Pine needle cleanup

Matted pine needles cleared off beds, stone and lawn - the litter the township leaf collection will not take.

This one turns up year-round here, and the sandy ground under most of these homes is usually part of the story.

What usually prompts the call

• A brown layer under the pines that never breaks down
• Needles packed into stone beds, walkways and along fence lines
• Beds and stone gone rust-coloured under pine litter
• Needles that got your whole leaf pile skipped

How it's normally handled

Needles come off beds, stone and lawn, starting where they have matted hardest and hold moisture against what is under them. Pine litter mats rather than blowing loose, so more of it is hand and rake work than a leaf cleanup on the same lot would be. It has to leave the property either way: Stafford will not collect a leaf pile with pine needles in it, so mixing them in gets the whole pile skipped.

$200 – $600 — typical range, not a quote. What your home needs can only be settled by a registered contractor who comes out and looks at it.