FAQ

Answers to your most frequently asked lawn service questions.

How are my applications scheduled and how often can I expect you out?

Applications are spaced [roughly] every 6-8 weeks, depending on the weather & your particular program. If weeds come up in between visits, give us a call. We'll get a technician out as soon as possible to apply the weed control.

What is a lawn care program?

Our most common lawn care program consist of applications 1-5 and a grub control. You may modify your program and/or services to meet your lawns specific needs at any time. Other popular lawn care services for outside site work include: Lawn Fertilization, Weed & Vegetation Control, Insect Control Services, Disease Control for your lawn or trees, Tree & Shrub Care Services. We offer a wide variety of solutions and can build a custom program to fit you.

What Weeds Are Controlled With Weed Control?

Liquid weed control is a target-specific herbicide; that means it will only target broadleaf weeds while leaving your turf grass alone (will not cause damage to your grass). Plants like Dandelions, Plantain, Clover, Spurge, Poison Ivy, Ground Ivy and Many Others will be targeted. Weed control does not target crabgrass though. To properly target crabgrass a pre-emergent herbicide should be put down in the beginning of the season prior to germination.

I Want To Seed My Yard:

Do it in late summer/ early fall! One of the most common misconception of lawn care is to seed in spring or summer - not so. During the later growing season, your soil temperatures are already above the germination degree, weather is [usually] wetter and you are not applying a pre-emergent crabgrass control along side it. Target time to seed starts mid-late August and moves through most of the fall.

What is a roll over service?

A service roll over is pretty common for companies like ours. After one season ends, your services automatically roll over to the next season. For example, your lawn care applications will remain active and automatically be on schedule for the next season unless you let us know otherwise. If needed, we can contact you prior to coming out the next season. Just let one of our staff know and we will add a call ahead note to your account.

Does Grub Control also Control Moles?

We hear this question often... So often that it was actually the inspiration for this FAQ. The fact is grub control does not control moles. It's not a mole repellant nor a pesticide that targets mammals. It does, however, control the grub population in your yard and grubs are one of the things moles eat. Moles also eat earthworms (which is actually their preferred food source) and subsurface insects.

What happens if it rains after a Chemical lawn care application?

Grounds Services use granular fertilizer pellets and liquid weed control. Rain will actually help the granular fertilizer break down and get into the soil - however, if there is a lot of rain then the granular fertilizer may be washed off the surface or leach right through. Liquid weed control will need to be reapplied if it has rained within 2 hours after our visit. We try very hard to route our services as so rain does not cause conflicts with your services, though in the event it happens, give us a call to set up a technician visit.

How long do my kids and pets need to stay off the lawn?

You want the product to dry completely (about 3 hours) before allowing minimal activity on the lawn (such as to let your pet go to the bathroom), though we would recommend waiting until the next day for regular activity. We also offer pre notification options so you can prepare your lawn, family and pets. Call to find out what we can do for you.

Fertilizer and Grass Eating Dogs:

Some pets are known for their grass-eating habits. If you have a pet which munches on the grass it is recommended to water the fertilizer in (10-20 minutes) before allowing normal activity on the lawn for your pet. The reason is that the nitrogen in the fertilizer has a salty taste which promotes the dog to try and consume more of it if they are grass-eaters. They will get an upset stomach if they eat too much fertilizer. If this happens give your pet water to help move the nitrogen through his or her system faster.

Can you tell me when you will be coming?

Yes! We can do a call ahead or text. Let us know what works for you!

When can I mow my lawn?

If you plan on bagging the grass clippings, we ask that you wait 1-2 days. If you do not plan on bagging your clippings, you may mow the next day since the fertilizer will be discharged back into the lawn.

Why so much moss?

Moss can be unsightly and difficult to get rid of in the lawn. Moss prefers areas in the lawn have high moisture and lots of shade. Another contributing factor could be lack of certain nutrients in the soil or a ph that's not neutral.

Refund Policy

If you prepay for services for a year and something comes up (winter comes early, moving, financial, any reason), you may request a refund for services which have not been completed or any cash on account. We are unable to refund for services which have already been completed, though if you are not satisfied with your service or if the lawn is not responding as expected, we will work with you to get your lawn looking great!

Guarantees

Most of our services have a 4 week window of guarantee:

Broadleaf weed controls (including weed control done with an application) and Glyphosate. If weeds pop back up in the lawn, call us within the 4 week time frame and we will spray them again at no additional cost. *Crabgrass is not a broadleaf weed and requires an early spring application of pre-emergence for control. On average, crabgrass control offers 80 - 90% of control. If you had the first application of the season and experience breakthrough, please contact our office for a post-emergence application.

Insect Controls (Tree/Shrub, Bug Shield, Surface Feeding). If insects continue to be an issue, contact us within the 4 week time frame and we will spray them again at no additional cost.

Turf Fungicides: If fungus or disease activity reoccurs within a 4 weeks period of time after the initial service, contact us for a no cost reapply.

Season Long:

Application # 1 - Crabgrass prevention. If you had our application # 1 with the crabgrass prevention and crabgrass breaks through, give us a call for a post-em to control it.

Grub Control - If we apply a grub control as a preventative to your lawn and you get grubs later in the season, give us a call. We will apply additional insecticide as well as aerate and seed the areas that were damaged by the grubs.** Please note: grub control is not a mole control. If your targeted pest are moles, we recommend trapping, baiting or other method for control. We can not guarantee that moles will not tunnel through your lawn.

Aeration/Seeding and Slice/Seeding: We will back our seeding services up if 1.) the customer has the application program (so we know what services the lawn has had) and 2.) We provide the seed.

If these two conditions are met and the seed did not germinate as expected, give us a call for a no cost re-aeration and seeding for the areas that did not take from the original service. For more information about aeration/seeding or slice/seeding: click here to check out our lawn and landscape tips page.

Other Services:

Soil amendments (lime, sulfur, gypsum, milorganite, nutrient boosters, etc.): A soil profile takes time to change and these amendments do not work over night. These services do not carry the same guarantee as the majority of services above because they should have continuous monitoring and sometimes annual applications to keep them in check. A soil test once a year or once every other year can help monitor the soil profile.

Tree/Shrub Fungicides: We can not guarantee that your trees will not get fungus activity again or, in some cases such as apple scab, ever be cured. Spores can spread from neighboring trees and reinfest (apple scab is a little different as once the tree has it, annual treatments are needed to prevent it from infesting the tree that season).

Spidermites, scale and other tree/shrub insect activity: Spidermites, scale and other insects can be controlled, though a reinfestation could occur if neighboring trees have these pest.

If you have questions, call Grounds Services today at 567-952-0057.