Adding oak trees to your garden is a fantastic idea. Oaks serve as a magnificent addition to any property, and don’t just provide a gorgeous canopy and shade in the garden, but they also offer a beautiful display of green foliage and leaves.
Because of their sheer size, oak trees also attract birds and other animals, who seek refuge in between these majestic branches. A wide variety of animals and birds, such as squirrels, parrots, and sparrows, may start to call the oak tree home.
It won’t be long before acorns begin to fall on the ground from your oak tree. Squirrels, primarily, love these acorns, and are usually going to consider them as some kind of treasure.
While these animals will love the acorns spread all over the ground, it can be a big nuisance for you. After all, do you really want acorns strewn all over your yard?
You might clean them once, but when you look at it the next day, you will notice that they are back again. While oak trees are a great addition to any yard, they tend to throw down a bunch of acorns.
You will probably get tired of picking up the acorns time and time again, and it won’t be long before you start looking for other ways by which you can get rid of the problem.
Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done. The conventional method of simply picking up the acorns and throwing them away is labor intensive and requires a considerable amount of time.
Instead, we have compiled a list of several methods you can use to pick up all of the acorns in your yard in a quick and efficient manner.
1 – Use a Lawn Sweeper
Lawn sweepers are commonly available from several local stores. If you already have a riding lawn mower, combining a lawn sweeper with it could turn it into a very effective tool for picking up the acorns.
The attachment can be connected to any kind of riding lawn mower, and can be used for picking up all kinds of debris from the ground, such as leaves, twigs, and of course, acorns.
It primarily depends on the kind of lawn sweeper you buy. Some also come with a suction device, while you can purchase one that has a scooping action.
Either way, both are pretty effective and can do a great job in getting rid of the acorns.
2 – Leaf Vacuum
You can also buy a leaf vacuum or a lawn vacuum, and it can be purchased or rented depending on your choices. As mentioned, these are generally used for picking up leaves from the ground.
Needless to say, they can also be used for picking up acorns. The unit has a small motor installed in it, and it sucks up all of the acorns in the attached bag.
However, you need to make sure that the motor installed in the unit is capable of sucking up the acorns from the ground.
3 – Nut Gatherer
The nut gatherer, also known as a weasel, is a manual device that can be used for picking up the acorns. It is simply a long pole and a cage that tends to roll across the surface, picking up the acorns from the ground.
The device passes over the ground, and it is capable of picking up all of the acorns strewn on the ground.
4 – Rake
Using a rake is arguably the simplest way to get rid of the acorns that are strewn all around your yard.
However, you should know that raking is tiring work, and it is generally suited for smaller areas. If you have a spacious yard, there is no need for you to use a rake.
You can gather the acorns in a pile with the help of a rake, and then scoop them up with your hands or use a standard shovel. However, there’s a downside that you need to consider: the rake is also going to gather up grass and numerous other materials.
5 – Lay Down a Tarp
If you want to play it safe, you should consider laying a tarp on the ground. It primarily depends on the size of the tree that you have; if it’s not as big, you might want to consider laying a tarp down.
You can lay down tarps all around the tree to catch the acorns falling on the ground. When you notice that the tarp is all but full, you can just empty it out and you’ll be done.
Make sure you dispose of them in the compost bin.
6 – Use a Harvester
The harvester is actually pretty much the same as the nut gatherer, but it works in a slightly different manner. It looks very much like a man-powered lawn mower, but you need to be careful when mowing the lawn properly.
Nut rollers or harvesters require you to spend a bit of time in the yard, but they are actually pretty effective. If you don’t want to invest a considerable amount of money in an electronic gadget, this is the best choice available.
You need to make sure that you get rid of the acorns on a regular basis from your lawn. Apart from destroying the appearance of your well-kept lawn, acorns can also cause a number of other issues.
First of all, they kill grass. When they are left on the lawn for longer periods of time, acorns block the sunlight from falling on the surface. This ultimately ends up killing the grass.
Moreover, they will cause unwanted seedlings to sprout in your garden. Acorns are seedlings, so if they are left on the ground, they will soon germinate and sprout seedlings.
You don’t want these seeds growing in your garden, because it’s only going to increase your work tenfold. Make sure you get rid of the acorns at least once a week to prevent unwanted problems in your garden and keep it looking nice and clean.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
--
If you want more backyard tips including recipes, how-tos and more, make sure you subscribe to my youtube channel
Ann
Sunday 12th of September 2021
Acorns are such a pain. I have large oak trees in my front and backyard so every year it’s a struggle. I purchased one of the nut gatherer’s, but once you get a handful of nuts picked up, then nuts start falling out when it opens to allow more nuts in. I’ve started blowing them with my leaf blower, but it takes a lot of time. Need an easier way. I’ve thought about a tarp but that would kill the grass. Does anyone sell a net tarp you could lay on the grass, that would catch the acorns but not ruin the grass?