The horz air intake on the Kubota ZT gets leaves sucked to the grille. Some get sucked into the fan, while others get picked off by me. I haven't looked inside (I guess this can be done) to see if anything is collecting. A wire screen a few inches above the intake would be a help since there would be a minimum suction there and stuff could fall off or blow away. I have to ponder this to see if I could fashion something up that doesn't look like a shoemaker's job.