what to do with all these darn leaves- Dingman people.. (rent, house)

[kwiktsi]

OK, I live in Conashaugh Lakes and am wondering what to do with all these leaves. They need to have a leaf pickup/disposal service like any other civilized community does in 2008.... Their thoughts are "just rake them into the woods"- but the brush surrounding my house is LOADED with rotting leaves which smells awful after getting wet. To make it worse, 2 of my dogs and myself have already tested positive for Lymes exposure since moving here and the bugs are unbearable- so I am not going to add to the over abundance of rotting organic matter all around my yard! I am on a mission to clean things up a bit here and just will not add to it. I have burned them, but there are far too many(2-3 car sized piles!) to use a burn barrel and even burning them in piles takes 3+ days of non-stop smoke and smoldering.

Does anyone know if there are any private leaf pick up services or if you can rent dumpsters for organic stuff? It's worth the couple hundred bucks or so once a year for a dumpster if I can go that route. Any advice/ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.
Joe

[MaspethMatt]

get a burn barrel

[kwiktsi]

Originally Posted by MaspethMatt

get a burn barrel

from my original post-

I have burned them, but there are far too many(2-3 car sized piles!) to use a burn barrel and even burning them in piles takes 3+ days of non-stop smoke and smoldering.

Yeah, I tried a burn barrel my first year- forget it- after about 4 days of using it and only burning about half, I gave up and just burned the rest in a pile . Conashaugh tries to tell you you are not allowed to cut down trees, but I think quite a few are going to come down next year- this is ridiculous. There are way too many here and not enough "usable" yard anyway. There are trees covering virtually every square foot of my yard. When THEY pay for our Lyme treatments, clean up our yard, rake our leaves, etc.- then they can tell me what to do with the trees and leaves in MY yard...

[MermanMike]

I think all of the leaves are part of living in a wooded community...they are an important part of soil development, a big way that the ground gets nourishes. Suburbia has big problems with loss of top soil, and nutrient depleted top soil, because no organic matter (leaves mostly) is going back into the yards. You could always run a lawn mower over them, which will speed up the decomposition process, or even start a huge compost pile, and use it next year in your garden.

I'd bet that you'll have ticks whether there are lots of leaves around or not. It is annoying but around this time of the year, and early Spring, I check my dog every time he comes in, just to be safe. And take a look at your own body when you are showering. A tick has to be attached for 2-3 days to transmit Lyme's disease.

[kwiktsi]

Originally Posted by MermanMike

I think all of the leaves are part of living in a wooded community...they are an important part of soil development, a big way that the ground gets nourishes. Suburbia has big problems with loss of top soil, and nutrient depleted top soil, because no organic matter (leaves mostly) is going back into the yards. You could always run a lawn mower over them, which will speed up the decomposition process, or even start a huge compost pile, and use it next year in your garden.

I'd bet that you'll have ticks whether there are lots of leaves around or not. It is annoying but around this time of the year, and early Spring, I check my dog every time he comes in, just to be safe. And take a look at your own body when you are showering. A tick has to be attached for 2-3 days to transmit Lyme's disease.

I've lived in wooded communities in both NY and CT and they still had leaf pick up services . This place is archaic at best by comparison . I agree that the leaves are good for the soil, but there are still plenty falling into the woods here, I just don't want to add more on top of that. Besides, the wooded area around my yard is so loaded with mountain laurel that I can't even get the leaves past them and back further into the woods, so all the leaves would just basically sit around the edge of my driveway and such .

Yes, ticks need to be attached for 24-48 or so to transmit lyme disease. I don't know how I missed it on me, but one of my dogs is a German Shepherd and there is no way to find/feel them on her until after they are fully engorged .

I also agree that they will still be here regardless, but I am not going to make it worse either. Like I said, I don't mind the leaves in the wooded area, but I have no way to get the massive piles of leaves I have here deep enough into the woods to not have them be a nuisance .

[MermanMike]

Something I just though of, is that there are these special garbage bags they sell at Wegmans I saw. They are made of a corn product, that naturally degrades. So, you can put yard waste in the bags, and then put the bags somewhere in the woods, and over time it will all compost, and the bag too, will rot away. Sounds like you already have them rakes into piles, so that might work for getting them into the woods past the mountain laurel. I think they are called biobags, they sell them in their organic section by all the natural cleaners.

[John From Scranton]

My buddy has been doing landscaping for over 10 years. Thats one of the big things he dose this time of year is get rid of leaves. If you want his number let me know?? I know he is very busy but would get the job done for you in a couple hour's.

[lialleycat]

Too bad there isn't a way to make fireplace logs out of the extra leaves. If would be a free source of heat for lots of people. If someone could invent a machine that does this, it would be a good way to make money.

[I LOVE PA!]

Our lawn mower has a mulching feature...my hubbie rakes them into the lawn and runs the mower over them...they grind up into little itsy bisty pieces and add to the soil. We live in a community 'in the woods' so, raking a actually getting rid of them is impossible.

[John From Scranton]

Originally Posted by I LOVE PA!

Our lawn mower has a mulching feature...my hubbie rakes them into the lawn and runs the mower over them...they grind up into little itsy bisty pieces and add to the soil. We live in a community 'in the woods' so, raking a actually getting rid of them is impossible.

The Hideout also has a place you can get rid of all your leaves, Im sure you know where it is. Right across from the main beach.