Should Leaves be Mulched or Bagged

So if you're like me, you can't stand to look at the leaves and pine straw in the lawn for too long.  Don't get me wrong, I do love the fall season, maybe most of all, but after that first few weeks that the deciduous trees local to Columbia, S.C. start to lose their leaves and litter our lawns, I am ready to do something about it.  So a question I often get is: "should my yard service mulch the leaves with the mower or remove them from the lawn and bag the debris?". 

In my opinion, the leaves should be removed from the lawn.  Not just the leaves, but the pine cones, pine straw, sticks, nuts...all debris.  In my experience, this debris does 3 things: it is unsightly and you're neighbors are indeed wondering when you will be cleaning it up, it invites fungus and other diseases, and it can squelch out the grass in the spots where the hard debris lies. 

Now I'm not advocating filling our landfills with plastic trash bags that are going to remain there for a thousand years.  If your town or city allows for it, I think you should leave the debris loose at the curb for city pickup.  Otherwise, you can blow or rake the leaves into wooded areas of your property or blow them into your beds to help suppress weeds (unless you have "pretty", freshly mulched beds of course). 

I think, though, if you are talking about purely "leaves", that when properly chopped up into fine particals with a true mulching blade fall back into the turf and break down then, sure...mulching could be of benefit.  But what this translates to for many people is running a loud, dust creating riding mower with a standard blade over anything and everything in the lawn...which supposedly saves time and is good for the soil.

ALSO - lol - playing in leaf piles, although quaint and picturesque, can lead to bringing wolf spiders, mites, ticks, lice, and who knows what other creatures into your home *cringe* :)

This is your yard boy Ash, over and out...