Are Lawn Care “Experts” Worth It? Should I Hire One?


You’ve tried to maintain a well-kept lawn for years, but no matter what you try, it just hasn’t worked out. That has you curious about possibly hiring a lawn care expert, although you’re still debating. Are these so-called experts legit? Should your hire one?

While lawn care scams certainly do exist, plenty of experts are legit and can indeed improve your lawn. These experts can quickly diagnose lawn diseases, fix ongoing issues, and help you achieve the lawn growth goals you were never able to reach yourself.

If you’re lingering on the fence about whether hiring a lawn care expert is worth your time and money, this article should help you decide. 

Are Lawn Care Experts Legit?

You’ve lived in your home for many years, so you sort of have the mindset of who could know your lawn better than you? 

You have all the tools, all the chemicals, and all the products at your disposal, but you still don’t quite get what you’re doing wrong. What could a quote-unquote expert do that you can’t?

Although it’s easy to feel dubious, lawn care experts are indeed real people. They’re also known as lawn care specialists.

There may not be any lawn care college degree, but lawn care experts understand the ins and outs of what makes a yard healthy. 

Their knowledge extends beyond what a simple Google search can tell you. 

They also have the experience to back it up. 

Most lawn care experts have worked in their role for years. In that time, they’ve seen all sorts of yard situations, from uneven yards with serious pitting and divots to yards that were riddled with disease. 

No plant, tree, or type of grass will phase a lawn care expert, as they’ve dealt with them all.  

We must add the caveat that while most lawn care experts do indeed offer legitimate services, not all do. 

How to Choose the Right Lawn Care Experts

So how do you sniff out the legit lawn care experts from the not-so-good ones? That’s simple, you have to commit to doing due diligence. 

Here’s what we recommend.

Do Your Homework

To start the process of finding a lawn care expert, all you have to do is go on Google (or your search engine of choice) and type in “lawn care experts in [name of your city or town].”

You should see plenty of results come up. 

Look at the names of the first 10 or 20 companies that show up in the search engine results. 

Do more than quickly click onto their website or social media but spend some time perusing each site. 

You want to get a clear idea of how long they’ve been in business, what kinds of services they offer, and even pricing if that information is available. 

From there, you can shorten your list of 20 lawn care companies to fewer than that. 

You can easily disqualify those companies that don’t have immediate availability, don’t offer the types of services you’re looking for, or are too far outside of your price range.

Read Reviews and Testimonials and Look at Before-and-After Photos

Another disqualifying factor is how well reviewed the lawn care company is. 

Every lawn care website worth it’s salt should have reviews on the site itself. If not, you can always look at their Google My Business account to see testimonials.

A reputable company will want to share reviews because customers will be pleased with their service. If you can’t find any reviews for the company, that’s a big red flag.

Remember that no matter how sterling its service, all companies will have some bad reviews. That’s inevitable. 

You’re not looking for the absence of bad reviews so much as you are the number of bad reviews in relation to the good ones. If there are more bad reviews than good ones, that is a red flag. 

One of the best things about hiring a lawn service professional is that you can see their results. 

Like a good lawn care company is eager to share its positive reviews, the site should have plenty of before-and-after photos of lawns for you to browse through. 

If these photos aren’t to your taste, then cross that company off your list.

Talk to the Lawn Care Expert

By now, you have a short list of lawn care companies you’re interested in possibly working with. 

Before you make your decision, you should meet with the expert or at least have a consultation over the phone.

During this conversation, the questions you ask are very important, as they help you gauge whether the company is truly a fit. 

Here are some questions for you to naturally slot into your conversation with the lawn care expert. 

You don’t have to ask them all if that feels uncomfortable to you, but the more questions you can ask, the better.

  • When my lawn has a problem, how long will I wait for someone at your company to come and check it out?
  • Do you do a soil test before you begin working on my lawn? 
  • Do I have to pay extra for additional services such as a lawn irrigation system or fungicide treatment or will these costs be included in the service price?
  • My biggest lawn issue is [insert whatever your problem is here], and I’ve tried [X, Y, Z solutions]. None have worked. What can you do for my lawn that I can’t? 
  • Do you have referrals? Can you recommend me some?
  • Are you insured?
  • Do you have a license or certification? Can I see it?
  • How long has your company been around?

Make the Hiring Decision

You don’t just want to interview one lawn care company but all the ones on your shortlist. 

After comparing pricing and interview responses, you should find it easier to narrow it down to one lawn care company you’re ready to hire. 

What Happens When You Hire a Lawn Care Expert? What Do They Do?

You’ve decided to hire a lawn care expert. How will things go moving forward once you have professional services in your corner? How long will it take until they start working on your ailing lawn?

Here is the process of a lawn care expert’s work. 

List and description of what lawn specialists do. 1. assess grass 2. treatment plan 3. Treat grass 4. on-going treatment

Lawn Scouting

The lawn care expert can only answer so many questions in person or over the phone about your yard. Sooner than later, they need to see the lawn to assess what’s wrong with it.

This is the first part of the process and is known as scouting.

During the scouting process, the lawn care expert will look over every square inch of your yard to assess what’s wrong. 

They’ll look for traces of disease, even subtle ones, as well as the presence of weeds, uneven terrain, and other issues.

You don’t have to be present for the scouting process, but keep in mind that the lawn care expert is going to want to talk to you soon thereafter, so you do want to be available that day. 

Game-Planning

After reviewing your lawn to determine where its weak points and strong points are, it’s time for a conversation with you, the homeowner. 

If you’re not available on the same day of the scouting, then the lawn care expert can call you to have a conversation about your lawn. Otherwise, they’ll send you an email describing their findings. 

Before applying treatments, the lawn care expert will make recommendations. Once you’re clear on what will be done with your lawn, the next phase of the process concludes. 

Lawn Treatment

The lawn expert can then get right to work applying the agreed-upon treatments to your yard to correct issues like weeds, diseases, uneven terrain, and more. 

As part of your lawn care service, the company might prune your overgrown trees or shrubs, mow your lawn, or provide recommendations about the proper grass length before mowing again. 

Ongoing Treatment and Recommendations

How long will a lawn care expert work on your lawn? That depends on the severity of the issue at hand and the extent of the work needed for remediation.

Unless it’s a very minor issue, you shouldn’t expect the lawn care expert to finish their work in one business day. You’ll get used to seeing them around your property for a while. 

During this time, they’ll track the progress of their work to show you how your yard has changed. 

For instance, before any work begins, they’ll take a before photo, then add to that with some after photos to showcase the growth and beauty of your restored lawn. 

Once the lawn care expert feels confident that your issue is taken care of, they will offer you care recommendations that you’re free to follow to maintain your lawn. 

My wife and I decided to keep our lawn specialists all year round to keep our grass looking its best. They fertilize for each season and apply pre-emergent weed killers regularly. Our lawn looked so good that most of our neighbors also decided to hire them.

Quick tip: Usually, these companies will issue credits on your statement if you refer them to friends, family, and neighbors.

How Much Does Professional Lawn Care Services Cost?

Naturally, as the lawn care expert gets to work, you will have questions about the costs of their services.

This is not something you should wait to find out until after they already start their work, as then it’s too late to go back. 

During the interviewing phase and certainly before you sign any contracts, you want to have a clear idea of service costs.

Those prices do vary. According to HomeGuide, here’s what you’ll pay for various lawn services:

  • Leaf removal – $50 to $80
  • Lawn seeding – $700
  • Landscaping – $3,000 to $15,950
  • Lawn fertilizing – $40 to $60 for each application of fertilizer
  • Lawn winterization – $350
  • Lawn weeding – $20 to $40 an hour
  • Lawn aeration – $80 to $175
  • Tree trimming – $250 to $500
  • Lawn mowing – $25 to $50
  • Sod installation – $1.50 a square foot
  • Landscaping maintenance – $150
  • Gardening – $60 to $200
  • Tree removal – $200 to $600
  • Pest control – $250
  • Lawn aeration – $75 to $250
  • Mulching – $15 to $65

Keep in mind that these are general prices. Your lawn care expert might charge more or less depending on factors such as geography, the extent of the work, and their experience level. Our company comes every 4-6 weeks for regular treatment and charges us $55 each, including fertilizing and weed control. 

The Benefits of Working with a Lawn Care Expert

Are you still not 100 percent certain whether hiring a lawn care expert is in your best interest? The following benefits ought to help you make up your mind!

You’ll Have More Time

It’s stressful taking care of your yard yourself, especially when your seemingly green thumb fails you and your lawn ends up with problems. 

Rather than spending all your spare time stressing and straining over the health of your lawn, you can entrust your yard to a professional.

You’ll have more time and less stress!

You’ll Feel Proud of Your Lawn Again

Have you forgotten what it’s like to enjoy your yard rather than feel embarrassed by it?

If so, then a lawn care expert could be just what you need. 

Although your yard won’t be better overnight, with time and professional assistance, your lawn will eventually come around and look better than it has in years. Maybe it even looks better than it ever has. 

You’ll enjoy spending time in your front yard or backyard, and maybe you’ll even consider having friends, family, or neighbors over again.

You’ll Save Money

We won’t pretend that all the lawn care services in the section prior are cheap, as many aren’t. 

However, the money you spend on a lawn care expert guarantees that your lawn will look better and be healthier.

How many hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, have you shelled out on the latest lawn gadget or treatment, hoping it would fix your lawn only to find it doesn’t? That money doesn’t go towards anything. 

You won’t have to play any more trial and error games once you hire a lawn care professional. They’ll do what works, and you’ll spend only the necessary money on your lawn. 

Your Curb Appeal Could Increase

It’s the dream of every homeowner to have a valuable home.

You’ll recall from another recent article on the blog that one of the most high-value additions to any home is a well-manicured lawn. 

With your lawn care expert working so hard to keep your yard looking its best, your yard will be more valuable than ever, and so will your home.

Final Thoughts

Although it’s natural to be dubious about lawn care experts, the ones with positive reviews and testimonials can make a night-and-day difference in the quality, beauty, and health of your yard.

We hope this guide inspires you to at least consider a lawn care expert, if not, hire one outright! 

Geoff

Geoff Southworth is the creator of RealEstateInfoGuide.com, the site that helps new homeowners, investors, and homeowners-to-be successfully navigate the complex world of property ownership. Geoff is a real estate investor of 8 years has had experience as a manager of a debt-free, private real estate equity fund, as well as a Registered Nurse in Emergency Trauma and Cardiac Cath Lab Care. As a result, he has developed a unique “people first, business second” approach to real estate.

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