[emcicle]

Hello! I'm hesitant asking a question so specific with the company name, I hope that's ok. I had a guy come by my house this week from TruGreen. He was clearly a sales pushy type and I have fertilized my yard by myself in years past, I just never have been amazed by my result. From a good distance my lawn looks nice, but up close there are crab grass and other wild flower weeds. I'm having buyers remorse about signing up with this company, does anyone have good or bad experience with going with a professional to fertilize their yard? I know the clear accidents like burning the yard I've seen that and that sucks big time. I'm new and one day would like to switch to a reel mower for a nice close cut, but at this point in life I have 4 little kids that love to drive their toys all over the grass so maybe if I go to the "trugreen recommendation" of 3.5 inch cut it could withstand their abuse better. Just looking for suggestions. Thanks in advance!!

 

[probasestealer]

All these companies typically do is drop pre-emergent (Halts) late winter, fertilze shortly after, spray broadleaf weeds, fertilize and drop lime. They will try to also sell aerating and reseeding services.

You can do all this yourself. Honestly if you do nothing else, dropping pre-emergent (to prevent crabgrass and other annual weeds) around the time forsythias bloom and an app or two of fertilzer in the fall will make your lawn look better than most. If it's thin consider throwing down some seed in the fall and watering.

My only concern with the above is they blanket numerous apps of herbicides throughout the year and you have 4 little kids. I have two small children and try to limit my herbicide use by spot spraying or learning to live with a few weeds. I'm not judging you here, I used a service for several years.

It sounds like you'd like a nice lawn, but it's ok if that is at a future date. I think you'd be ok with an "ok lawn" and I think you will get that either way.

 

[emcicle]

Thanks for your input. It was honestly great timing for the sales guy, I've been tossing around doing something just to see how much better it would look. But pesticides and herbicides aren't something I want the kids around. My little guy is 1 and everything goes into his mouth. I think I'm going to cancel before it starts. Thanks again!

 

[probasestealer]

No problem.

I can just picture you all unloading the car and them blasting the yard

 

[thegrassfactor]

Coming from an in industry professional, as much as. I love my industry, I would highly advise against it. It's a bit of the McDonald's approach to lawn care. Cheap calories that, in the long run, do more bad than good. It's not to say they can't get you a nice lawn, it's the path to get there is questionable at best.

 

[g-man]

There are local professional guys that will give you a better services. There is one that service a neighbor and they did a soil test and a custom approach to their lawn. The neighbors lawns looks really nice. He does pay around $70 per visit for a 6k lawn. I finding a local good company will be better than trugreen.

 

[social port]

One of my neighbors uses a local (non-true green) lawn care company, and his lawn is nearly flawless.
But it says a lot when thegrassfactor makes the comparison to McDonalds. That may be why DYI lawn care is better: compared to our professionally trained brethren, we may be short on turf knowledge, but we make up for that in spades by our level of dedication to our lawns and the plans we create because of that dedication.

No problem.

I can just picture you all unloading the car and them blasting the yard

One gripe that I have is that many of these services don't post when they have applied herbicides/pesticides. I haven't seen a sign in years.

By the time a homeowner realizes that their lawn has been treated on a particular day, half of the family has run through the lawn on the way to the front door.

 

[thegrassfactor]

There are local professional guys that will give you a better services. There is one that service a neighbor and they did a soil test and a custom approach to their lawn. The neighbors lawns looks really nice. He does pay around $70 per visit for a 6k lawn. I finding a local good company will be better than trugreen.

Sadly guys like that are far and few between. It's hard to justify that price, but that's honestly the price required to remain in business without taking shortcuts.

In my intro I say, "we are stewards of the environment, it is our responsibility..." And I mean that. Turfgrasses are the greatest consumers of atmospheric carbon. They should be treated as such the gift they are, and pampered, protected, & respected.

I hate to get too tree-huggy, but one day, I hope, our practices with home lawns can create a movement to take back our planetary responsibilities of clean air, clean water, and fruitful soils. it's not so much our lives, but, damnit, do it for the children!

 

[Green]

I hate to get too tree-huggy, but one day, I hope, our practices with home lawns can create a movement to take back our planetary responsibilities of clean air, clean water, and fruitful soils. it's not so much our lives, but, damnit, do it for the children!

We need that! If you can help convince (using science of course) the type of person who thinks lawns are killing our environment that they are in fact, not, we will have made progress!

 

[thegrassfactor]

We need that! If you can help convince (using science of course) the type of person who thinks lawns are killing our environment that they are in fact, not, we will have made progress!

You will see big educational efforts on my end to combat exactly that. Mark my words.

 

[Green]

You will see big educational efforts on my end to combat exactly that. Mark my words.

Thank you, sir! That is awesome, and I for one am looking forward to the impact such efforts will have, bit by bit.

 

[Miller_Low_Life]

We moved into our home in 2013 and I hired True Green for two years. I was happy with the job they did reducing my weeds but in those two years I started to study lawn care myself. Learning about organic lawn care made me eager to want to try myself. I have to say my yard has been healthier the last three years and I do not put any herbicides or pesticides on it. When I overseed I also include microclover because the kids love it and it helps keep my grass green. I wouldn't knock True Green but I do think too many home owners are blindly throwing down harsh chemicals and doing more harm than good.

 

[probasestealer]

@thegrassfactorI like the tree-hugging part. In my neighborhood (residential college neighborhood of highly educated professionals/professors) I get a mix of "OMG you are spraying something on your lawn", "your lawn looks great", "what are you doing?", "organics?", "soap?", etc. Most do very little in their lawns, the others either shaded or treated by a company. To complicate matters our house backs up to a country club golf course, I have no idea what and when they spray, but I see very little activity other than mowing early in the AM and blowing in the fall. I try to keep the fence line covered in vines to help prevent some of the overspray.
I try not to worry too much about it and use less on my side of the fence.

 

[Powhatan]

At my previous residence I used Scotts lawn service for about six years. I was very ignorant in what chemicals were being put on my lawn, I just trusted a national professional company. The lawn looked nice, but I believe at a health expense. Our two dogs died of cancer while we lived there - coincidence, probably not.

Personally taking care of our new house lawn, I make it a point to research the chemicals and if listed carcinogen "known" or "suspected" I don't use it.

These were typical yearly frequency and type Scotts lawn service applications. Yikes, look at the amount of weed killer. :shocked:

3/31 - 17-0-5 Fertilizer
3/31 - Weed-B-Gon
3/31 - Halts Pro 65 WDG (weeds)
4/28 - 17-0-5 Fertilizer
4/28 - Weed-B-Gon
4/28 - Halts Pro 65 WDG (weeds)
6/8 - 14-0-5 Fertilizer
6/8 - Weed-B-Gon
7/23 - 17-0-5 Fertilizer
7/23 - Weed-B-Gon
9/9 - 25-0-12 Fertilizer
9/9 - Weed-B-Gon
11/4 - 17-0-5 Fertilizer
11/4 - Weed-B-Gon
​

 

[Suburban Jungle Life]

At my previous residence I used Scotts lawn service for about six years. I was very ignorant in what chemicals were being put on my lawn, I just trusted a national professional company. The lawn looked nice, but I believe at a health expense. Our two dogs died of cancer while we lived there - coincidence, probably not.

Personally taking care of our new house lawn, I make it a point to research the chemicals and if listed carcinogen "known" or "suspected" I don't use it.

These were typical yearly frequency and type Scotts lawn service applications. Yikes, look at the amount of weed killer. :shocked:

3/31 - 17-0-5 Fertilizer
3/31 - Weed-B-Gon
3/31 - Halts Pro 65 WDG (weeds)
4/28 - 17-0-5 Fertilizer
4/28 - Weed-B-Gon
4/28 - Halts Pro 65 WDG (weeds)
6/8 - 14-0-5 Fertilizer
6/8 - Weed-B-Gon
7/23 - 17-0-5 Fertilizer
7/23 - Weed-B-Gon
9/9 - 25-0-12 Fertilizer
9/9 - Weed-B-Gon
11/4 - 17-0-5 Fertilizer
11/4 - Weed-B-Gon

Yikes! I gotta say, once you do a blanket app, that takes care of the majority of weeds and then a routine fert keeps the grass thick. Weeds are few and far between. Maybe 2 rounds of spot spray a year is all I need. Of course, if you are chasing grassy weeds, that does get more complex.