Trees are lovely, but they really can cause a mess. Gutter protection systems, normally referred to as gutter guards, became popular in the second half of the last century as the availability of improved plastic compounds made it more commercially viable to produce the systems that were reasonably easy to fit, were long-lasting in terms of exposure to heat, sun, cold and wet, and were effective in keeping leave and debris out of gutters.

The design of these systems has continued to improve over the years to the point that they now do such a good job that you will rarely have to get on the roof again. The best systems will not only let water flow through to the gutter as normal, but they will also lift the leaves and debris over the top of the gutter and let them fall to the ground.