The leaves are turning red, orange, and yellow. It’s official: Autumn has arrived.

So, what do you do with the leaves that have scattered across your lawn?

Back when you owned a traditional lawn mower, mulching felt pretty straightforward: you simply bagged the shredded leaf material and put it out on the curb.

But robotic mower owners have questions: do copious amounts of leaves hurt my robotic lawn mower? Can it mow at all with leaves on the ground? Should I rake or not? And what’s best for the health of my lawn?

HOw Robotic Mowers Mow with Autumn leaves on the Ground

On it’s face, autumn leaves don’t post a huge problem for robotic lawn mowers. The occasional leaf or two won’t cause any issues, and your mower’s blade will simply shred any leaf in its path.

So if you have a smattering of leaves on your lawn, there’s not much for you to worry about.

But what if your lawn ends up covered in a thick layer of leaves?

Your robotic mower will work through a blanket of autumn leaves while its mowing the lawn, but this can dull the blades and wear out the machine quicker. In order to prevent bogging down your robotic mower, we suggest minimizing leaf coverage on your lawn this fall.

The situation gets worse when the leaves are wet. Wet leaves can gunk up the chassis and blade system, compromising performance, the longevity of your robotic lawn mower, and lawn health.

To Rake leaves or Not to Rake?

Its a good idea to rake the leaves before running the robotic mower.

It’s okay to have a stray couple leaves here and there, but a lawn covered in a thick blanket of leaves can compromise performance. So be sure to grab that rake or leaf blower.

Can You Mulch Leaves with A Robotic Lawn Mower

Your robotic lawn mower is a natural mulcher: it shreds leaves in its path. But when you end up with thick hills of leaves, the robotic lawn mower will not be able to handle the load, and won’t be able to mulch leaves effectively.

So, bottom line: don’t rely on your robotic lawn mower to mulch leaves for you, especially if you end up with a completely covered yard with tons of leaves. Allow your mower to mulch the few leaves you get every now and then, but your robotic lawn mower wasn’t designed or built to mulch leaves, so leave that task up to whoever rakes and blows the lawn.

Ask Us Questions About Robotic Mowers!

Here at Autmow, we are the robotic mowing specialists of North America and we love helping people (and businesses!) find the best robotic lawn care to fit their unique needs. Have a question? Not sure where to start? Reach out to us and we’ll be happy to help.