How to get rid of leaves

Man and toddler raking leaves outside a house on the grass.
(Image credit: Getty)

Fall means the return of scarf weather and pumpkin spice, however, it also means dealing with the many fallen leaves that the season is notoriously named after. If you’ve got them piling up on your lawn and need some inspiration for how to get rid of leaves from your property, then this list is for you.

From using the best leaf blowers for a quick clean-up operation to turning your leaves into natural fertilizer for next year - we’ve got ideas for how to get rid of leaves for every yard. If you're set on buying a new machine, it's also worth checking out the best leaf blower deals which will help you get the most for your money. 

Why is it so important to get rid of fallen leaves? 

Before we launch right into how to get rid of leaves, it might help to know exactly why you can’t just leave fallen leaves where they are. 

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Unfortunately, when a significant quantity of leaves falls onto a lawn and isn’t cleared there is a risk that it could suffocate the grass underneath. To avoid killing pesky leaves piling up and killing your lawn, give one of these easy leaf removal techniques a go.

Key methods for how to get rid of leaves

1. Use a leaf blower

If you’re wondering how to get rid of leaves, the leaf blower is by far the most efficient way to do so. Running on gas or electricity, leaf blowers use force to move many leaves into one place at once. You can then gather them into garden waste receptacles easily. The perfect tool for tidying a large space.

What the expert says...

Adam Whale is a professional gardener and a gardening blogger on his Youtube channel, The Grey Gardener. He tells us just how useful a leaf blower can be for garden care: “I use mine every day but not just for leaves. It leaves a neat finish after a lawn cut to tidy walkways and blows the clippings back on the grass to give it a natural feed."

2. Raking

If you need a method for how to get rid of leaves without using a leaf blower, traditional raking is a simple and effective method. Raking leaves into a central pile that can be disposed of is effective for the lawn as well as a great cardiovascular workout.

3. Put them into scrubland or compost 

Once you’ve raked your leaves up or used a leaf blower to assemble them, you can easily get rid of them by putting them into bare earth such as scrubland at the end of a yard or growing beds of compost. Here the leaves will decompose and enrich the ground with nutrients without damaging your lawn.

4. Make leaf compost

Do you know how to get rid of leaves and also make a homemade fertilizer for your garden? Simply make leaf compost. Collect your leaves into a composter bin and tend to your leaf compost every month by adding in moisture, turning it over with a pitchfork, and sprinkling in some nitrogen fertilizer. The earthworms will do the rest! 

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Tanisha Fletcher

Tanisha started her career in commercial retail buying for one of Amazon UK’s Top 10 revenue grossing online homeware retailers. Years spent obsessing over homeware products made it an easy career switch to writing about them. Her freelance career has seen her craft customer-focused web content for brands big and small, as well as writing articles in the health, lifestyle, home and retail sectors.

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