Leave the Leaves: Leaves are Habitat Not Trash

By Wendy Weber and Jenny Pilling, the MHCA Green Team

One of the best ways to support pollinators and other invertebrates is simple: do less fall (and spring) yard work. Leaves, stems, logs, branches, and flower heads are wildlife housing, not waste. They insulate overwintering animals, shelter native bees and butterflies, and protect insects already settled in for winter.

A thoughtful autumn cleanup can protect beneficial insects while keeping your yard usable and attractive. Here are five easy ways to help.

Leave the leaves, or move them just a bit

Leaving plant debris does not mean giving up a tidy yard. Keep a thin layer of leaves on the grass, or rake whole leaves into garden beds, around trees, or to designated areas where they can insulate plants and critters, suppress weeds, retain moisture, and enrich the soil.

Fun fact! Most butterflies and moths don’t migrate! Instead, they overwinter in the landscape as an egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, or adult, and use leaf litter for winter cover. Luna moths and swallowtail butterflies disguise their cocoons and chrysalises as dried leaves to blend in with “real” leaves. (Photo: Sebastian Alejandro Echeverri)

Let the bugs shred the leaves

Shredded leaves provide less cover and can destroy eggs, caterpillars, and cocoons. Instead of mowing, use a rake or blower to keep leaves whole. You can also make a leaf pile—a leaf “sanctuary”—and let millipedes, roly-polys, and other leaf-eating bugs break the leaves down naturally. Fallen leaves are also great to add to compost bins.

Make a brush pile

Instead of trashing fallen wood, stack it. Many insects hibernate in logs and branches, and brush piles can be sized to fit your space or tucked behind hedges or native gardens. Logs and stumps can also make useful borders for native-plant gardens.

Leave the soil (and sleeping bees) undisturbed

Most bee species nest in the ground, often in yards and garden beds. If you move perennials, keep your digging shallow and limited to avoid damaging native bee nests. Mark any nests you notice before working nearby.

Fun fact! Most butterflies and moths don’t migrate!

Instead, they overwinter in the landscape as an egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, or adult, and use leaf litter for winter cover. Luna moths and swallowtail butterflies disguise their cocoons and chrysalises as dried leaves to blend in with “real” leaves.

Wait until spring is underway to trim stems and clean up

Leave native perennial stems standing through the winter. Seed heads feed songbirds, such as goldfinches, while stems shelter insects, including cavity- or stem-nesting solitary bees such as carpenter, mason, and leafcutter bees.

If you remove leaves the following season, wait until late spring so you do not destroy the precious life you worked to protect.

Leave the leaves and spread the word

Your garden’s wild residents benefit when you leave things a little messy. Picture the natural areas where they evolved: layered leaves, longer grasses, seed heads, stems, and places to hide.

It can be hard when tidy fall cleanup feels routine, but change starts with knowledge. Tell friends, neighbors, and your social media circle that they can #LeaveTheLeaves.

Doing fewer fall—and spring—chores can support wildlife, improve pollination, reduce pests, and feed birds next spring.

Adapted from “Leave the Leaves,” by Justin Wheeler, Scott Hoffman Black, and Deborah Seiler, Xerces Society, Oct. 2, 2020.