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 before winter brings in colder days. While it may be tempting to leave the leaves on the ground, there are plenty of reasons why this shouldn’t be done. So that the lawn and garden of your rental home stay healthy and also to encourage strong roots that will aid your plants in withstanding winter temperatures, your best bet is to remove old growth and fallen leaves each fall.
Clearing dead leaves, flowers, and old growth from your Rolesville rental property’s yard isn’t only about looking tidy. Keeping your home’s exterior clean affects more things than its appearance. Some property owners think that because fallen leaves and old growth are natural, it’s okay to leave them on lawns and in gardens to decompose over the winter. They would be mistaken. If that’s what they do, they run the risk of having the layers of dead leaves and other debris smothering 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.
Having healthy plants and grass is a good reason to clear your rental property’s fallen leaves and dead garden plants, but that’s still not all there is to it. There are still some additional reasons to clear it up. One reason is that uncleared leaves and dead flowers can result in common plant diseases that can ruin an otherwise healthy yard. As the debris piles up, it reduces ventilation and effectively traps moisture underneath. This can result in damaging mold growths and other issues that will end up killing existing plants. There is also another problem that happens when you have uncleared dead leaves, it’ll bring an increase in insects and other pests. Many kinds of roaches, spiders, and small mammals flourish in layers of rotting foliage. As the population of these pests explodes outdoors, they would start to infest an increasingly greater area and would likely reach the inside of your rental home. There is so much to lose. This is the reason why you should not allow dead flowers, plants, and fallen leaves to remain on a rental home’s yard before winter arrives. They have to be removed.
There are a number of property owners that rely on their tenants for their autumn landscaping clean-up. This isn’t a good idea. Tenants may not fully comprehend how important it is to remove dead leaves and flowers. It’s also possible that they just don’t know how to do it properly. Tenants may be endangering themselves if they do that. If your property has tall trees that shed leaves onto the roof or other elevated surfaces, it would be a terrible 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 pick up after every leaf that falls. That would be too much. But large leaf falls are another story. These must be addressed in a timely manner to prevent damage to your rental property’s landscaping, foundation, and even the roof and gutters. There is more than one way to get the job done efficiently. One method is where property owners 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. Others may outsource this to a professional company that already has the experience and skill. They drop by to do an annual clean-up and solve the problem for you. If you choose the right company, this could be more cost-effective and efficient.
Whichever method you ultimately choose would be fine for as long as your priority would be to care for your rental property’s yard without putting your tenant at risk. If you have time, you can do the job yourself. But the saying is true: Time is money. It’s true for just about anyone— including real estate investors. That is why Real Property Management Raleigh takes care of important seasonal maintenance tasks for property owners who are engaged with more important things. Our top-tier property management services will see to it that your Rolesville rental property will be looked after carefully and will be ready for whatever the winter season throws at it. Contact us online or call at 919-481-0008 to get started.
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