Remember when you were a kid, and secrets were kind of fun? You knew your best friend was getting a puppy, but you couldn’t tell. Pretty exciting!
But now you’re a grown-up homeowner, and you prefer everything out in the open, please.
When you’re paying a lawn care company to keep your lawn healthy, you want to know exactly what you’re getting, right?
That’s what we want, too. The more educated you are, the better, wiser choices you can make.
You know that friend who can’t keep a secret? That’s us. Here are a few things some lawn care companies might not be telling you (but should.)
1. What Kind of Fertilizer Are You Getting?
Some lawn care companies, mainly large franchises, use a franchise-blended fertilizer that isn't necessarily tailored to a client’s area.
You might be getting a bulk blend of fertilizer that contains mainly nitrogen, which gives your lawn a quick, temporary green-up that focuses on top growth rather than overall lawn health.
Fertilizer blends should change with the seasons and your lawn’s needs over time, rather than being a one-size-fits-all application.
2. How Well-Trained Is the Staff?
What kind of training do your lawn care company’s employees get, particularly the ones who handle and apply pesticides?
Do they get a study guide designed mainly to help new employees pass certification tests? Or do they get real on-the-job training with professionals in the field?
Without proper experience, the applicator can make costly mistakes, from spraying the wrong amount to spraying in the wrong areas, which could kill your other plants or lead to runoff issues.
Lawn Buddies employees ride with another licensed pesticide technician for a time period to learn how to apply pesticides and exactly what they are applying before they’re sent out to work on their own.
We also hold weekly trainings to teach them more about pests, pesticides, and safety.
Ask if the technicians treating your yard are licensed. It’s the law.
3. What Is the Timing of Lawn Applications?
Have you ever been out shoveling snow and noticed a lawn care company truck headed out to apply fertilizer?
It happens, both in late fall and early spring.
Sure, snow can quickly melt, turning into water that can dissolve fertilizer. But make sure you know when your lawn care company plans to fertilize, and that the timing will actually benefit your lawn.
Timing is important for other lawn company services, too, such as insect treatments for lawns and trees.
Different pests have different life cycles and require treatment at specific times of year.
4. What Are You Getting for Your Money? And Does Your Lawn Actually Need It?
More steps don’t automatically mean a lawn care plan is better.
Some lawn care companies might offer an 8-step program that seems more expensive than Lawn Buddies' 6-step program. That means you’re getting more needed treatments, right?
Not always. Here in Idaho, our growing season isn’t very long. Some companies might be doing lawn care treatments too early or too late in the season to do any good, in order to fit in a couple of extra steps.
You don’t want to be charged for treatments your lawn doesn’t really need.
5. Misidentifying Lawn and Tree Diseases
Identifying lawn and tree diseases is tricky. Many have similar symptoms. It takes training, skill, and experience.
A lawn care company might identify bugs in your lawn and spray a contact insecticide. You’re relieved, assuming the bugs are treated.
But maybe those particular bugs really needed a systemic insecticide that travels down into your lawn’s roots, where the bugs are feeding.
All lawn bugs aren’t the same, and don’t require the same exact treatments to kill them. They have different habits and different life cycles.
The right product at the right time is important.
Is Your Lawn Ready for a New Best Friend?
Best friends don’t keep lawn care secrets.
At Lawn Buddies, we’re open and honest about the services we offer, the products we use, and the prices we charge.
You can find our prices and service details right on our website.
Questions? Please, ask us.
Meanwhile, we keep things up front and simple.
With Lawn Buddies, there’s no puzzling over a weed control visit here or a fertilizer treatment there. No stressing about which complicated combination of services is best for your lawn.
You don’t have time to fuss with all that.
Give yourself a break with a lawn care company in Idaho Falls that makes things easy.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Just fill out the form on this page, call us at (208) 656-9131 or read more about our services. Then you can kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.
