Your Neighbor Doesn’t Rake Leaves. What Do You Do? [Block Talk]

ACROSS AMERICA — Leaves held on longer this year in many parts of the country, shortening the time for homeowners to remove them before cold, snowy weather arrives, or the schedule fills up with holiday activities.

What do you do about a neighbor who doesn’t rake or remove leaves? We’re asking for Block Talk, Patch’s exclusive neighborhood etiquette column. Just fill out the form below, or answer in the comments.

Some people leave the leaves on the ground for environmental reasons. Letting some of the leaf litter remain on the yard can help fertilize grass and other plants. Leaf layers also provide winter shelter for wildlife, including salamanders, wood frogs, box turtles, toads, shrews and earthworms. Many pollinators, including butterfly and moth species, overwinter in layers of leaves — some as eggs, some as pupae, and some as adults.

There are benefits to raking leaves beyond a tidy lawn.

According to horticultural experts at Wisconsin State University Extension Service, thick layers of leaves can smother the grass beneath them. If they fell from trees with foliar fungal disease, they can serve as a source for spores that can infect next year’s emerging leaves. In that case, they should be raked and removed from the areas, buried, burned if it’s allowed or added to hot composting.