These Are Some Of The Best Tools To Pick Up Pine Needles From Your Yard

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Pine needles pose an especially frustrating problem for those who want their lawns to look clean and green. For one thing, they come from conifers, most of which are evergreens. This means that pine needles fall even during the winter, when many people stop worrying about falling leaves or mowing the lawn.

Another issue with pine needles is that they're especially hard to remove because of how thin they are. Some property owners will simply rely on their lawn mowers rather than perform any additional maintenance. Mulching mowers can mulch some needles along with grass, and bagging mowers can remove some needles as they gather trimmings, but they aren't optimal for fully ridding a yard of them. Mowers typically leave plenty of pine needles behind, even with multiple passes. If you're using a tractor or riding mower, though, you can hitch a product like the Field Tuff tow-behind landscape rake to its rear so you can pick up needles and leaves as you mow.

But if you really want to pick up pine needles from your yard, you'll likely need an additional piece of equipment besides a lawn mower. There are several different types available, and they vary greatly in price. Each has its own pros and cons as well, so if you're looking for the best tools for removing pine needles, you'll need to decide which best suits your needs and preferences.

Rakes generally handle leaves better than pine needles because the latter easily slip between tines. However, there are rakes with finer tines that are specifically designed for needles and finer debris. Some also have double rows of tines, such as the True Temper 26-Inch Dual-Tine Poly Leaf Rake. After testing several rakes, Bob Vila named True Temper's tool as the best overall choice, praising its alternating straight and curved clog-resistant tine design.

These tines are plastic, though, which is why the publication also recommends the 55-inch Groundskeeper II. This rake has spring-loaded steel tines and is also the top choice of many Redditors dealing with fallen needles on their property. U/AdrenalineEdge calls it "the perfect combination between a regular rake and a semi-dethatcher" and says it won't tear up the lawn. However, rakes are both time- and labor-intensive. As one Redditor puts it, using a rake is "slow but very thorough," but they find the effort worth it since it's more effective than blowers.

Another manual option that might be easier on your back is a lawn sweeper, which can be pushed along your lawn like a mower, scooping up needles and leaves instead of cutting them. YouTuber TheDIYLawnCoach recommends the Dapper 21-inch lawn sweeper for removing pine needles after trying it out for himself. He notes that its "assembly was kind of a nightmare," though, and that its bag could be larger. Similarly, YouTuber Yuri Tereshyn tested the Gardena Leaf Collector and found it was also effective for picking up pine needles. However, one of the things to consider before buying a lawn sweeper is that they cost much more than a rake.

Power tools are pricier and require more maintenance than non-powered tools, but can save a lot of time and labor. There are motorized versions of lawn sweepers available, like the Zegjaw 15-inch, 13-amp Lawn & Turf Sweeper, which has a solid 4.3 out of 5 customer score on Amazon. It's fairly expensive for a niche tool, though, at more than twice the price of Dapper's manual sweeper.

Leaf blowers can help push needles into piles, but only ones with reverse airflow can actually pick them up. Since they're thin and so lightweight, they're not as easy to remove as leaves, so blowers that offer strong suction are most effective. Blowers that also mulch would be the best choice. Ryobi's 40V Leaf Vacuum/Mulcher is one such powerful blower and is considered the best "portable" option by The Spruce, which tested a range of different models.

Another way to vacuum needles is a lawn vacuum that attaches to your mower, such as the Craftsman 24-inch Lawn Vacuum. User reviews of Craftsman's Chipper Shredder and Troy-Bilt's similar 24-inch Chipper Shredder are mixed, though YouTuber David Comora found Troy-Bilt's to be useful for picking up wet pine needles in their video demonstration of the tool. If you don't have a blower or lawn vacuum, at least one Redditor also claims that a good shop vac, like the Craftsman 16-gallon wet-dry vac, can do the job. Finally, there are also some great robot mowers available for those truly wishing to avoid doing any of the work, though they have the same drawbacks with pine needles as standard lawn mowers.

We only included tools that are especially effective for picking up pine needles on this list. We made sure to cover a range of different options with various pros and cons, including hand tools, power tools, and mower attachments, to provide a broad range of options that cater to homeowners and landscapers with widely differing needs and preferences.

The tools considered to be "best" have been specifically recommended or used for pine needles by video YouTubers or online commenters and posters on Reddit, as well as reputable publications that have tested relevant products. We also considered user scores from retailers like Amazon and Home Depot to supplement the findings from these sources, with anything above 4 out of 5 considered a worthy average customer score that suggests a tool is functional and reliable.