Why are people in such a hurry to get rid of fallen leaves?

Question

The day they hit the ground people are out raking them up.
Why do we rake them at all?
Why don't we let them just rot into the soil?

I love the fallen leaves. I am disappointed when they are removed.

Answer 1

It is for human also,you are comparing to a fallen leaf.

Answer 2

Raking leaves up is just a bad habit. Some people think they are 'messy'. They do get kind of slippery on sidewalks, so they should be removed from walkways.

It is a mistake to remove leaves from the grass and yard unless they are so thick on the grass that they can kill off the grass over the winter.

That is the only reason to rake them up. If you don't like the look of leaves everywhere, and if you have a mulching lawnmower, you can run over the leaves when they are dry, that will shatter them into tiny bits and they will feed all of the nutrients to the grass.
Leaves are FULL of nutrients and minerals.
The other thing you can do with them is rake them up, and trench them into your garden. They are very rich and compost down quickly, feeding the fishworms and creating worm castings for the soil that are rich in nutrients. They improve the quality of the soil.

Answer 3

Well, it would depend on what landscape area those leaves are falling !!

Up at the ranch, we rake around the house because the leaves stain concrete walkways, they are a fire-hazard, and when WET, they are a slip hazard. They get raked up and put into the compost pile.

Away from the house, we tend to let them lay... except under our fruit trees (apple and walnut) where they would be a haven for bugs and fungus.

In early winter, we take the tractor or riding-mower and turn all the leaves to mulch and disc them into the soil.

Answer 4

im not in a hurry till it comes closer to spring. I let the leaves sit and get in the soil. Its good for the ground. I liked to rake them around the tree. It gives the tree a lot of nutrients. And it helps the roots return back into the ground instead of sticking out!

Answer 5

You know something, I have often wondered why people do that as well. I think you have to take care of them every once in a while, but to actually do it every single day...that's ridiculous. Especially where I live...we are surrounded by trees. My parents live about 4 miles from here, and they have tons and tons of trees around their lot...as do all of the other lots around them...and this one woman gets out daily - about three times a day - to rake leaves.

I think allowing the leaves to FALL during autumn looks pretty! Especially once they've turned a bunch of different colors. Now, if you are trying to get them away from your doorstep or porch, that's understandable.

Answer 6

some people have really bad allergies. A girl friend of mine said her mom was gonna rake up the leaves..and i was like "why they are so pretty" and it's cause she's got severe allergies, whereas they can't get rid of all the leaves in the neighborhood if they could get rid of theirs then they can go outside and do more without the dead leaves lying around

I personally love the leaves...

Answer 7

I do because;
They might clog the drainage on the street and create a flood when it rains a lot.
Our neighbor has a large Magnolia tree right next to our driveway, and it drops a huge amount of huge and thick leaves every fall. We won't see our driveway, if we don't clean up.
The tree leaves, such as Magnolia and Rhodies, won't break up quickly enough, if you just left them on the ground. It just look messy until who knows when.
If it rains, someone might slip and fall on those thick leaves and sue us.(We just never know...) In my area, the house owners have a responsibilities of clean up the side walks in front of our house. (We don't own it, though.)

So, that's why we rake and gather leaves, and run over with our lawn mower to make instant mulch. No waste anyway!

Answer 8

I have no clue...I think they are beautiful. You will never catch a rake in my hand...I let them rot all winter....and my lawn is always stunning the next spring! I think the leaves protect the grass during the winter months.....which is why I win out for the prettiest lawn every year!!!

Answer 9

I think it's really a personal preference and with that said; I think people that rake up real quick are people that think it looks bad for their yard and house to have leaves all over it. I personally could care less, they go away but it does look nice when they are raked up.

Answer 10

Personally, I love the leaves in the yard during fall too. But my poor puppy is so tiny that, if I don't rake them, he will get lost!

Answer 11

I am with you. I have no idea either. In the Spring I can see raking them out of gardens or front lawns but they could just be protecting everything all winter.