Opinion: The problem with leaf blowers

by Kathy Sykes

I must admit I’m not a fan of leaf blowers. I understand why people use them – from removing leaves from lawns to clearing walkways, sidewalks and driveways. It seems they make our world tidier. But the truth is, they cause more harm than good to our environment – and to our health.

Harmful blasts of air

From a one-foot distance, the jet stream velocity from a leaf blower reaches 180 to 200 miles per hour. That’s more than strong enough to maim and kill insects, including pollinators that are critical to our ecosystem overwintering in the leaf litter. The well-intentioned landscapers may be unaware that small animals such as moles, voles, and grass snakes can also be harmed. Leaf blowers are also detrimental to birds, because it limits their ability to find food and mate.

Leaf litter provides shelter for pollinators.

Impact on soil

Leaf blowers are also harmful from a soil health perspective. The blowers and their jet stream compact the soil and remove the leaf layer that serves as a protective blanket. Without leaf coverage, the soil can easily erode, run into our stormsewers, and end up in our watershed and the Chesapeake Bay. Douglas Tallamy wrote in his 2021 book, The Nature of Oaks, that retaining leaf cover helps prevent runoff and allows plants to retain moisture. Leaf litter – nature’s free mulch – not only serves as a home for wintering little insects, fireflies, and butterflies, but also provides precious nutrients.

Impact on human health

While we are fortunate that Washington, DC, has banned gas-powered leaf blowers, electric blowers are still high-velocity machines that stir up allergens, mold and dust particles, worsening asthma and allergies, and irritating the lungs. The dust created by the blowers contains potentially dangerous substances (pesticides, mildew, and canine fecal matter) that can cause irritation, exacerbate allergies, and cause disease.

Noise pollution is another issue. Electric blowers are 15 to 20 decibels quieter than their gas-fueled cousins, but still have a decibel range of between 65 and 70. Exposure to such loud noise can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, poor mental health and disturb sleep.

The wrong tool for the job

The blowers don’t just move leaves. Once trash swept up by a blower is moved to the street or into a tree box, it is rarely picked up. And on windy days, leaf blowers are useless, since the wind will carry whatever the blower has forced into the air in a new direction.

Trash and leaves blown onto a street.

There are alternatives to using leaf blowers. We can use brooms to clear sidewalks. To remove leaves from a lawn, use a rake. Instead of bagging the leaves to be hauled off (and generating greenhouse gas emissions from the transport), place them in the back of your yard or on a flowerbed. Let’s skip the blower and save the pollinators – and our own health.

Kathy Sykes, a certified Master Gardener since 2019, completed the training and volunteer hours for the UDC Master Naturalist program in 2022. She focused on invasive plant removal (English ivy, burning bush, porcelain berry) in Rock Creek Park and at Hillwood. Sykes continues to maintain the pollinator corridor along Connecticut Avenue and educate community members of all ages about the importance of native plants.