Tips To Keep Leaves Out Of Your Gutters
If you live in an area with a lot of trees, then you may need to invest in a professional gutter cleaning at least once a year. While this practice, or your own cleaning regimen, is best to keep debris out of the aluminum metal channels, you can also prevent debris from building in them in the first place. Keep reading to learn a few ways to keep leaves out of your gutters.
Secure a Gutter Cover
If you have maple, cedar, beech, birch, or other deciduous trees that sit very close to your home, then some of the leaves from these trees are likely to end up on your roof and in your gutters during the autumn months. However, the leaves are more likely to blow away then stick to the insides of the gutters if they are not plastered with water inside the metal channels. The easiest way to prevent this is to add a cover to your gutters that serve as grates to allow water through and to keep larger pieces of debris out. Some of these covers can be secured with screws, and this is a good idea if your gutters are exposed to a lot of wind. Flat options are also a great idea to make sure the covers remain secured.
If security and wind are not a problem, then think about buying the rounded snap-on covers. Devices with metal clip attachments as well as varieties that slip underneath the shingles of your roof are available as well. However, if leaves fall in your gutters to such a degree that they will likely close off the drainage openings on top, then think about purchasing a plastic polyethylene mesh filter to place in the gutters. This device will completely close off the space in the gutter. Just make sure to rinse the dirt out of the plastic mesh every few months to prevent drainage clogs.
Prune Trees
Tree pruning is a good way to keep a tree in good shape by reducing weight and controlling growth that may tax the food and water resources of the tree. Limb cutting may also be a good way to stop leaves from falling into your gutters permanently. This is especially true if your trees have grown branches that sit over the top of your roof. You can prune these branches along with others, but keep in mind that you should only cut away between 10% and 25% of the foliage depending on the trees' age. Specifically, you should cut fewer branches away from mature trees.
Pruning should be completed around the entire canopy too using a sharp manual trimmer or a chainsaw. Also, make sure to leave a small amount of each branch behind where the branch meets the trunk or a larger branch. This part of the branch is called the collar, and the tree will grow tissue around the end of the collar to seal off the area from infestations.