Help Save Fireflies in Maine by Simply Not Raking Your Leaves

When I was a kid, it seemed like fireflies were everywhere.

I remember being out on a night walk I wasn't supposed to be on in junior high. It was the last day of school, and a friend and I decided to just go see what the night had to offer for trouble to get into. I remember walking past this huge field adjacent to a farm. The whole field was absolutely lit up like a Christmas tree with fireflies.

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I'd never seen anything like it before. The whole field was a abuzz with the hypnotic blinking of the fireflies. I've never seen anything to that extent ever since, either. Well it turns out, there may be a direct link between our fall yard work and the firefly population near you.

Raking leaves is a big no-no for fireflies.

I love all these new ideas that suggest we should stop doing yard work to promote the sustaining of bugs. Insects are wildly important, no doubt. And the fact that there are all these studies saying I should skip mowing the lawn in spring, and now info indicating I shouldn't rake? I'm totally on board.

The reason raking is so bad for fireflies, is because they live in the topsoil underneath the leaf cover, presumably under the snow. Leaving the leaf cover gives them an added layer of protection against the elements. So in theory, leaving some leaf cover around your yard will potentially enhance the fireflies in your area.

In case you were worried, they're absolutely harmless to us.

All they do is provide us with some nighttime beauty, that's it. They're even fun for kids to catch. The only real trick to it, is keeping the inside of their jar moist. It's suggested if you catch some, put a moist paper towel in the bottom, and a clump of grass for them to hide in during the day.

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At night, they'll likely start blinking in the jar. Every 24 hours, just take the top off and blow across the top, and it'll freshen the air inside. But let them out after a couple days so they can go make more little fireflies, continuing the cycle of life, hahaha. But the real takeaway here? Don't rake the dang leaves!