Fall Cleanup & Leaf Removal
Fall cleanups and leaf removal for North Shore homes, late October into November, weather permitting. Leaves come off the lawn, beds, walks, and driveway, then get hauled away or set out for your village's pickup, whichever your town allows. The owner is on every job.
Overview
A fall cleanup gets the leaves off the lawn, beds, walks, and driveway, cuts back the perennials, and finishes with a final mow. Gutters can be cleared on the same visit. Most North Shore cleanups land late October into November, after the bulk of the leaves are down, and we keep working as long as the weather allows.
What happens to the leaves depends on your town. Most of the time we load them up and haul them away. Where your village runs a loose-leaf pickup, we can blow them to the parkway or the curb, wherever the village says the pile goes, and the village truck takes them. If you ask, we'll also mulch leaves and spread them around the base of your plants as winter cover.
Why not just leave them? A thick layer of whole leaves mats down, shades the grass, and can smother it before spring. It also makes snow mold more likely. That matters most on a lawn that was seeded or overseeded this fall. A light scattering is fine. A blanket isn't.
What's included
Plain English, no padding. Each section starts with a direct answer.
Leaves come off the lawn, out of the beds, and off the walks, patio, and driveway.
We carry both gas and electric blowers and use what your village allows that month. Several North Shore villages only allow gas blowers in October and November, with April as the spring window, and Evanston doesn't allow gas at all. You don't have to keep track of any of that. We do.
Perennials get cut back and the beds get cleaned up for winter. They don't have to be stripped bare.
What should come out is diseased material: peony foliage, iris leaves after a hard frost, and leaves with maple tar spot or apple scab. University extension guidance is to remove those, because mulching them in place isn't enough. A layer of healthy leaves can stay in the beds as winter cover, and hollow stems left standing give native bees a place to nest. The exact scope for your beds gets confirmed when I quote the job.
The last mow of the year, a little shorter than summer height.
University of Illinois Extension recommends finishing the season at about two inches, and Purdue puts it near two and a half. Grass left long under snow mats down, which makes snow mold more likely and gives voles cover. The final mow also picks up the last thin layer of leaves.
Gutters can be cleared on the same visit, or booked on their own.
Fall is when gutters fill, so most people pair the two. Gutters get cleared by hand and the downspouts flushed, so meltwater has a way off the roof this winter. Details are on the gutter cleaning page.
Most of the time the leaves leave with us. Where your village runs a loose-leaf pickup, we can set them out for the village truck instead.
Villages are particular about where a leaf pile goes. Winnetka and Glencoe want it in the parkway and out of the street. Skokie and Morton Grove want it in the street at the curb. Evanston, Highland Park, and Park Ridge don't allow leaves in the street at all. We put the pile where your village says, inside its program dates, and haul everything when there's no pickup. If you ask, we'll also mulch leaves and spread them around the base of your plants for winter.
No two yards drop the same amount of leaves, so every fall cleanup is quoted for the property.
What moves the number: lot size, how many mature trees drop on it, how much bed and perennial work there is, whether gutters are included, how easy the backyard is to reach, and whether your village's leaf pickup can take some of the volume instead of a haul. I'll come look and send a written quote.
Your Town's Leaf Rules
We work inside these, so you don't have to look them up.
| Town | Village leaf pickup | Where the pile goes | Gas blowers in fall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deerfield | Village vacuum, weekly for the four weeks before Thanksgiving | Along the curb line, not in the street. Leaves only | No fall restriction found |
| Highland Park | Bagged or cart yard-waste collection | Never in the street, storm inlets, or ravines | Gas allowed October 1 to November 30 only. The current rule runs through 2026 |
| Northbrook | Weekly compost-cart collection through November | In the cart | Gas allowed October 1 to November 30 only |
| Evanston | Weekly yard-waste collection through November | Not in the street. Blowing or raking leaves into the street is illegal | Gas and propane blowers banned all year |
| Wilmette | Village vacuum, usually late October into early December, by zone | Side streets: at the curb. Main roads: parkway behind the curb. Keep 10 feet clear of catch basins | Gas allowed October 1 to November 30 only, with time limits on smaller lots |
| Winnetka | Village vacuum, mid-October into early December | Parkway behind the curb, not the street. Out by 7 am | Gas allowed in October and November only |
| Glencoe | Vacuum pickup, mid-October through late November | A long, low row in the parkway, out of the street | Gas allowed October 1 to November 30 only |
| Kenilworth | Weekly yard-waste collection through late November | Bags or cart | Gas allowed in October and November only |
| Northfield | Weekly yard-waste collection into early December | Bags or cart | No blower ordinance found |
| Glenview | No separate leaf collection. Yard waste through November | Bags or cart. Don't rake leaves into the street | No gas ban found |
| Skokie | Village vacuum, mid-October into early December | In the street at the curb | No gas ban. Equipment hours apply |
| Niles | Village loose-leaf program, October into late November, by zone | Leaves only, and only during program dates | No restriction found |
| Morton Grove | Village program, late October into early December | In the street at the curb, the day before pickup. Leaves only | No restriction found |
| Park Ridge | Yard-waste collection into late December | Not in the street ($50 minimum fine) | No restriction found |
From each village's own website and code, last checked September 2026. Villages post exact pickup dates each fall and sometimes extend the gas-blower window late in the season. We follow whatever your village posts.
Real Jobs
Our own photos, not stock. One property, before and after.
Common Questions
Leaves cleared off the lawn, out of the beds, and off the walks, patio, and driveway. Perennials cut back, beds tidied for winter, and a final mow a little shorter than summer height. Then the leaves are hauled away or set out for your village's pickup, depending on your town. Gutter cleaning can be added to the same visit.
Most of the time we load them up and haul them away. If your village runs a loose-leaf pickup, we can blow them to the parkway or the curb, wherever your village says the pile goes, and the village truck takes them. If you ask, we'll also mulch leaves and spread them around the base of your plants as winter cover.
It depends on the property, so there's no flat number. The big drivers are lot size, how many mature trees drop on it, how much bed and perennial work there is, whether gutters are included, how easy the backyard is to reach, and whether your village's leaf pickup can take some of the volume. Send me the address and a couple of photos and I'll come look and send a written quote.
Most North Shore fall cleanups land late October into November, after the bulk of the leaves are down. We keep doing cleanups as long as the weather allows, so December can still work if the ground is clear. Once snow is sitting on the leaves, it usually waits for spring. Reach out when you're ready and I'll time the visit to when your trees finish.
We time the visit for after most of the leaves are down, so what falls afterward is usually light. Oaks are the exception. They hold some leaves into winter, and a windy week can refill a yard. A light scattering is fine to leave or run over with a mower. If a late drop buries the lawn again, call me and I'll quote a return visit.
A light layer, yes. University of Illinois Extension says a lawn with 10 to 20 percent leaf cover can be left alone, and beyond that the leaves should be mowed into small pieces. University of Minnesota Extension says to keep mulching only until about half the lawn is still showing, then remove the rest. Under mature oaks and maples there are usually too many leaves to mulch in, which is why they get removed.
You can. Leaves in garden beds shelter overwintering insects, and hollow stems left standing give native bees a place to nest. What should come out is diseased material: peony foliage, iris leaves after a hard frost, and leaves with maple tar spot or apple scab. How your beds get handled is part of the scope we confirm during the quote.
Yes. We carry both gas and electric blowers and use what your village allows that month. Several North Shore villages, including Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, Northbrook, Kenilworth, and Highland Park, only allow gas blowers in April and in October and November. Highland Park's current rule runs through 2026. Evanston doesn't allow gas blowers at all, so we run electric there.
Service Area
Primary service area below.
Tell me about your property: your town, the size of the lot, and how many trees drop on it. I'll come take a look and send a written quote.
