Covered gutters, screen gutters, no gutters?

You definitely need gutters to move water away from the foundation in almost all areas of the US. The best solution for avoiding debris is typically a custom gutter guard installed by same company that does your gutter install.

Cut trees, clean 2 or 3 times a year. Screens won’t solve the problem. If it’s a problem area, then cleaning that one spot won’t be too bad. I’ve threatened to take mine down in spots just to alleviate the headache in one area, but wife said no.

No gutters, south Louisiana. 24" wide gravel bed laid around the foundation (slab, no basements 'round here) between house and landscaping beds on front side of house. Lot is very sloped from middle, both to front and back. If you've got a good slope away from the house, you won't have any problems. No gutters on my last house, raised on piers, either. It's still standing w/no foundation rot after 75+ years, so I dunno that gutters are quite the necessity.

I do have to powerwash the front sidewalk/entry once a year, as it tends to grow algae & is in the shade.

I'm putting gutters on my house. Not putting the leaf guard b/c neighbors have pine trees and the pine needles don't mix well with the guard. It will be a headache, but I want the gutters to divert water to specific locations rather than just dump freely at the foundation. I'll eventually install gravel beds in the few places I don't have gutters, concrete, or a flower bed.

It takes all of about 20 min with a blower on a dry day to clean the screens off on my house.

I do cheat and put the wife in my tractor bucket though

This summer I will be renting a ditchwitch and installing french drains that run down to the retention pond, which is why I was debating just removing the gutters off the backside instead of tieing the gutters into the drain system.

Also debating regrading the back as it has a natural hump in center that I think is keeping the ground closer to the house constantly moist, more-so than the front.