Clearing autumn leaves and pine needles from your garden

The job you are actually doing

In October the lawn disappears under birch leaves, and under the spruces there is a mat of needles that a rake barely touches. Raking a normal detached-house plot in Oulu takes a couple of hours and leaves you with sore shoulders and a lawn full of scratched-up moss. A blower does not remove the leaves for you, but it moves them into one pile in a fraction of the time, and it lifts needles out of gravel and off paving joints where a rake just skates over the top.

The Makita DUB362PT4 runs on two 18 V batteries in series. Air speed is adjustable between 27 and 54 m/s, which matters here: full power blows dry leaves nicely but also blasts gravel across the lawn. Most garden work happens at the lower and middle settings.

Before you start

Wait for a dry day if you can. Wet leaves stick to grass and to each other and need much more air than dry ones.
Decide where the pile goes first. A compost corner, a tarpaulin, or a garden waste bag held open with a box.
Check the wind direction and work with it, not against it.
Pick up sticks, dog toys and stones from the lawn before you start, so nothing gets thrown.
Wear eye protection and ear protection. It is quieter than a petrol machine, but it is not quiet.

Working order

Start at the far edge of the plot and work towards the pile location, never the other way round.
Do the hard surfaces first – driveway, paving, steps – so leaves blown off the lawn later do not land back on clean stone.
On lawn, hold the tube at a shallow angle, roughly 20–30 cm above the grass, and sweep sideways. Pointing straight down just digs a hole in the leaf layer.
Move the pile in stages. Push leaves 3–4 m, stop, then push again. Trying to move one huge pile 15 m in one go throws leaves sideways.
For needles in gravel or in paving joints, raise the speed and come in at a steeper angle from one side.
Finish by blowing the last leaves onto a tarpaulin, then drag it to the compost.

How long it takes

A typical 800–1000 m² plot with a few birches: about 45–90 minutes including bagging. A small town-house yard: half an hour. Four 5.0 Ah batteries come with the blower, so when one pair runs low you swap to the other pair and carry on charging the first on the dual charger.

Common mistakes

Using full power near flower beds – bark mulch goes everywhere.
Blowing leaves onto the neighbour's side. Agree the route first.
Starting before the morning dew has dried.
Working uphill towards the pile instead of downhill away from it.

Why rent instead of buy

You need a blower two or three weekends a year. A cordless machine of this class costs several hundred euros new and then sits in the shed for eleven months. Picking one up from a neighbour in Metsokangas for the weekend is a simpler arrangement.

FAQ

Can I collect it on a weekday?

Pickup is in Metsokangas, Oulu, usually in the evenings and at weekends, and often during the day too. Ask when booking.

Do I need to bring my own batteries?

No. Four 5.0 Ah batteries and a dual charger come with the blower.

Does it work on wet leaves?

It moves them, but slowly and at higher power settings. Dry leaves are far quicker.

Updated 2026-09-23