No one wants a home with an overgrown lawn, weeds sprawling all over, or just so much junk dotting the yard that you can’t even mow the grass. If you’re interested in taking care of your lawn, you’re in the right place, and even if your lawn is currently in a less-than-ideal state, you can still get help to whip it into shape in time for summer.
We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about lawn care and how to take care of your lawn, from doing-it-yourself to hiring a pro.
Save time – Taking care of your lawn on your own will take you a ton of time, that you could be spending with your family, relaxing, or getting the dozens of other items on your to-do list done. Lawn care needs to be managed regularly, typically once a month, to be most effective. It can take a whole Saturday out of every month for you to do it yourself, plus a few hours a week to mow the lawn. Save the time and hire a professional lawn care company.
Let the Pros Take Care of It – A professional lawn care company will have the experience needed to best take care of your lawn. They do this all day, and they have years of experience taking care of lawns like yours. You can rest assured that a professional lawn care company will best know how to keep your lawn looking its best. Plus, they can offer you advice on how to keep your lawn in top shape between their visits and how to extend the life of your lawn after they’re gone.
They Have the Tools – From a lawnmower to weeder, to rakes and shovels, purchasing all the tools required to upkeep your lawn is expensive. A push lawn-mower alone can cost over $200.000, but if your property is on a hill or too large for a push mower a riding mower will put you out $800 plus. A professional lawn care company already has all the tools on hand to take care of your lawn, and even some specialty tools (like a lawn aerator) that you might not have. Save money on tools and hire a professional lawn company to upkeep your yard.
Lawn care is so much more than just mowing the grass. You also need to take care of drainage issues, remove weeds, water it and even fertilize your lawn.
Lawn Mowing – Most people are familiar with mowing the lawn as a key component of lawn care. But how often should you mow your lawn, and to how short? Experts recommended mowing about once a week during the spring/summer but not cutting it too short. If you let it grow too long, on the other hand, your grass may begin to dry out.
Feeding and Watering Your Lawn – It may sound weird to ‘feed’ your lawn, but it needs grass food to grow, just as it needs plenty of water. Fertilizing your lawn during spring and fall will help ‘feed’ your lawn the nutrients it needs to grow healthy. Specifically, try to find a fertilizer with nitrogen, potassium, and phosphate. Make sure to water your lawn regularly, and always water it after you fertilize it.
Lawn Aeration – The more people and pets walk/run or play in your yard, the more the lawn will get compacted. That leads to poor drainage and will leave water puddling when it rains. To improve your drainage, you just need to aerate it. Have you ever seen a sports field with little round clumps of dirt all around it? Well, that’s aeration. You can do the same thing at home on a smaller scale by using an aerator fork to poke holes in the soil, letting air in. Or you can rent/buy a lawn aerator tool.
Removing Weeds – Weeds are the worst. They grow and spread and soon begin to take over everything if you don’t treat them quickly and efficiently. Mowing your lawn regularly will help prevent weeds, but if you don’t treat weeds they will grow and produce more seeds, exponentially taking over your yard. Replacing or renovating a lawn overgrown by weeds is can be costly. So, you’re much better off maintaining your lawn and prevent weeds in the first place.
Avoid an Eyesore—Lawn care is a lot of work and it can be easily tempting to just ignore it or put it off. But pretty soon, your yard will start to look like a jungle! Especially if your neighbors take care of their yards, your lawn will begin to stand out. You don’t want your home to be the neighborhood eyesore.
It’s More Enjoyable – Plus, when your lawn is well taken care of, you are more likely to use it. It’s there for you, your family, and loved ones to enjoy by spending time outside, taking a picnic, allowing children to play, enjoy some sports, and overall, just allowing you to relax when you come home.
Increase home value – If that’s not enough, a well-managed lawn will also increase your property value and, if you’re trying to sell your home, it will make it more marketable. Having grass and trees on your lawn can also help keep your home cool. A yard also creates oxygen and absorbs rainfall.
Remove Pests—Finally, a properly managed lawn will not be as prone to weeds and pests making a home in your backyard. From insects to mice, the last thing you need is nests and burrows in your yard and pesky animals to annoy you. Professional lawn care services will know how to identify potentially destructive pests and to treat your lawn to both get rid of and prevent pests.
If you want to keep your lawn looking its best, you should keep up with your lawn care at least once a month, making sure to mow the grass, weed, trim, and just general upkeep. However, some lawn experts recommend mowing the lawn weekly, or more, depending on how quickly your lawn grows.
Costs for lawn care services vary, depending on your location and the size of your yard. It can also vary depending on what type of services you need help with. You can elect to do-it-yourself; however. It will cost you a lot of time and you may not have the tools or experience necessary to properly take care of your lawn.
That’s why we recommend hiring a professional lawn care company. The cost of lawn care with a professional lawn care company will vary depending on the type of services you need to be done. Simple weed control services start at about $75 while installing a sprinkling system or replacing a lawn start at $2,000 on average, but individual prices will depend on your area and the professional company you’re working with. Contractors do not expect tips, but you can tip if you were especially satisfied with their lawn care or during holidays to show your gratitude.
To find a professional lawn care company, first determine what lawn services you want to be done. For instance, the most popular lawn care services include mowing, aeration, weeding, sprinkler services, or seeding. But some lawn care companies also offer leaf removal, lawn clean-up, tree trimming, and even lawn replacement. If you need a small service for lawn care, like just lawn mowing, you might be best off to go with a smaller company. But, if you need something bigger like lawn aeration or tree trimming, make sure to go with a larger vendor with experience in that service.
When finding a professional lawn care company, ask them about how much experience they have, how many employees they work with, the equipment they have available, if it’s their full-time job, and if they service any other yards nearby. You can also ask neighbors, whose yards you admire, for recommendations.
It can take a ton of time and effort on your end to find the right lawn care company for your lawn’s needs and your budget. We’ve made it easier for you by compiling local lawn care companies for you to compare. Just scroll to the top and search for professional lawn care companies near you in our search bar.