Mulching leaves in place was studied for 4 years in Westchester County, New York State, USA. Soil testing showed an advantage in long-term mulch mowing for available water capacity and soil proteins with no detrimental effects on the health of the soil. There were no differences in the concentration of macro or micronutrients in the leaf and duff material between treatments or in the concentration of those nutrients being added or removed from the soil. Lawns that had been mulch mowed showed significantly higher pest and traffic tolerance than those where leaves had been removed. Drought stress tolerance remained the same on sites where mulch mowing had occurred, but decreased where leaves had been removed. Mowing practices accounted for less than one percent of the variation in tick numbers, indicating that other variables, not measured had a larger impact. The amount of fuel used for community pick-up of leaves was 4 and 33 times as much as mulch mowing for the two treatment groups. Based on the results of this 3-year study, mulch mowing of leaves provides some soil health benefits, many turf quality benefits, does not improve the habitat for pests and uses less fuel than community pick-up. This study showed that mulch mowing of leaves (i.e., leaving leaves on the lawn) does provide some benefits to soil health and turf quality, without having an adverse effect on nutrient load or tick habitat.