How To Prevent Leaves From Blowing Into Your Yard

Raking and leaf blowing is a normal part of life in the autumn months for many homeowners. If you live anywhere with deciduous trees, then you are bound to get an upper body workout as soon as the leaves start falling. While raking and leaf blowing aren’t particularly difficult tasks, you can quickly become frustrated when you notice leaves blowing into your yard after you’ve finished raking your lawn.

To prevent leaves from blowing into your lawn after raking, ensure your leaves are bagged or covered with a tarp. Time your raking or leaf blowing with the date your municipality picks up leaves. Talk to your neighbor to coordinate your leaf removal, and consider trimming trees. You can set up garden mesh on your property line, or install a fence to keep outside leaves from entering your property.

The last thing you want to see after a long afternoon of raking is a bunch of leaves blowing into your pristine lawn. While it’s impossible to control Mother Nature and the direction of the wind, there are a lot of ways you can keep leaves off your lawn. Before you determine the best way to keep leaves out of your yard, however, there are a few questions you should ask yourself.

Four Questions To Ask When Leaves Blow Into Your Yard

1. Where Are These Leaves Coming From?

The first question you need to ask yourself when trying to keep leaves off your grass is where are the leaves coming from. If the leaves are coming from your yard, you have a lot more control over the situation. If they are coming from your neighbor’s property, forests, or public lands, you will need to take different measures to keep the leaves off your lawn.

2. How Does My Municipality Handle Leaf Removal?

The next question you should ask yourself when you are trying to minimize the number of leaves blowing into your yard has to do with your local municipality. You need to determine how your local government handles leaf collection. Some areas do nothing, especially if there aren’t a lot of leaves to deal with.

Others have several leaf pickup times, with specific rules you should follow. Understanding the times and coordinating your leaf removal efforts around these times can significantly help you reduce the number of leaves that blow back into your yard.

3. Have I Already Raked These Leaves?

Next, ask yourself if the leaves that blow into your yard are new, or leaves that you have already removed from your yard once. If they are leaves you have already dealt with, then you have an issue with the way you are storing your leaves. If they are new, then you need to find a way to block them them from landing in your yard.

4. Do I Have Any Tools On Hand To Keep Dead Leaves In Place?

Lastly, you should ask yourself what tools you have in your garage, shed, and home to help keep leaves out of your yard. After all, as much as you want to keep leaves from entering your yard after you rake, you don’t want to have to spend a fortune (or even a penny) to accomplish this goal. The tools you have at your disposal will help dictate your best course of action.

Eight Ways To Prevent Leaves From Blowing Into Your Yard

1. Line Your Yard With Garden Netting

If you are trying to keep leaves off your property, then the best way to do so is with a barrier. Whether you live next to a forest, or your neighbor isn’t diligent about leaf removal, then a makeshift barrier is a great way to go.

Garden netting is light, cheap, and easy to install. You may even already have some on hand. Simply border your property with this netting after you rake, and you will notice it will block the vast majority of leaves located outside your property. You can then remove the fencing and save it for the next year. You can also put this netting up along your fence if you have a fence with large gaps.

2. Don’t Rake Too Early

One tip to ensure you don’t constantly have leaves blowing into your yard is to ensure you time your raking and leaf blowing wisely. Don’t rake as soon as the leaves fall. Instead, wait until the vast majority of leaves have fallen from your trees before you remove them.

If you rake away leaves too early, then you will have to battle against a lot of blowing leaves. While you don’t want to wait so long that it becomes difficult to rake, you should also try not to rake so early that you need to fight off wandering leaves for many weeks.

3. Mulch Your Leaves With You Lawn Mower

If your leaves keep finding their way from your leaf pile or containers back into your yard, then consider getting rid of them altogether. Mulching your leaves using a lawn mower or mulcher is a great way to get rid of leaves.

You can use the shredded leaves as mulch for your fall plants, and sprinkle it on your grass for nutrients. You can even add these shredded leaves to your compost before you prepare your compost pile for the winter. 

4. Install Fencing Around Your Yard

For a more permanent solution for leaves and debris coming from your neighbor’s yard and into yours, then it’s time to install a fence. Installing a fence yourself just to keep leaves out of your yard might seem extreme, but if you are already contemplating the idea, let this be the deciding factor.

A fence is a great way to keep your pets in your yard, and other animals out. It also helps distinguish clean property lines from your neighbors. It can even be a nice accent to the overall look of your home’s façade. 

5. Bag Your Leaves

The leaves blowing into your yard may be coming from a pile you already raked. Then you need to find a way to contain your leaves. One of the best things to do with the leaves you already raked is to put them in bags.

You can use biodegradable bags, and most municipalities will pick them up. Don’t put your leaves in plastic bags, as they may get mistaken for trash, and it is also a waste of plastic.

6. Coordinate Leaf Removal With Your Neighbors

When leaves blow into your yard after you rake or leaf blow, then there’s a good chance the leaves in your neighbor’s yard are to blame. Resist an urge to yell at your neighbor, and instead try to be proactive.

Coordinate with your neighbor to try and rake or leaf blow your yards on the same day or weekend. If you are all able to remove leaves around the same time, there won’t be large piles that can escape into various yards.

7. Talk To Your Neighbor About Trimming Trees

If there is a tree that isn’t on your property but sheds its leaves on your property due to extended branches, consider speaking to your neighbor. While your neighbor may not be obligated to cut the branch, it can’t hurt to ask. 

If you explain the nuisance of the leaves and the potential hazards the large branch could cause, then your neighbor may opt to cut these protruding branches.

8. Cover Leaf Piles With Tarps

Some people don't want to bag their leaves if they only have to wait a few days and so they cover the leaf pile with tarps. If you go this route, make sure you use ample tarps and use weights, like bricks, to keep the tarps weighed down.

This will keep your leaves in place while you wait for them to be picked up by your municipality. You can also add to your pile periodically by lifting the tarp and raking more into it as needed.

Summing Up How To Keep Leaves From Blowing Into Your Yard

Raking and leaf blowing are part of life in autumn for those who live in the north. It isn’t always fun, but it doesn’t have to be overly taxing, especially if you take measures to prevent leaves from blowing into your yard. You can set up garden netting along your property or build a permanent fence. Try coordinating your raking with your neighbors, and also take it out just before your municipality is scheduled to pick up leaves. If your leaf pile keeps blowing back into your yard, then bag your leaves or cover the piles with tarps. 

Related Guides:

• Is It Safe To Burn Leaves?
• What To Do With Dead Leaves After Raking Them
• Fall Yard Cleanup Checklist