Aiken County, SC Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Subsection 15-22(10)(h) makes it a nuisance to operate 'any noise-creating blower or power fan, the operation of which causes loud or disturbing noise, unless such blower or fan is muffled to deaden such noise.' That muffling duty applies at any hour. Separately, subsection 15-22(14)(viii) carves lawn and landscaping noise out of the broader noise-nuisance rule only for a defined daytime window: 'Sound as the result of normal or routine lawn/yard maintenance and landscaping between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.' is exempted from enforcement.

Read together, a gas or electric leaf blower running before 6:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. loses its exemption and can be prosecuted as an unreasonably loud noise under the general standard in § 15-22(10), which bars noise causing 'material, physical or mental discomfort or injury to persons of ordinary sensibilities.' A neighbor can complain directly to the Aiken County Sheriff's Office without first gathering the five-resident group normally needed for other nuisance complaints, because subsection (10) noises qualify for the single-complainant path in § 15-25.

Code enforcement or the sheriff first issues a written warning with thirty days to correct the problem (§ 15-26); a repeat offense by the same landscaper or homeowner is placed directly on a magistrate's court summons (§ 15-27) rather than a second warning.