Choosing a Lawn Care Company
Most homeowners enjoy working on their yards, but sometimes professional help is needed for certain operations such as insect control, irrigation installation, etc. If you are unprepared to conduct these types of operations yourself, a lawn care company provides a viable option.
The degree of service offered varies among companies with some offering only fertilizer and pest control applications and others offering complete lawn maintenance. Even with complete lawn maintenance services, the homeowner will still be expected to properly water and mow their lawn. If irrigation or mowing practices are not properly performed, even the best fertilizer and pest management applications will not result in a healthy lawn.
Take time to fully understand what the lawn service company will be providing and understand what results to expect. Be realistic in your expectations and understand that sometimes overriding factors such as extremely poor soil or unusual weather conditions can negatively impact even the best planned maintenance program.
Lawn care companies vary in the type of service they provide and the degree of professionalism and expertise of the employees. When choosing a lawn-care company, consider the flexibility of the programs offered. Will they skip a spring fertilization in place of a fall application? Will they skip a spring crabgrass control application and apply a post application if needed? The response time of the company also is important. How quickly can a technician be on site to evaluate your lawn?
The level of expertise is perhaps most important. Responsible lawn-care companies will be members of state and national lawn-care associations and will have employees that are certified landscape technicians (CLT). Certification is a national hands-on testing program administered by U.S. state landscape/nursery associations that seek to recognize proficiency in the landscape profession and provide the public with a means of identifying qualified landscape professionals. You should hire companies that have CLTs on staff because they have demonstrated their professionalism in the industry and have validated their landscape skills. Ask lawn care companies if they have CLTs on staff or if they are members of the Environmental Care Association of Idaho (ECA of Idaho), Professional Lawncare Association of America, or Associated Landscape Contractors of America. If they are, this tells you the company takes it profession seriously and participates in educational activities to remain abreast of the latest technology and information. A list of companies that are members of ECA of Idaho can be found at the following website: