Large trees around your home are usually the worst contributing factor in gutter blockage. Having trees in your garden certainly provides many benefits, but when it comes to gutters they can quickly become a nuisance.
Trees can drop leaves and litter all over the place, and any overhanging branches can clog up your gutters and mess up your roof.
The Worst Trees in Australia for Blocking Gutters
1. Gum Trees
Gum trees or eucalyptus trees are the worst trees in Australia for gutter blockage, since one tree can drop an endless supply of rubbish all year round. In addition to gutter-blocking leaves, gum trees shed a lot of bark, twigs, branches, and gumnuts which can also cover your roof.
2. Pine Trees
Following gum trees, the other trees that often cause problems in suburban areas are pine trees, which shed their needles all year long.
3. Liquidambar Trees
The beautiful liquidambar trees may only discard their leaves in autumn, but their fruit — the conker — can continue to fall and cause issues well into winter. Cockatoos and other birds also love to rip apart the conkers to find the seeds inside, which will cause mess on your roof and can also be a nuisance when trying to mow the lawn.
4. Plane Trees
You may already be familiar with the furry messy caused by the seeds of the London Plane tree as they break up over the winter. While this tree is popular in city parks and is useful for countering air pollution in urban areas, in residential gardens it is also a chief cause of gutter pollution!
5. Ivy Creepers
Finally, ivy, despite technically being a creeper and not a tree, had to be listed because it is such a frequent contributor to gutter blockages! If it’s not regularly pruned, ivy creepers can climb all the way up to the gutter and into roof crevices causing major structural issues.
The Solution to Gutter Blocking Trees
Not everyone wants a barren backyard, but don’t worry, if your house is surrounded by trees that are contributing to gutter blockages, there are simple and practical solutions.
Firstly, regular gutter cleaning will help ensure your gutters and downpipes remain clear and free flowing. During our gutter cleaning service, we can also prune back overhanging branches to help minimise the amount of debris that ends up on your roof.
Secondly, a more permanent solution is to install protective gutter guard, in order to prevent leaves and all other sorts of debris from getting in and clogging things up in the first place. The best gutter guard features tiny apertures (small holes) that will even keep out things like pine needles, tiny gumnuts, and seeds.
If the trees on your property are causing gutter blockages, call us today on 1300 472 976 to discuss your gutter cleaning and protection options.
My neighbours have a ridiculously tall Gum tree hanging over our roof which drops leaves all over our roof and we end up cleaning the gutter every month. Maybe we need gutter guard.