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 the warm days are replaced with cold winter 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 your rental’s lawn and garden continue to stay healthy and also to encourage strong roots so that your plants can withstanding winter temperatures, your best course of action is to remove old growth and fallen leaves each fall.
Clearing dead leaves, flowers, and old-growth from your Dupont Circle rental property’s yard isn’t just about keeping the appearance of cleanliness. The benefits of taking care of a home’s exterior includes things that aren’t cosmetic. 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.
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 instance, uncleared leaves and dead flowers can result in common plant diseases that can ruin an otherwise healthy yard. As the debris piles up, it covers the grass and other plants, trapping moisture underneath. This can result in damaging mold growths and other issues. After a while, these diseases will kill your 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 number of these pests explode outdoors, the area they’re infesting would grow larger, reaching the rental home itself, and eventually making its way inside. You’re exposing your rental home to great risk. This is the reason why dead flowers, plants, and fallen leaves, have to be removed from the yard before winter arrives.
Some property owners feel that this responsibility falls on the tenant but that may not be a good idea. Owners should not rely on their tenants for autumn landscaping clean-up. Tenants may not know the extent of how removing dead leaves and flowers can affect the home; they may also not know how to remove them properly. Tenants may also be risking their safety, and that would be a terrible thing for a property owner. For example, if your property has tall trees that shed leaves onto the roof or other elevated surfaces, the last thing you’d want to do is ask your tenant to get on a ladder to trim tree branches or clear the fallen leaves away. That would be a really bad idea.
Not every leaf that falls has to be cleaned up and removed right away. That wouldn’t make much sense. But if you have large leaf falls, that’s a different story. Those should be addressed in a timely manner to prevent damage to your rental property’s landscaping, foundation, and even the roof and gutters. There are some good and efficient ways to get the job done. One such way by raking 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. Some property owners prefer this method. 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 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 extra time, you can do the work yourself. But, for real estate investors, time is valuable. That is why Real Property Management DC Metro takes care of important seasonal maintenance tasks for property owners with packed schedules. Our top-tier property management services will see to it that your Dupont Circle 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 202-269-0303 to get started.
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