile of leaves, but that means you’ll have to clean up after. If these leaf piles are strictly for work and not for fun, keep kids and pets inside.
DIY vs. Hiring a Pro
Blowing leaves is typically a DIY task. But if you don’t have a leaf blower or you have a large area to cover, consider hiring a leaf removal service near you to take care of your leaves. Look for local yard, landscaping, and lawncare services that specifically offer leaf removal in the fall season. You can expect to pay between $190 and $590 for the cost of leaf removal, depending on the size of your yard and the amount of leaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
The legality of blowing leaves into the street depends on your city or county laws. Many cities have codes that restrict blowing leaves into the street because it can obstruct the view of nearby drivers and make cars dirty, not to mention angering neighbors. Violations can result in a fine or other problems. You can check the codes on your municipal government website to learn more local guidelines, but avoid spraying leaves into streets for now.
We always recommend wearing a protective mask when blowing leaves (as well as goggles if possible). Blowing leaves creates a lot of dust, and in many cases that dust contains a bunch of allergens that can make those sensitive very miserable. Even worse, moldy leaves can contain fungi and bacteria that could make humans as animals very sick. Mask up before starting your leaf project, and if anyone is helping you collect the leaves it’s a good idea if they wear a mask, too.
While a river may seem safer than the street, blowing leaves into the water can cause a lot of problems. Leaves can alter the local ecosystem, encourage bad algae growth and block narrow waterways. In large numbers, leaf debris can lead to fish death events in nearby bays or lakes and require expensive dredging to address. That’s why many cities also ban blowing leaves into water.
Don’t use your blower if it could cause problems or is specifically banned. For example, gas-powered blowers are banned in certain cities and counties (and some states ban their sale). But even electric blowers can cause problems if you use them early in the morning or late at night, so wait until full daylight before you turn them on. If leaves are wet or there aren’t that many of them, it’s best to use a rake instead of a blower.
