Hiring a lawn or landscaping service

Lawn and landscape companies sell anything from a single fertilizer visit to a package of visits through the whole growing season. The packages differ in what they put on the lawn as much as in price, and the lowest price doesn't guarantee the best results. A few questions before you hire show what each one does.

Decide what you need

Start with the work itself, and how often you want it:

• Weekly mowing
• Fertilizing and lime, by season
• Weed and pest control
• Aeration and overseeding
• Leaf cleanup in fall

Set a budget, and ask friends and neighbors which companies they use. A company that will do a single visit lets you see the work before you commit to a season.

The questions to ask

• How long has the company been in business, and can it give you local customers to call?
• What does each package include, and what happens at each visit?
• When does it fertilize the lawn, and the trees and shrubs? What type of fertilizer, and how much?
• Does it apply lime, and does it test the soil first?
• Does it spray pesticides on a set schedule, or scout for problems and treat only when it finds one?
• Is the company licensed to apply pesticides, and are its technicians trained?
• Is it insured or bonded, in case something goes wrong? Ask for proof.
• Can it change the timing of a visit for rain or heat?
• What are the cancellation terms and the payment schedule?

Reading the answers

Fertilizer

On a cool-season lawn, spring and fall feedings are enough. Summer feeding adds stress to turf that's already coping with heat and dry weather, and can bring on disease and insects. If you buy a single feeding, make it a slow-release fertilizer in the fall.

Trees and shrubs are best fed while they're dormant, from late fall to early spring. A good company moves a scheduled feeding when the rainfall or temperature calls for it. For warm-season grass, the timing runs the other way, and a lawn care calendar for your grass type covers both.

Pesticides

Regular preventive sprays are usually not the best way to control lawn disease and insects, and the product is wasted when no problem is present. A company that scouts for pests and sprays only when it finds them can save you money. A few recurring problems on certain trees do need a preventive spray, and a good company can tell you which.

Lime and aeration

A soil test shows the lawn's pH, and lime corrects soil that's too acidic. If lime isn't in the package and your soil needs it, you'll have to put it down yourself.

Core aeration once a year pulls plugs of soil out of the lawn and helps prevent thatch and compaction. A lawn kept to a high standard needs it.

Once the work starts

Your part doesn't end with the hire. Ask the technicians what they applied at each visit, and check it matches what you agreed. If the company offers organic fertilizer, integrated pest management or water-saving practices and you want them, ask for them in the quote. A single visit or a short trial shows the quality of the work and how quickly the company answers calls. Judge both before you commit to a long contract.

An annotated example

What to do next

Write down the services you need and how often, then call two or three companies. Ask each one for a written quote that lists the visits and what each includes, and compare the packages as well as the prices. For hiring in general, the questions to ask before you hire anyone covers references and written quotes.