Top 5 Lawn Service Problems and How to Fix or Avoid Them

Using a commercial lawn care service should be a stress and worry free venture; however, sometimes this is not the case. In my 30+ years serving lawn care customers, I’ve heard some of the problems homeowners have had when using a lawn care company. I would like to address some of these issues and help you understand why they happen and what you can do to fix them or avoid them all together.

You’ve planned your son’s birthday party for months anticipating an enjoyable summer day with family and friends, but when you go outside to setup the chairs and lawn games, you see the lawn man has come and gone and is asking to keep people off the grass for 24 hours! This can be frustrating!
Solution: Ask for a simple reminder phone call, text, or e-mail a day or two before coming. Moore Green takes it a step further by contacting every customer before each service. If there are conflicts, let us know by text or phone and we can reschedule to a more convenient day.

Nothing is more aggravating than paying hard earned money for a service and not seeing any positive results. When it comes to weeds, be sure your lawn service includes weed control. The application may be a fertilizer only which will have no effect on the weeds.

Effective weed control may be hampered by watering too soon after a treatment or mowing the weedy lawn right before the treatment – eliminating the weeds’ ability to take in the herbicide through the leaves. Knowing when your service is to be done can help with proper turf care practices. Some companies choose to cut costs by spraying weeds with a hand tank instead of including it with the application. If the applicator doesn’t see the weed, he doesn’t spray it!

Solution: Know what your lawn treatments contain. Commercial companies are required by law to leave detailed information after a lawn treatment. Often times, the cheapest priced service is for fertilizer only and adding weed control results in extra charges. Moore Green prides itself by not using inferior products, and including weed control at certain times of the year as a blanket control, covering ‘unseen’ weeds.

Just when you get your lawn looking beautiful, insects invade and turn your lawn into a brown patchy mess. Insect damage is more visible in a dark green lawn than an unkept lawn. Having a professional lawn service fertilize the lawn doesn’t guarantee insects won’t be a problem.

Solution: If you don’t want turf damaging insects ruining your beautiful lawn, be sure you include insect control in your lawn care program.

A full service company finds aphids in your shrubs and takes action to keep the plants free from harm. If this is what you want, then that’s great, but if you think they may be inflating their sales numbers, then you have reason to be angry.

Solution: Ask your professional what they do when other problems are found in your landscape. Don’t sign anything without reading it. Moore Green only performs the services you ask for. If we find something wrong in other areas, we will bring it to your attention and only perform a service with your permission.

As a businessman, this one really chaps my hide. Every year there seems to be a new ‘up and coming’ lawn business that beats everyone’s price. They pick up a lot of customers quickly because they are so cheap and then disappear in the near future.

Solution: Choose a professional lawn service that has been in business for more than a couple of years and belongs to other professional associations. Calling the state’s consumer services or checking out the Better Business Bureau can provide a historical background for most businesses.