Jumping in leaves: Why Jumping in Leaf Piles is Now a Bad Idea

Why Jumping in Leaf Piles is Now a Bad Idea

November 10, 2021
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Ticks

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There are plenty of things that many of us remember doing as kids that were perfectly acceptable then, which now are frowned upon. From walking to the corner store without an adult to biking without a helmet; kids today have more restrictions because we know more when it comes to safety. Still, you might be surprised to know that it is also a bad idea to engage in this fall season tradition: jumping in leaf piles. 

Just like we have found that it is much safer to wear a helmet before you hop on a bike, jumping in a pile of leaves could now be considered dangerous due to a 6,600% increase in Lyme disease in the last 25 years in Massachusetts. 

Keeping your kids safe now includes keeping them out of leaf piles. 

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Safety First: Steer Clear of Lyme Disease 

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne illness that is transmitted from a tick bite. Tick bite? In the fall? Yes, don’t be surprised if you still find a tick or two on you even into the early winter! Especially when you are providing them with a perfect habitat right in your own yard. A pile of dead leaves and other plants creates the perfect breeding ground for ticks. If you are bitten by a tick that is infected with Lyme disease, you could experience symptoms such as headache, fever, and fatigue. These symptoms need to be treated as soon as possible, due to the fact that Lyme disease does not go away on its own and can cause damaging long term effects to the muscles, heart, and nervous system.

Take Care to Avoid these Ticks

The blacklegged tick is the primary culprit carrying Lyme disease. You can avoid these pests by fighting the urge to jump into your leaf piles, for starters. In fact, a recent study found that, “Fallen leaves provide blacklegged ticks with suitable habitat via higher humidity and lower temperatures within the leaf litter, as well as protection from exposure over winter. ”

Other DIY tick-prevention tricks include tucking your pants into your socks and staying clear of heavily tick infested areas. 

If a tick does find their way onto your skin, your best course of action is to remove it immediately (get the head!), put it in a plastic bag, and put it in the freezer. This way, you will preserve it and be able to have it tested for Lyme disease.

When You Just HAVE To Jump

Child or adult, sometimes we all just need to jump in a leaf pile. If you need to, we suggest waiting until the weather has dropped to at least 40 degrees. This way, the ticks will be most likely semi-hibernating and not looking for their next blood meal.

Best Practices for Leaf Removal

Blowing or raking the leaves in your yard to the forest’s edge is just not enough protection from ticks; instead, mulch your leaves and completely dispose of them. 

What is Mulching? 

Mulching simply means the process of breaking down the leaves (think of chopping up lettuce for a salad) so that it is not such a big pile. This makes it easier to dispose of and also makes it less likely to have ticks stop by for a snack. Bonus perk: Mulching your leaves can actually provide a natural fertilizer for your yard. 

Taking care of your lawn, and all of the leaves in and around it will help reduce your exposure to ticks. If you want to knock down the tick population in your yard by more than 90%, the best thing you can do is sign up for our tick services, which start in the spring. 

Learn more on our tick page or request a free quote below.

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Jumping in Leaves! 6 Creative Spins on Classic Fall Fun

Photo by Tana Teel / Stocksy

Odds are you’re already groaning at the thought of raking up those never-ending, car-size piles of leaves this fall—just another task on that checklist. But there is someone who is 100 percent guaranteed to love the results of your raking labor: your kid. Put some joy into your fall yard work with our ultimate leaf piles playlist. Grab your whole family and jump in!

1. The Great Leaf-Gathering Race

Who can fill a big bucket, trash can, or bag the fastest? Turn a chore into a fun contest by giving each child a container, gloves, and a “ready, set, GO!” Set a timer to see how long it takes your little helpers to fill the container. If you’re working with kids of multiple ages, give older kids larger buckets or different rules (like only using one hand or walking backward) to have a fair competition.

2. Build a Leaf Labyrinth

Get creative by using leaves to create a fall maze that you won’t have to clean up afterward! Simply rake a clear spot in your yard (or at a nearby park), then form lines of leaves to build a labyrinth with a beginning, an end, and some roadblocks in between. You could keep it simple with a spiral path, or, if you’re the “Type A” sort, get inspired by these mazes and wow your friends on Instagram with your mad skills!

3. Make a Leaf Rainbow

How many colors can you find? Go on a leaf hunt with your kids and then arrange their findings in a row to make a rainbow! Glue the leaves to a piece of paper or tie them on a string to use for festive fall decorations. To make the leaves last through the season, try “laminating” them by placing them inside two pieces of contact paper or clear packing tape, and then cutting them out.

4. A Twist on the Big Pile of Leaves

Instead of making one big leaf pile to jump in, make a trail of smaller piles and encourage your child to jump from one to the next without touching the ground in between. Once they jump through the whole line, add in new challenges like hopping on one foot, skipping, or even jumping backward.

5. Treasure Hunt, Leaf-Pile Style

Gather a collection of fun fall items (such as mini pumpkins, fall cookie cutters, a sheet of themed stickers, or orange crayons) and hide them in a pile of leaves for a treasure hunt. Give your kids a list of the booty waiting to be discovered, and have them embark on the hunt!

6. Preserve Fall Finds (and Memories)

Most kids love collecting the prettiest leaves they find on walks and hikes—but where to store their treasures? Pick up a photo album at a craft store and keep the season’s most sensational leaves inside. That way, you and your child can preserve the memory of fall walks long after all the leaves are gone.

Or pick one of these three fun fall leaves craft ideas and turn the foliage into creative fodder.

At-Home Activities

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From KinderCare Educators

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Out And About With Kids

The spikes on the legs allowed the slobber slobber to jump on smooth leaves

Zoologists studied the mechanism of interaction with smooth surfaces when jumping, which is used by cicadas of the slobber slobber species. It turned out that they pierce the substrate with sharp spikes on their limbs – this helps them not to slide off the surface in the absence of sticky substances and soft pads on the tips of their legs, which, in turn, gives them a high initial flight speed, according to an article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

Animals use a variety of morphological adaptations to move on smooth and vertical surfaces. So, geckos have self-cleaning sticky bristles on their legs, some spiders travel in the wind in balloons, and insects secrete sticky substances or carry hooks or suckers on their legs, but the mechanisms of many species have not yet been studied in detail. In a new work, scientists at the University of Cambridge found out how jumping insects of the species 9 move0003 Philaenus spumarius , or slobbering pennitsa.

Pennitsa drooling is a polymorphic species of hemipteran insects from the family of pennitsy cicadas, ubiquitous in Russia. Insects are agricultural pests. The authors of this work have already done a similar study for leafhoppers of the related species Aphrodes makarovi – then they noticed soft pads at the ends of the legs of animals, which enhance the grip of insects with a smooth surface, but nothing of the kind was found in the slobber slobber. At the same time, animals live on plants with smooth leaves and develop high acceleration when jumping. The results of the work can be used, for example, to develop robots, which in search and rescue operations often have to move in difficult conditions and on surfaces of various types. nine0005

The authors of the study collected 57 adult individuals of the species Philaenus spumarius, of whose limbs were examined using optical and scanning electron microscopes. On the rear pair of legs of animals, scientists found rows of cone-shaped spikes that could prevent slipping, since in the sitting position of the insect they face the surface of the leaf. The ends of the spines turned out to be darker than the surrounding light brown cuticle, the analysis of their chemical composition showed a high content of zinc. nine0005

In order to test whether the spikes really help penitents jump, the researchers conducted the following experiment. Insects were placed on three horizontal surfaces differing in hardness and hydrophobicity: glass, epoxy, and ivy leaves. With the help of rapid shooting, scientists recorded the movements of animals, and also compared the speed at the beginning of the jump and the angle of separation from the surface. Filming insect movements on epoxy resin and leaves showed that at the very beginning, before jumping, the spikes on the hind limbs pierced the surface and left deep marks. The takeoff speed after the jump in both cases averaged 3.6–3.9meters per second, and the separation angle from the surface was about 53.2–53.6 degrees. On the glass, the animals, on the contrary, began to slide, they could not catch on, so they came off more slowly (at a speed of about 1. 1 meters per second), the angle was steeper (on average 71.3 degrees), and the pennies themselves rotated in the air.

To confirm the role of thorns in preparation for jumping in Philaenus spumarius , scientists stained ivy leaves with methylene blue. This dye binds to the substances of the internal tissues of the leaf at the site of damage to the epithelium. To make the colored areas better visible, white leaves were taken for the experiment, which almost did not contain chlorophyll. The researchers recorded blue spots where the hind limbs of insects were before the jump. The tracks in the leaves were located at the same distance as the spines on the segments of the legs – the distance between the spines on two legs was on average 51 micrometers and 38 micrometers, and on the leaves 57.2 micrometers and 39.3 micrometers respectively. This confirmed the survey and microscopy data on how Pennitsa slobbery manages to move on smooth surfaces.

Animals often have to adapt in order to survive in an imperfect environment. In addition to problems with movement, they have to hide from predators or deal with temperature changes. By the way, read about how to help animals in the city survive the winter in our blog “How to save a tit”.

Maria Shamshuvarova

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in Kharkov they showed why children should not jump into a pile of leaves

Dangerous leaves: in Kharkov they showed why children should not jump into a pile of leaves

• Vesti-UA.net
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• News
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• Society

  3-11-2019, 15:01

  / Author: Inna Voleva, vesti-ua.net

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  Now it’s autumn, the leaves are falling from the trees, adults and kids are very fond of frolicking in fallen leaves, as well as participating in various photo shoots, writes hyser.

  But, under these leaves, we can all be in great danger. There have already been many cases when children played with fallen leaves and, raking them with their hands, pricked themselves on a syringe that was thrown out by someone.

  Drug addicts very often take the next dose of the drug, somewhere in the forest belt, where there are fewer people and they throw syringes on the spot, and tomorrow morning you and your child can go for a walk in this forest belt. nine0005

  Also, now schools quite often host various actions, or subbotniks for cleaning school areas. Accordingly, children are not protected by anything when cleaning or playing with leaves. You can step on a needle and pierce the sole of your shoe and injure yourself, and you can also injure your hand.

  So, on his Instagram page, Kharkiv Live posted a rather entertaining video, which shows how syringes are lying in the fallen leaves. Yes, yes, not one syringe, but there are quite a lot of them. nine0005

  The short video was captioned: “Be careful when taking pictures in the leaves.