We have an absolutely stunning and ginormous cedar tree in our yard. We love this tree as it keeps our house nice and cool in the hot summer months. As Fall crept in and the winds picked up we quickly realized that we had to do something about our gutters because this tree is messy! The gutters fill up quickly and it’s only November and we’ve already climbed the ladder 2 different times to empty them out. Not our favorite thing.

Our beloved cedar tree is a natural air conditioner in summer—but come fall? It’s a one-tree confetti cannon of needles and debris. Cue the annual game of “Who’s Climbing the Ladder Next?”

By early November, we’d already emptied our gutters twice and still hadn’t hit peak leaf season. With Steve steadying the ladder and me channeling my inner mountain goat, we decided it was time for a DIY solution.

Enter: EasyGuard Gutterguard from Costco. Stainless steel micromesh. Fancy, right? But more importantly: affordable, effective (fingers crossed), and DIY-able.

According to the official description:

“This DIY stainless steel micromesh gutter guard keeps out leaves, pine needles and roof sand grit from your gutters so you will never have to clean your gutters out again.”

We said: Yes, please, and amen.

The install was pretty straightforward—we tackled the entire house in under 4 hours. I used both the adhesive strip and screws (because our beach house faces some serious weather and I’m not about that climb-life anymore).

Tools Needed

• Ladder (the kind that doesn’t wobble, please)
• Cordless drill
• Long screwdriver (to gently lift the shingles)
• Heavy-duty gloves (your hands will thank you)
• Rags (gutter lip grime is real)

That’s it. No PhD required. Just patience, teamwork, and a mild disregard for heights.

Time will tell how they hold up through a Pacific Northwest winter, but so far, so good. We’ll report back next fall!

Local Love + PSA:

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