OT: Lawn Care service worth the price?

lkapigian

fishlessman said:

Hokie_Smoker said:

I tried to do it myself for the first 6 years I lived in my current house but I was spending about $400 per year on the materials, treating it myself and not getting the results I wanted. I spend $640 per year now with a lawn service and I have no weeds and a really healthy looking yard, I do mow myself but I leave the chemicals to the pros and it shows.

if your going to do it this is a good plan, mowing it yourself. i drive thru a pretty upscale neighborhood just before turning onto my street and the whole area was done by the same landscaper, he cut someones grass that had some type of grass/weed and then with the same mower did that whole neighborhood and spread that diseased looking grass onto everyones lawn, big patches of grass that lays flat when stepped on or rained on

Exactly- Worth the extra $$

hondabbq

RRP said:

hondabbq said:

I couldnt afford that with my 4 acres. Hell, it costs me $15 to just cut the grass.

You get 4 acres mowed for $15??? You must have slave labor available up there! When I was laid up a few years ago I had to pay $50 to have my small less than 5K sq ft lawn mowed! And that was the going rate in spite of strong competition with 4 groups that do many yards in our town.

That's just gas for the tractor.

RRP

hondabbq said:

RRP said:

hondabbq said:

I couldnt afford that with my 4 acres. Hell, it costs me $15 to just cut the grass.

You get 4 acres mowed for $15??? You must have slave labor available up there! When I was laid up a few years ago I had to pay $50 to have my small less than 5K sq ft lawn mowed! And that was the going rate in spite of strong competition with 4 groups that do many yards in our town.

That's just gas for the tractor.

Sorry - I was thinking maybe you had the goods on Little Steven and you were blackmailing him to mow for $15!

WeberWho

I borrow my parents pull behind sprayer in the spring/fall.  I always make sure to spray when my neighbors are home.  You would think after 3 years that they might get a clue. Wishful thinking I guess.  They have cut down the dandelions more often which I do appreciate.  

MrCookingNurse

Eggcelsior said:

Mine is paid through my HOA dues, which is kinda nice since I don't have to worry about old people getting mad if my grass gets 3/16" too high or has dandelions.

If I was in your boat: On one hand, I enjoy yardwork/gardening so I wouldn't mind doing it myself. The flipside is that I enjoy family time and going out with my kids on weekends, so the amortized investment of 80 bucks/month is worth it to me.

Exactly what he said. I love being outside and stuff but don't have time and don't wanna get in trouble with the wife or the neighbors if I get to slacking.  Obviously much cheaper to do my own fertilizer and stuff but my time is worth more than anything these days. 

LadyGT

I think the big question to ask yourself, is your time worth $500? I called a couple of lawn care companies and my husband said no way to paying that kind of money when he can do it himself. 

I sprayed my front lawn last weekend for less than $50 by using 3 hose end ready weed killers purchased at Lowes.  This is the first time I did this so I am eager to see how it effective it is.  It took me less than an hour to spray the front yard for weeds and 15 min. or less to put granular pesticides in the mulched flower beds to kill all kinds of creepy crawly things.

One week later, I see clover dying. The real test is the dandelions. lol. If the spray is not effective on them, then on to Weed-n-Feed or Weed-B-Gone. lol. If none of those products, then I would consider a professional.

DoubleEgger

Typical professional lawn treatments are around $50. @LadyGT  you didn't save any money. 

LadyGT

According to the bottles used, I only have to apply this stuff 2x a year while TrueGreen and Weedman come monthly.  We have centipede grass and it only needs to be fertilized 2x a year. I am a gardening person as it is so I do not mind doing whatever has to be done. For $500, I can buy a lot of fertilizer and concentrate at Lowes which will last me more than a year.

For the member who has broadleaf violets, your options to remove them from your property is to dig it up or find a specific herbicide to kill it. Not knowing what they were nor how intrusive, I brought some home in a flower pot because I thought it was pretty. The following spring I found some in my flowerbeds and now in the lawn on one side of our yard. Whenever I have time, I hunt them down and dig them up.

 

Botch

A timely thread, thank you!
I despise the fertilizer industry and the lawn treatment business!!

I moved here 19 years ago last December, the previous owner had already paid the treatment company for the next year, and I had the best lawn on the block, by far (that's not pride talking).  I continued to use them, one treatment in the spring, and beautiful lawn.
Then, suddenly, they wanted to do TWO treatments a year,  Um, okay.  Then, THREE.  I finally got disgusted and started doing it myself; and now I'm reading above that they've gone to SEVEN treatments.  
This is BS!!  The single treatment I got two decades ago WORKED FINE; the additional treatments are just profit margin, and I'm sure the fertilizer industry is putting less into the bag to support this racket.  Sadly, even going with four applications a year by myself, my lawn is looking worse and worse (now one of the worst in the neighborhood) so I'm probably gonna get TruGreed or someone to come in for a couple years, get it back into shape.  
If it can bounce back, then decline yearly for another 19 years, I'll be dead by then and they can bury me in the front yard as a callipygian bicycle rack.  I'm also considering doing a xeriscape in the back yard, no mowing at all and it'd blend in a lot better with my porch/patio project of a couple years ago, will also do better with the expected increasing drought in the West.    

jtrivers87

Do it yourself. Its not hard especially if you have a small yard. You don't need to spend a lot of money on products from the "big box stores". Go to a Tractor Supply and you will be able to find most of the chemicals and fertilizer you need there. You don't need any license to apply any of the products you need. If your yard is small (less than an acre) you can do it for less than $100 per year. I own an agriculture chemical and fertilizer company and can give you some recommendations. Pm me if you have questions. I'd be happy to help out a fellow buckeye!

MaskedMarvel

jtrivers87 said:

Do it yourself. Its not hard especially if you have a small yard. You don't need to spend a lot of money on products from the "big box stores". Go to a Tractor Supply and you will be able to find most of the chemicals and fertilizer you need there. You don't need any license to apply any of the products you need. If your yard is small (less than an acre) you can do it for less than $100 per year. I own an agriculture chemical and fertilizer company and can give you some recommendations. Pm me if you have questions. I'd be happy to help out a fellow buckeye!

I love the way those tractor supply places smell when you first walk in...  Weird, right?

LadyGT said:

For the member who has broadleaf violets, your options to remove them from your property is to dig it up or find a specific herbicide to kill it. Not knowing what they were nor how intrusive, I brought some home in a flower pot because I thought it was pretty. The following spring I found some in my flowerbeds and now in the lawn on one side of our yard. Whenever I have time, I hunt them down and dig them up.

 

That was me.  The trick isn't so much trying to rid them out of my yard, as it is trying to kill them in my neighbors' yards.  It's a cultural thing here, and hopefully they'll get on board soon..

NDG

jtrivers87 PM Sent.  Thanks.