As the autumn leaves begin to fall and summer flowers fade, it is important to clear them out of your rental property’s garden and yard while the cold days of winter have still yet to arrive. Although it may be tempting to leave the leaves on the ground, there are a lot of reasons why this should be avoided. To make sure that your rental’s lawn and garden stay healthy and to encourage strong roots that will help them withstand winter temperatures, the best thing you can do is to remove old growth and fallen leaves each fall.
Clearing dead leaves, flowers, and old-growth from your Spring rental property’s yard has more to do than just keeping the appearance of tidiness. Cleaning up a home’s exterior isn’t all for show. There are some property owners that look to nature and see that fallen leaves and old-growth are natural, so they mistakenly conclude that it’s better to leave them on lawns and in gardens to decompose over the winter. The problem with doing this is that the layers of dead leaves and other debris can smother lawns and other plants, preventing air, light, and essential nutrients from penetrating the ground below. Healthy landscape plants and grass rely on a healthy root system, which in turn relies on abundant access to water, air, and light.
Although keeping your plants and grass healthy is a great reason to clear your rental property’s fallen leaves and dead garden plants, there are a number of additional reasons to do so. For one, uncleared leaves and dead flowers can result in common plant diseases that can ruin an otherwise healthy yard. As the debris piles up, it creates a cover that traps moisture underneath. This can result in damaging mold growths and other issues that will eventually damage or kill existing plants. By leaving uncleared dead leaves on your yard, you’re also putting it at risk for an increase in insects and other pests. Many kinds of roaches, spiders, and small mammals flourish in layers of rotting foliage. As the number of these pests explode outdoors, they would want to expand their area. Their growing infestation would slowly make it to the rental home and eventually reach inside it. There is a lot on the line. This is why you should remove dead flowers, plants, and fallen leaves from a rental home’s yard before winter arrives.
There are property owners that rely on their tenants to do the autumn landscaping clean-up. They think that it’s a good idea because they aren’t fully aware of the inherent risks. Tenants may not think that removing dead leaves and flowers is as important as it is, or they may not know the proper way to do it. Tenants may also be exposed to danger. If you have tall trees in your property and they shed leaves onto the roof or other elevated surfaces, it would be a very bad idea to ask your tenant to get on a ladder to trim tree branches or clear the fallen leaves away.
You don’t have to send a cleaning crew as soon as one leaf falls and touches the ground. That’s obviously impractical. However, if you have large leaf falls, those need to be addressed in a timely manner. You need to act fast to prevent damage to your rental property’s landscaping, foundation, and even the roof and gutters. There are multiple ways to get the job done. What some do is rake fallen leaves onto the lawn and then use a mulching mower to shred them into fine particles, which will sift down into the soil and fertilize the grass. There are some property owners that like to do it this way. Others may choose to hire a professional company to do the work. That company would have a team with skills and experience come and do the annual clean-up. This method may end up being more effective and economical.
Whichever way you think is best would be fine. The priority here is to make sure you are caring for your rental property’s yard without putting your tenant at risk. If you have time to spare, you can do it yourself. But there is truth to the maxim: Time is gold. And this is true for real estate investors as well. That is why Real Property Management Republic takes care of important seasonal maintenance tasks for property owners with packed schedules. Our top-notch property management services will make sure that your Spring rental property is cared for properly and will be ready for whatever the winter season brings. Contact us online or call at 281-362-5001 to get started.
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