Leaf Blowers: Scourge of Humanity
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.21.05
Autumn approaches, leaves will fall, and the leaf blowers will return. They are loud, polluting and completely unneccessary. Some have called them a Scourge of Humanity and this treehugger agrees. Municipalities across North America are starting to regulate them and manufacturers are starting to improve them, although the new low emission John Deere version shown above still pumps out 68 Decibels, as described in the ::Wall Street Journal. There is the traditional alternative- the rake. No gas consumption, good exercise and cheap. Tipster Bonnie noticed the Kentish Rake- made by hand since 1871, 20 inches wide and no noise whatsoever. ::Harrod Horticultural
Rakes would never work for landscapers who cleanup leaves for a living. I think a lot of leaf blowers are used by landscapers (at least in NY, it seems like it), because they're faster and less of a "good workout" Electric leaf blowers would probably be better. Or better yet, something like one of those carpet push sweeper things that sweeps up dirt without using any power - just have rake like brushes that counter-rotate against the push direction, and have a way to fit a leaf bag above it so you'd gather the leaves as you push it along and sweep up the leaves. It'd work better than leaf blowers, I reckon.
Unless you have oak or other astringent (tannin rich) leaves such as black walnut, there is really no need to rake a yard clean of leaves. Just be sure they don't get matted down thickly in the shade and come spring they will disappear (the magic of nature). A cursory job of raking or twice where they tend to accumulate is adequate. I once won a $100 bet from a neighbor who did not believe me. He soon became a convert to my method. As a courtesy to the neighbors who want a yard that looks like a carpet you may have to compromise to prevent yours from blowing on theirs.
Most folks that have leaf blowers don't know how to use them. They look like guys trying to vacuum. They're blowing one recalcitrant leaf for all they're worth to the exclusion of all else. One of our local landscapers using a very efficient technique. He uses a backpack style leafblower in his right hand and a handheld in his left. He creates a set of wind boundaries that shove a gigantic chunk of leaves across the lawn into the street with each pass.
That all said, I just mow mine with my mulching mower until the big leaf drop happens. Then I rake as many as I can into the compost pile and have the city compost the rest.
I agree with john. Most land scapers blow leaves before mowwing. If they just went ahead and mowwed the law the leaves would get mulched and woudl decompose durrign the winter. once all ther snow melted the lawn would be AMAZING in the spring. If your friends want a lawn that looks like a carpet they shoudl check out www.fieldturf.com
A few years ago, there was a very contentious situation in LA where they were talking about banning leaf blowers due to emissions, not noise. I heard an NPR broadcast in which they talked about a landscaper who went into his garage and modified his leaf blower in such a way as to reduce emissions and maybe even reduce the noise. Haven't heard anything about it since. Be good to know what happened to that guy and his work and not let such advances sink into oblivion.
Hello
"Rakes would never work for landscapers who cleanup leaves for a living"
Bah. I used to rake a 3/4 acre lawn with oaks, walnuts, and maples in an afternoon. I am sure a few "pros" could do it in a shorter period of time. Lawn maintenance crews have been around long before leaf blowers.
Gas leaf blowers use 2-stroke engines with zero emissions control. They are many times more polluting then the engine in your car - no kidding. They have been banned from future production in Europe, parts of Asia and other places, simply because of this fact.
BTW your cool vintage Vespa has the same problem. It's generating more exhaust nastiness than the three SUV's following you....
Landscappers (or as CT burbs would have it, Columbian migrant workers) get paid by the hour... so in the fall, the whole neighbordhood chimes of whinny "naahhhs" days on end, as they blow the same leaf down the street. (Pick it up for Pete sake!) Used to be fall in New England smelled of autumn... now it stinks of two-cycle engine oil! Try to get these companies to put mufflers on! Lawn equipment associations won't even return phone calls!
For those of us past our prime and trying to hang on to our homes, the rake is, literally, a back breaking tool, regardless of how ergonomically it's designed. A power blower/vac is an alternative that let's us keep our independence for a bit longer. Rather than spurn the product, encourage it's improvement. I've fought to save any number of trees in my time, but I'm not a purist, I'm a prgmatist.