Choosing a Lawn Service

Lawn services provide dependable, standardized yard maintenance, but it may not be right for every lawn or lawn condition

By the experts at The Family Handyman

From The Family Handyman

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Q Our lawn is chockfull of weeds. Can one of those chemical lawn services do a better job of bringing my lawn back to health than I can?

A If you really love your yard and yard work, and if you’re really committed to figuring out your grass problems, you can do a darn good job. But you need a plan and the time to do it. You also need to be truly interested—not just cheap! But since your lawn is full of weeds, you might not be the Lawn Ranger you need to be.

Here’s the lowdown. Homeowners can control the type, amount and timing of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers they need to apply. Large lawn services mix batches of fertilizer and herbicide formulated for the “average lawn.” They have to—the person spraying your yard will probably do 15 to 25 yards in a day. So, if you have an atypical yard, the stuff they’re putting on and the frequency may not do everything you expect. For instance:

Some weeds, especially perennial grassy weeds, are best controlled by hand weeding or by hitting them with weed killer two or three times at 10- to 15-day intervals. Most lawn companies aren’t on that kind of schedule.
Broadleaf herbicides are less effective when applied in temperatures above 85 degrees F or if it rains within 24 hours of their application. Lawn services have a schedule to keep! It may not be feasible for them to pay as close attention to these conditions as you can. On the other hand, in certain areas certain herbicides can only be used by licensed turf professionals. Generally these restricted chemicals are more powerful and do a better job of controlling weeds.
The nutritional requirements of lawns that are shaded, diseased or stressed from thatch or overuse differ from those of the “average” yard. To compensate, you can adjust the amount and type of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus levels in the fertilizers. Most lawn services can only make crude adjustments. Some sophisticated lawn service operations will custom-apply dry fertilizer, but it costs more.
Insects can be a big problem. Most of the lawn insecticides are quite toxic to you, your kids and pets. Caution and care must be used when applying them. There are watered-down, less potent insecticides sold to homeowners. But licensed professionals can apply more powerful and effective insecticides and are trained to know when and how to use them.

But in short, if yard work is a low priority for you, a lawn service will do a better job, simply because they’ll do it! Increasingly, lawn service operations will deliver customized treatments. You’ll pay for it, but it’ll get done!

Most lawn services charge $50 to $75 per application for an average suburban yard. It takes about one hour for a homeowner to apply a dry product ($15 to $35) to an average lawn. Multiply this by five applications per year, then ask yourself what your time is worth.

Which Is Safer?

Click image to enlarge.
Some folks consider lawn services dangerous because of the “Keep kids and pets off” warning signs they stick in your yard when they leave. The fact is, the liquid fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides they use are in many ways safer than the granular stuff you spread. Liquid absorbs quickly into a plant; within three or four hours the already low danger is well below government guidelines. Granular materials, even the weak ones sold to the homeowner, can stay active for days.