Sojourner
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2012
- Messages
- 2,603
I (like many others in my neighborhood) have been using a lawn treatment service for many years now. I started out with TruGreen Chemlawn about 12 years ago, but after several summers of very mediocre results and way too many weeds for my liking, I switched to a competitor. The competitor charges more ($46/service) but the results have been better. They come out roughly 8-9 times per year, so annual cost is roughly $400.
Lately, though, I've been wondering if this year-round, not-exactly-inexpensive service is really worth it. Having been ESR'd now for almost two years, I have had a number of opportunities to watch the entire process when the big truck rolls up out front and the service tech hops out and does his thing. Here are my observations.
1) Rarely does the tech stay on my property for more than about 5-7 minutes. My house sits on about 0.2 acres, and it takes me about 45 minutes to mow it with a push mower walking at a leisurely pace. The techs usually walk at a very fast pace all over the yard, kind of like they're "race walking". The consistency and thoroughness of their coverage of my yard seem to be driven by speed, with very little attention to detail.
2) Sometimes the tech will skip one of the side yards entirely. I suspect this is due to the inconvenience factor, since my back yard is fenced in and the gates on both sides of the house have latches (not locked) to keep the doors closed.
3) When they apply granular fertilizer, they don't exercise any sort of care in terms of trying to keep it on the yard and off the driveway and patio. So the result is little while granules all over the place that get stepped on or that my car runs over for the next week (unless I go out and use a big push broom to clear them away). Probably not harmful in any real way, but very messy and unsightly, not to mention wasteful.
I'm kind of on the fence about whether to continue with this service and try another local competitor, or maybe just try to handle it myself with some seasonal applications of fertilizer and weed killer. I'm pretty sure I could do a comparable job (and certainly a much more conscientious, careful job) of keeping my lawn green, well-fed, and weed-free, and I'd bet I could save a couple hundred dollars in the process.
What are your thoughts on these lawn treatment companies? Worth it for you, or not?
Lately, though, I've been wondering if this year-round, not-exactly-inexpensive service is really worth it. Having been ESR'd now for almost two years, I have had a number of opportunities to watch the entire process when the big truck rolls up out front and the service tech hops out and does his thing. Here are my observations.
1) Rarely does the tech stay on my property for more than about 5-7 minutes. My house sits on about 0.2 acres, and it takes me about 45 minutes to mow it with a push mower walking at a leisurely pace. The techs usually walk at a very fast pace all over the yard, kind of like they're "race walking". The consistency and thoroughness of their coverage of my yard seem to be driven by speed, with very little attention to detail.
2) Sometimes the tech will skip one of the side yards entirely. I suspect this is due to the inconvenience factor, since my back yard is fenced in and the gates on both sides of the house have latches (not locked) to keep the doors closed.
3) When they apply granular fertilizer, they don't exercise any sort of care in terms of trying to keep it on the yard and off the driveway and patio. So the result is little while granules all over the place that get stepped on or that my car runs over for the next week (unless I go out and use a big push broom to clear them away). Probably not harmful in any real way, but very messy and unsightly, not to mention wasteful.
I'm kind of on the fence about whether to continue with this service and try another local competitor, or maybe just try to handle it myself with some seasonal applications of fertilizer and weed killer. I'm pretty sure I could do a comparable job (and certainly a much more conscientious, careful job) of keeping my lawn green, well-fed, and weed-free, and I'd bet I could save a couple hundred dollars in the process.
What are your thoughts on these lawn treatment companies? Worth it for you, or not?
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