Kent County, DE Noise Ordinances: Leaf Blower Rules (2026)

Section 161-2B(10) of the Kent County Code prohibits 'operating or permitting to be operated any power saw, sander, drill, grinder, garden equipment or tools of a similar nature, outdoors in residential districts between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following day, in such a manner as to create a noise disturbance.' Leaf blowers, gas or electric, fall within 'garden equipment or tools of a similar nature,' so a landscaper or homeowner running one before 7 a.m. or after 11 p.m. in an RS1, RS5, RMH, RM or any other residential district is violating the ordinance if the noise rises to a disturbance.

Outside that overnight window, the county does not cap decibel levels for lawn and garden tools specifically; daytime blower use is judged under the same general ambient-noise standard in § 161-5 that applies to any noise source, meaning a complaint has to show the sound exceeds the ambient level by 10 dBA (or five dBA in the RS1, RS5, RMH and RM residential zones) at the point where the complaint originates. There is no gas-versus-electric distinction and no seasonal exemption written into the chapter; the same 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. cutoff applies year-round in every residential district in the unincorporated county.