Cleaning up acorns can be a tedious and time-consuming task. Acorns provide food for squirrels, birds and deer but sometimes even these animals can’t keep up because acorns can be abundant. Acorns are nuts produced by the oak tree. As much as we may enjoy these beautiful trees, we don't love having to walk over the acorns.
According to the Massachusetts non-profit environmental group Mass Audubon, oak trees can produce up to 10,000 acorns during a “mast” year. That is a year when they produce the maximum amount. It occurs every 2-5 years. Other years are usually lighter, but still it put into perspective the amount of nuts a few oak trees are producing in your yard.
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If you want to maintain your yard and patio in good condition, then you need to find the best way to pick up acorns in your yard. Start cleaning early – as soon as the first acorn falls to the ground. This saves you a lot of work in the long run. You'll notice quickly that a regular yard rake might be fine for picking up leaves, but the acorns stay behind. Once all the leaves are raked up, you're left with acorns scattered across the yard.
The Best 5 Tips for Cleaning up Acorns
Rake Them
This is the most popular method. It has been used in the past and is still being used successfully. You will need a rake that isn't flexible like leaf rakes are. It needs be good for cleaning for hard surfaces like the patio and drive. But it works effectively in your yard, also. Get a rake with a very firm end that can pull through the grass and get those acorns buried deep in the grass. Go for a long and lightweight rake that is also easy to store.
Commercial Landscaping
Another great tip to cleaning up the acorns around your yard is by seeking the best commercial landscaping services you might know. These services are there to help you maintain and create a landscape design that will boost your outdoor space attractiveness. They help turn your yard and driveways into a comfortable space where everyone enjoy a stroll without having to deal with random acorns.
Nut Gatherer
This is probably one of the best ideas for cleaning up acorns. All you need to do is merely roll the picker-upper around your yard. It then picks up the acorns plus other nuts and puts them in a basket. The only thing left to do after is to empty the bucket into a disposal container when it’s full or when you’re done picking the acorns. Although it’s a brilliant idea, these large nut harvesters are also a bit costly. If you have several nut bearing trees it's well worth the investment. You’ll certainly enjoy using a picker-upper to collect acorns lying around the yard.
A more affordable solution for you might be the Garden Weasel Nut Gatherer. These are made with a wire basket on a handle. When run along the ground it picks up acorns, pecans, and other nuts. You can also used it for crab apples.
Vacuuming
Vacuuming up the acorns is another technique to use – but it’s also very time-consuming. To go about this method, you need to cut your grass as low as possible to make the vacuuming process easy. Get a large plastic garbage can to empty the acorns, most preferably one with wheels. This will make it easier to move it around as you desire. One advantage of using a vacuum is that you will not use as much energy. You could even take breaks as you vacuum.
The draw backs to this method for cleaning up acorns is a vacuum will pick every thing. You end up with a lot more than just acorns and leaves like rocks, twigs, dead grass, and soil. The other draw back is power. You'll need a long enough extension cord to reach the edges of your yard.
Power Broom
Just as the name suggests, a power broom is a sweeper that has a lot of power behind it. Using a power broom is also a great way to clean up acorns. You could choose to purchase one or just rent it. Renting is far easier since the maintenance is already taken care. All you need to do is sweep the acorns up into a pile, then scoop them into a plastic garbage can with wheels.
Additional Thoughts
These are a few of the good ways for cleaning up acorns. After looking over all these options, my favorite is the garden weasel because it's economical and can be used for more than just acorns. If I had a larger yard with several oak trees then I would want to get the harvester.
My reasons are:
- Neither need power to run.
- They don't need maintenance like a machine does.
- Easy to store in the garage.
- Easy to use on any terrain.
Have some heavy duty trash bags handy for bagging up the acorns. Make sure not to fill the bags so much they are heavy to pickup. Make it easier on yourself and your trash man by keeping the bags a comfortable weight to pick up easily. Make sure you warm up and stretch properly when lifting these heavy bags. An expert from Knee Force recommended a few light stretches especially for the lower legs before cleaning up and lifting. Most waste management services haul away bags of yard debris.
And, what about ecology?
Acorns play an important role in nature. Both rodents, like the squirrel and mice, and several bird species rely on acorn as a food source. Deer, bear, and wild pigs, also do. Some species of moth use acorn as food when they are larvae.
What do you do about the wildlife that comes looking for food? There are some ways you can have a clean yard and still let squirrels, dear, and other wild life enjoy coming to eat. Not only by considering how they play a role in nature, you can also protect your home for unwanted invaders. When you clean up the acorns in your yard, you lower the risk of mice, squirrels and other animals from getting close to your home. Give them a place to eat away from the house and they will look there instead.
- Save the acorns in a lidded metal container and leave them out near your trees or bushes where animals come often.
- Get a squirrel feeder and attach it to a post or tree in the back yard.
- Provide alternative food sources such as seed and nut mix for them. In the bird seed department you can usually find some food for squirrels, too.
