Leaf Clean Up Pricing, Equipment Setup, Pros and Cons (what you need to know)

Leaf clean up is a dirty yet profitable business. In this video, I share leaf clean up pricing tips. I also talk about cleanup strategy including what equipment setup to use. I go over the pros and cons of different approaches to the job. I have blown leaves with blowers, mulched them with mowers, bagged them with bagging mowers, and even raked them. All of them methods can work, but some are better and more profitable than others. Enjoy!
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[@browneagle2774]

One strategy I use when leaves are waterlogged and heavy is to blow into piles and then rake onto a large heavy duty tarp. Even with high power blowers it sometimes is such that the pile of leaves are moving so slow, using this method is infinitely more time efficient. We use this strategy when we are in a location that does street pickup.

[@garyelderman1229]

Great advice. I have 8000 square feet of grass, surrounded by trees. Thanks much

[@brianfolding40]

Thanks Jason. In my neck of the woods (piedmont region of NC), we have city crews on the big leaf sucker trucks so I charge $40.00 per hour (with one hour minimum), to blow leaves to the street with 1/2 hour increments of $20.00. 1.5 hours of leaf blowing = $60.00. Now if I'm outside the city limits and they don't suck up the leaves, I blow them into the middle of the yard and mulch them with my zero turn. I explain to the customer that the process of mulching the leaves can be beneficial. The price for that remains the same. If I have to blow leaves into piles then rake them into a tarp to be dragged to another part of their property, that starts at $100.00 per hour, with 1/2 hour increments of $50.00. BTW, I use an Echo 8010T backpack blower. It's pricey but boy it blows the Hell out of some leaves, saves time.

[@Metalbladelawncare]

@@williamlyons3947 20 bucks? Jesus.

[@bullmoose8029]

Good video . We charge more for the leaf cleanup then just mowing , consider how much time it will take and charge accordingly . Most of our customer are fine with just mulching the leaves in the yard . Backpack blower is a 👍 .

[@ArbitraryLifestyle]

Uhh yes. Mowing may be $45, but my leaf cleanups start at $250 and I believe that's pretty standard.

[@artderamo8053]

Just bought a back pack leaf blower, what a game changer!!!! Thanks Jason, great video's

[@Alex.AL_26]

I mulch the leaves first and then go over again and bag them if there is a lot of leaves. I have found that to work best for me as a solo worker.

[@emmanueletienne9995]

Leaf cleanup is hard and dirty work. You only have time to do 2 or three at most before you run out of daylight.

[@pdiddy823]

That's a fact! And deal with rain 🌧 and snow ❄️

[@JacobGodar]

Great video and I love the ideas. Fall clean ups are wild. We are so slammed with them it’s unreal.

[@benjamindavis5762]

Great video Jason. It’s good to see how people clean up leaves!

[@MIHYLLC]

I'm a solo owner/operator. The most efficient way for me is an Echo PB8010 backpack blower and a scag 18hp debris loader. The vac is on a swing hitch and blows directly into my dump insert, which is outfitted for leaves. You are right, it's an expensive route for sure. It does save me time, which equals profit. Also, my back has thanked me many times over lol. Good video🍁🍂👍

[@randolphbinner7866]

I am a one man gang. I use a Cyclone Rake. It works for me. Faster then my factory bagging kit.

[@thomasshonk6123]

I mulch it and have a few that want it removed. So I mulch them with the mower then and have a walk behind yard vac I suck them up with. It does greatly reduce the amount of bagging. It is pretty profitable and helps extent my season by a couple months

[@mariatomoconnor7994]

Good video. We have a lot of leaves here in my town, also the town picks them up at the street. I tend to do two clean ups for the large lawns with heavy leaf cover. We use all the equipment backpack and rider blowers, leaf sweeper and mower to pick up and dump the leaves and to push the leaves. Blow the edges of property out first try to use the wind and go in the direction wind is blowing.

[@TopNotchPropertyServiceLLC]

This is such a great video thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. I’m super gung ho about leaf cleanups. It’s something that here in NY I know I can do well at. This is my first year in business and so learning all the strategies is really helping! Thanks again. I have a redmax EBZ 8500 that I just got and I can’t wait to use that. My plan for first year is to buy mulching x blades for the husqvarna 48” zero turn and save up for one of those metal cage’s you can buy that mounts on the deck and do cleanups that way. Mostly serving properties with on site leaf dumping capability so I can just move them with a tarp or something or blow them into the woods. Can’t wait! I dream of having a big dump trailer with tall wooden custom built sides and a big vacuum bagging system so I can service large properties and haul the leafs away. Until then it’s backpack blower and zero turn for the win haha

[@bigriver3278]

I use any and all methods you discussed....totally dependant on the yard size, tree count, obstacles, access and over all leaf yield. I usually quote an inflated hourly rate due to the amount of refuse I'll have to haul off AND the amount of fuel (especially mixed) I'll need to use....backpack blowers use a lot of expensive mixed fuel as far as I've found. I also have trouble estimating the time it will take therefore I charge by the hour so to not get burned underestimating by the job! Thanks Jason....great topic that took me a couple seasons to learn!

[@josephbenanti2811]

Great advice Jason. Thank you.

[@damianb2446]

Great videos!!

[@nathanielaranda8407]

really smart guy. you explain things really well

[@Dav1dontop]

Thanks for the help :)

[@chuckmaxon3727]

Good topic, I found that the mulch and then bag was efficient. This year I used Gator blades and took the bags off (I just have one ztr) blew and mulched then put the bags on and cleaned it up. Where I am at the leaves have to be put into paper yard waste bags, mulching greatly reduces the number of bags used and that saves time..

[@waynetec13]

I'm in your neighbor state of Georgia. Leaves are probably about 1/3 to half done here this year.

[@Mityob67]

Good dude right here - thanks Jason.

[@lawncarelife]

Thank you

[@logansimpson305]

Great video

[@RufusShaw]

Great video, I have a cub cadet zero turn and a whole lot of leaves. I'm trying to figure out what my best options are (we just bought a 10 acre farm) some of the leaves can just be mulched but our fenced back yard is about a 1/4 acre and needs to be nice. This video was very helpful. I was about to buy a sweeper but after watching this I realize that's not a good idea.. thank you, great info.

[@EdsterL]

Thanks for sharing some great content...I have a little challenge and that is pricing out leaf pickup. I'm working on a property that I take care of, but for some odd reason this time around there are lots and lots of leaves to pick up. I don't have a big machine to pick them up, more like a craftsman leaf vacuum which does a great job. I told the client that I was going to charge her XYZ for the job and she was like wow that's a lot of $$$, I said sorry but there are a lot of leaves to pick up and they also need to be bagged. I like the whole landscaping thing but right now I might have turn away jobs like these because they take a lot of time, plus I don't have a lot of clients to purchase equipment to make it worthwhile. This year I did very well and the business is going in the right direction, hoping to buy a small trailer and more equipment. Since you are in the business what do you suggest? I like your idea about spreading the pickup to avoid this nightmare, maybe I can do that if the client is willing to pay a little extra instead of all at once. Thanks

[@artderamo8053]

Ya I got bags on my scag, what I do is disconnect the hose before the bags at it blows out the back while I'm driving much less dust, if I take off the belt at my blower then it closes it off and mulches but the dust is crazy, so I unplug the hose,, then after I connect the hose and suck it all up with the bags, like you said from 10 to 2...lol your exactly right!!!

[@klarkammerman7096]

I bought a Billy Goat leaf vacuum this fall hoping to make leaf clean up easier. Conclusion: leaf clean up is hard almost no matter what you do. I don't have the storage space for a large mower but found a little extra room for the vacuum in the garage. It does a pretty good job sucking up the leaves when they are not matted to the ground and it is great at mulching the leaves and bagging them. The work comes when you have to empty the collection bag. It holds a lot of leaves and gets heavy. If you have to put them into garbage bags it's quite a challenge. For anyone thinking about a leaf vacuum I would recommend them mostly if you have an area where you can dump the mulched up leaves such as a woods or something like that by your property. I've used mine several times this fall and am still debating on whether I will keep it for next fall. I hope this helps anyone who might be looking at this option for leaf clean up. Thanks for the great videos!

[@hrhservicesllchrhlawncare2298]

Happy thanksgiving my friend, Did you get a new camera? This video looks awesome!

[@lawncarelife]

Yes, I did. It was time for me to upgrade to 4k

[@d_dizzie_druck5753]

I use my Kombi blower, & Cub Cadet lawn vac, wich mulches, & bags the leaves. My friends & i have found that the vac mulch makes great natural garden compost/mulch. I have used my mower to mulch, or bag them, howevwr i think this is hard on the mower itself, & hard on blades.

[@salasjesse59]

Hey how are you I just picked up a new commercial account I ambased out of Texas I was wondering how much to charge per acre?

[@puppylove80110]

Jason, there is a tree that grows fast and is very pretty, it's called a jacaranda tree. 30-50 feet tall and 15-20 feet wide. Large purple blooms. What do you do about all the tree nuts? Acorn's by the hundreds. Black walnuts the size of gulf ball's. Will acorn's rot? Only way I know of is blowing them into a pile and shovel into the garbage.

[@socksyuielkmf]

If you have a good relationship with your customer, charge by the hour

[@playtimet.v7342]

New camara

[@lawncarelife]

Yes

[@brettmason1942]

I don't understand the whole leaf clean up. My option leafs help with plant and soil health and provide mulch and habitat for pollinators.

[@MikeSmith-cn6ub]

They'good Brett I

[@eddylauterback1312]

Better than a sleeping pill .yawn

[@MikeSmith-cn6ub]

Wel l don't watch then mutt