3 reasons why you should stop raking leaves this fall and never look back

[eridani]

http://www.upworthy.com/3-reasons-why-you-should-stop-raking-leaves-this-fall-and-never-look-back

In a post published to the organization's blog, the NWF outlines three important reasons why raking leaves is actually harmful for the environment and the creatures that live in your 'hood. (Side note:

The blog post was actually published in 2014, but — as further proof that humans detest raking leaves — has spread across the Internet like wildfire again in recent days.)

1. Your raking affects many critters that consider the leaves home. "The leaf layer is its own mini-ecosystem," the NWF says. "Many wildlife species live in or rely on the leaf layer to find food and other habitat."

2. Fallen leaves are exactly what your garden needs. Dead leaves are the gift that keeps on giving for your garden. They act as an all-natural, weed-fighting mulch — all while fertilizing the soil as they decompose.

3. Raking your leaves means fewer beautiful butterflies. And that means less food for birds.Fallen leaves are a great spot for butterflies and moths to chill during the colder months as pupae (basically, an insect's very lazy, teenage-ish years). Not only will raking up your leaves kill these creatures, but it affects the food supply for birds that are trying to feed their babies come spring.

[hollysmom]

1. bah humbug

I have to rake because otherwise I would fall down on all stuff on the ground, like lots of loose acorns. But, I pile them up in the back of the yard to use for soil next year - the pile is 50 feet long and 6 feet high. and 6 feet wide - I have a lot of oak trees in a reasonably small yard. In the summer I put the mulch back by the trees and in my veggie garden. I also mow the leaves first so they are half mulched to begin with. Plenty of places for moths to live and get eaten by birds and enough grass left to walk on and flower gardens left to not smother.

[Sherman A1]

2. I run over them with the mulching mower

a few times in the fall and either collect them in a bag which goes straight onto the gardens or let them lay on the lawn. I hate to rake and will only do so enough along the fence line to get them to where the mower can grind them up.

[safeinOhio]

3. I have about 10 yards of over growth and stumps around

my 3 acres on 3 sides. A few asked if I was going to clean it out and turn it into lawn.

I just put up signs that say "Butterfly Habitat". Now I'm asked if I'm going to expand it.

[GliderGuider]

5. "Butterfly Habitat" signs - what a stroke of genius!

[safeinOhio]

7. I stole the idea from an

Ohio State Park. First thing I though of when I saw the signs was, they just don't want to mow that area.

[NV Whino]

16. Oh, that's a good one. I'll have to use it.

[Duppers]

4. Leaf cover is so bad here that it blocks sunlight to grass

and kills the grass if not removed. Besides, due to global warming, here in the south we now have a terrible chigger problem. Leaves give these horribly pesty bugs a place to hide.

So, leaves be gone from my lawn. I'm sick of my poor dog's itching and bringing the damn chiggers into the house.

We've sprayed the lawn, bombed the house, and vacuum and wash clothes daily, Yet the damn things are still here and bitiing!

[GliderGuider]

6. That's a sign that you're an invasive species living in chigger habitat.

Time to migrate?

[Duppers]

10. Ha! We've lived here 15 yrs w/o chiggers.

I'm telling you, of all people , that the temps here are making the habitat chigger friendly this year. It's frikin' 71 here today!

However, as a matter of fact (you must be clairvoyant) we do intend to move....to the mountains 2,000' higher than where we are now.

[GliderGuider]

11. Cool!

So to speak...

[Scuba]

8. I have to rake up the ones on the driveway or they'd be higher than the house by now.

The ones on the lawn I mulch if they're not too deep for the mower to handle.

Those that I do rake, end up being composted at the municipal recycling center, where you can pick them back up in a year or so in the form of black dirt. Three bucks for a pickup load, shovel it yourself.

[polly7]

9. I never rake in the fall, except in the front yard.

The wind blows most of it right under the trees and shrubs, and I figure our winters up here are brutal enough they deserve all the protection they can get.

Spring is when I really get them cleaned up.

[Baitball Blogger]

12. I rake them and use them as mulch for a walk area through a nearby area.

Keeps the armadillos busy off property.

That area is a "rabbit patch". It's a farming concept. Plant a little patch for the animals and it will keep them off your property.

And boy, is there roaming going on at this time of the year. Never seen anything like it. Huge possums and armadillos walking through the property. And cats are everywhere. I suspect that there are a combination of factors. First, it's fall and they are stocking up for winter; and the second, since my dog died, there is nothing to shoo away the big animals. Especially, the cats.

[madokie]

13. Its not the leaves that bother me

its those thorny little bastards of balls that fall from our sweet gum trees that keeps me on the raking, mowing and mulching regimen. Two big trees and I'll haul off three good pickup truck loads of balls ever spring. Try walking on the little bastids and tell me to let them lay and decompose. I tried piling them up and letting them decompose, three years later the pile still looked almost as big. Tried to burn them after I piled them up and they don't burn worth a damn so I'm left with hauling their little asses off. My brother has 500 acres of Ozark foot hills that has lots of gullies that need them so I take them there. I swear there are still remnants of the first years loads left and thats been 12 or however fucking long I've owned this place years ago.

You see I have leg and feet problems so I wear 'gulp' those hated rubber shoes some refer to as crocs, me I just call them my saviors. Step on one of those little bastard balls wearing a pair and you will understand why I cuss them so

[eppur_se_muova]

14. OTOH ... dead, dry leaves are a fire hazard.

Which is why some municipalities require homeowners to clear their lawns of dead leaves. This was probably more of a problem back in the days when every house had a fireplace and used it regularly. One stray spark or hot coal ...

Just don't let leaves pile up against the house and outbuildings and you're probably OK.

[OKIsItJustMe]

15. Rake the Leaves? Some Towns Say Mow Them

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/nyregion/rake-the-leaves-some-towns-say-mow-them.html

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Rake the Leaves? Some Towns Say Mow Them[/font]

By LISA W. FODERARONOV. 24, 2013

[font size=3]DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. — They have been burned, blown into piles, raked into bags and generally scorned by homeowners everywhere. Fall leaves — so pretty on the trees, such a nuisance when they hit the ground — have long been a thing to be discarded. But now some suburban towns are asking residents to do something radical: Leave the leaves alone.

In the past few years, lawn signs have sprouted in this Hudson River village and across Westchester County, proclaiming the benefits of mulching the leaves in place, rather than raking them up and taking them away. The technique involves mowing the leaves with special mulching blades, which shred them into tiny bits. That allows them to quickly decompose and naturally feed lawns and shrubs.

Officials are encouraging the practice for its cost savings: Westchester spends $3.5 million a year on private contractors who haul away leaves in tractor-trailers and bring them to commercial composting sites in places like Orange County, N.Y., and Connecticut. At the same time, environmental groups and horticulturalists are praising the practice’s sustainability, devising slogans like “Leave Leaves Alone” and “Love ’Em and Leave ’Em.”

…[/font][/font]

[NickB79]

17. I mow some of it, bag some for the garden, and the chickens tear through the rest

My 6 chickens have probably turned every leaf on my 1.5 acre property twice by now, given how much they roam, scratch and peck.

Now I feel bad for the butterfly caterpillers

[Nihil]

18. Printed off to be framed and shown to Mrs. Nihil ...

"See dear, I *told* you I was doing the right thing all along!"