Got up on the stepladder this morning (more on that in a minute) and the pine needles are packed into the valleys of our roof and the gutters are about full again. We're up on Lost Creek Parkway with oaks and pines on three sides, so it never really stops. I swear I cleaned them out not long after Labor Day last year and it looks like I never touched them.
Back when we first bought here in the 90s you could get away with doing it twice a year, spring and after the leaves came down. Now with the trees all grown up I'm closer to every couple of months, and I don't love it. I'm 71 and my knees aren't what they were. My husband has been told by his doctor no more ladders, and he still stands at the bottom and tells me I'm doing it wrong.
So I'm curious what everybody else does. How often are you clearing yours? Has anyone had good luck with gutter guards on pine needles? The ones I've seen just seem to let the needles sit on top and make a mat. Anybody use one of those leaf blower extension poles so you can stay on the ground? Or is there somebody in the Bay you pay to do it who doesn't charge an arm and a leg?
And honest question, has anybody here actually gotten hurt on a ladder or roof doing this? I'd rather hear it from a neighbor than learn the hard way. Between that and the smoker sitting under the carport collecting needles, I'm ready to hear what works.