Yard claws: What device will help my mother pick up the leaves in her garden?

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What device will help my mother pick up the leaves in her garden?

Question

My 75-year-old mother is an avid gardener who prides herself on maintaining her garden. While she is overall quite healthy, this fall she has had some difficulty managing the leaves. In particular, she finds it difficult to carry the leaves from the pile over to the leaf bag. Is there a device that can help her with this?

Our answer

It is wonderful that your mother finds so much pride and joy in gardening. Thankfully, there are a number of products on the market that are designed to make gardening a bit easier on the body. Given your mother’s particular difficulty with cleaning up leaves in the garden, you may be interested in knowing about a yard or garden scoop, which are large plastic claws that attach to your hands, making it easier to pick up sticks, leaves and other garden debris. Below are direct links to some examples of these products:

  • Yard Scoops by NuVue (at Canadian Tire) are lightweight and comfortable hand extensions for cleaning up the lawn. These yard scoops not only take the strain off your back by reducing the need to bend down, but they also keep your hands clean. This product costs about $15 (CDN), plus an additional shipping fee.
  • Yard Claws by Houkiper (at Walmart Canada) reduce the likelihood of dropping leaves onto the ground when clearing the yard. This product costs about $30 (CDN), plus an additional shipping fee. 

If you find that your mother is also having difficulty bending down, you may be interested in knowing about pickup rakes, which not only rake debris but also scoop and pick it up, reducing the need to bend down. Below is a direct link to an example of such a product:

  • Ergonomic Pickup Rake by Amazing Rake (at Amazon Canada) will efficiently rake, scoop and pick up a wide range of garden debris, including leaves, pine needles and grass clippings. This device costs about $90 to $100 (CDN), plus an additional shipping fee. 

Additionally, rather than a leaf bag, your mother may find it useful to use a bin on wheels, which can be easily transported to the leaf pile and may be easier to load. Below is a direct link to an example of such a product:

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