Leaf blowing is one of those controversial topics where you either hate leaf blowers or you love them. Although some leaf blower users argue that leaf blowing saves time…LISTENING to leaf blowing when you are not the person using the machine itself can lead to stress and neighbor disputes. Regardless of the noise pollution, my gardening colleagues and I are also of the collective opinion that leaf blowing is not at all valuable — and instead it is very counterproductive for the environment in more ways than one. We think everyone will agree that leaf blowers are overused these days. And noise pollution is a driving factor.
Let’s point out the positives of leaf blowing.
1. Leaf blowing CAN help clear leaves and debris easier and faster than raking or sweeping.
2. Leaf blowing gets leaves out of prickly bushes a bit easier than hand-pulling them.
3. Leaf blowing gets people outside on a nice day.
Those are some nice positives to consider. Do you have others? Please leave them in the comments section at the end of this posting.
However, on the negative side:
1. Leaf blowing kicks up allergens, dust, animal feces, and other detrimental particles.
2. It’s noisy, obtrusive, and can cause hearing loss for those within earshot of the blowers.
3. Shredded leaves from your own property are far better than purchased wood mulch which can harbor diseases.
4. Neighbors are likely being annoyed if you use your leaf blower more than once per week even during periods of high leaf droppage.
5. The overall ecosystem is negatively affected.
Whew! Those are some pretty controversial comments right there. I compiled that “top five” list while speaking with various neighbors, friends, colleagues and clients. Even though they agree with the positives, pretty much everyone agrees that leaf blowing is loud and annoying and can cause hearing loss. Yet what other problems cans it cause?
My husband and I live in a fairly wooded area with minimum two acre properties. We are bordered mostly by large properties including a 30 acre farm property next door. Our own five acre property is located inside a watershed which means we need to preserve our land from additional change or development. We love our beautiful woods and what we thought would be a peaceful, serene atmosphere to enjoy. How wrong we were.
One of the main reasons that we moved to this larger property was to escape the constant sounds of condo and townhouse noise through walls and floors/ceilings and especially through open windows in nice weather. We figured we would no longer hear any regular noise from adjacent neighbors in single family homes who were at least a few acres away. That was a definite farce.
As soon as we moved in (and this was 20 years ago), we found out that one of our next door neighbors would blow leaves constantly, mostly FROM his property ONTO everyone else’s. It was impossible to be outside and enjoy nice weather when the blowing activity was in full force which was virtually every single afternoon AND evening regardless of the weather. Each of the sons had his own leaf blower so all four males including the father would go outside and blow together. This activity went on for hours, even in the dark. They would even climb up onto the house’s roof and blow leaves out of the gutters (NOTE: it’s not recommended to use a leaf blower to remove leaves from gutters) and then eventually blow those leaves over onto others’ property including ours and also into the privately-owned community road. We could never figure out their obsession with leaves nor why they were using blowers not only during Fall but also during the Winter, Spring and Summer. The neighbor regularly complained to us, and his other adjacent neighbors, that “our” leaves that he had blown back to our properties (where they belonged) would always blow BACK on to “his” property. He had quite a number of mature trees on his property so I’m not quite sure how he knew which leaves fell from which trees — his or ours — considering we all have the same tree types on our properties. That neighbor moved away and we got some great neighbors. Unfortuately, the great neighbors moved and we are back to the overuse of a leaf blower again.
Normally, leaf clean up happens once or twice in the Fall when the trees naturally drop their leaves. While a few neighbors do no leaf clean up at all or have landscapers vacuum their properties of leaves, a few of my male neighbors take it upon themselves to blow leaves and debris DAILY, if not SEVERAL TIMES PER DAY. There’s no valid reason for it, and in fact, they are damaging the environment. The leaves just tend to blow back if they are not collected and bagged or shredded to use as mulch. Additionally, they tend to blow leaves off of weedy areas, causing more and more weeds to grow back. We keep our weedy areas leaf-covered to minimize weeds and sure wish the neighbors would do the same.
It’s been shown that using a leaf blower will kick up all sorts of dust and allergens not to mention affecting wildlife. Birds nest in brushy areas, in bushes, and even in lower growing trees. Blowing leaves out of these areas year-round can tear apart bird nests and affect the “good” insects and critters that live in leaf matter.
I regularly observe lawn service companies wandering around store parking lots (with no trees or bushes anywhere to be found) blowing dust and debris onto the roads. Who do they think is going to pick up their relocated mess out of the roads? By the way, it’s illegal to intentionally blow debris and leave grass clippings in the road in Virginia. In fact, it’s a Class 1 misdemeanor which is punishable by confinement in jail for not more than twelve months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both. The Code of Virginia (18.2-324) says no one may throw or deposit any substance onto a road that creates a hazard to the traveling public. Grass clippings create a slick surface that’s especially dangerous to motorcyclists and other vehicles. And why are they blowing in Spring and Summer when there is little leaf debris?
One of the biggest overall complaints about leaf blowing is the noise pollution. I can hear my neighbors’ leaf blowers INSIDE MY HOUSE WITH MY WINDOWS CLOSED. Sure, I expect to hear some noise when I’m OUTSIDE, but not when I’m INSIDE MY HOUSE. Also, when I AM outside, I have to wear hearing protection so my hearing is not damaged from my neighbors’ constant loud leaf blowing. On many occasions, those blowers have been clocked at well over 100 decibels outdoors and heard across multiple property lines!
http://agardenersdelight.com/why-leaf-blowing-is-counterproductive/