I literally drove to Home Depot to buy a rake and those leaf bags and I said self “Do you really have to do this? Wouldn’t your time be better spent learning about why you shouldn’t rake the leaves? Yes! So I got some Chinese food and headed home.

Whether you should rake leaves in the fall depends on how heavily they cover your lawn and your goals for your yard: you generally do not need to rake if leaves cover less than 10% to 20% of your grass, and many environmental experts recommend leaving them or mulching them instead.

Ecological benefits: According to environmental guidance shared via PBS NewsHour, intact leaf layers provide crucial winter habitats and shelter for overwintering invertebrates, bumblebee queens, and pollinators like firefly larvae. [1, 2]

Alternative approach: Instead of bagging leaves for the landfill, city arborists and conservation groups suggest blowing or raking them off the open turf and into garden beds or around tree bases where they act as a natural mulch. [1, 2]

Heavy coverage (over 20% or a thick mat): If leaves are thick enough that you can barely see the grass, you should clear or manage them. A heavy blanket of leaves can smother the turfgrass, block spring growth, trap moisture, and invite snow mold or pests like voles. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Mulching with a mower: If you have a moderate-to-heavy layer on the lawn, you can run a lawn mower over the leaves to chop them into tiny pieces. This lets them fall between the grass blades, decompose quickly, and fertilize your lawn without requiring hard physical raking. [1, 2]

Here is a good article that I found:

Raking Leaves? Drop the Rake and Stop What You’re Doing

Yes, you heard that right, leave the leaves where they lie. Although people often rake and bag leaves to prevent their lawns from being smothered and to make yards look better, in most cases, you’re fine not moving them. In fact, many environmental experts say raking leaves and removing them from your property is not only bad for your lawn but for the environment as a well.

Instead, use your lawn mower and chop the leaves up. Not only will the leaves provide excellent nitrogen and organic matter that your winter grass will love, it’ll:

• protect root systems;
• preserve soil moisture; and
• the lawn mower will help cut weeds, providing critical light for your grass

Mulching your leaves also helps wildlife. Insects depend on leaf litter in the winter to provide protective habitat and food. Those insects in turn become winter food for other animals like birds. The only reason to pick up the rake this year is to help spread the love of your leaves to other parts of the yard or garden that can use this natural fertilizer.

Not only does mulching your leaves help your grass and soil, it also helps reduce greenhouse gases and limits waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 8.7 million tons of yard trimmings, which include leaves, went to landfills in 2017, accounting for just over 6 percent of all waste in landfills. These bags of leaves not only take up space, they also can break down with other organic waste to create methane, a potent greenhouse gas which exacerbates climate change.

I’m so glad I took the time to learn about this. Now I actually need the rake and also a lawn mower and leaf blower!