The Best Lawn Care Service Companies of May 2024
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We recommend TruGreen as the best lawn care company. It offers high-end, comprehensive lawn care services, as well as options for pest control and tree and shrub care.
Every homeowner wants a gorgeous green lawn, but not everyone has the time and energy to make their yard picture-perfect. Bringing in lawn care experts can save you the hassle and see your yard restored to its full potential.
With so many lawn care services across the country, it can be difficult to find the best fit for you and your lawn. We researched and rated dozens of lawn care companies on key factors, including plans, services, and customer service quality. We recommend TruGreen as our top pick due to its variety of lawn care plans and commitment to customer service. This guide outlines our top seven recommendations, ranging from comprehensive all-in-one lawn services to specialty DIY subscriptions.
Key Takeaways
Who Are the Top Lawn Care Companies of 2024?
Our top recommended lawn care services are these:
How Do the Best Lawn Care Service Companies Compare?
To rate the top lawn care services, we utilized a comprehensive methodology that considers factors such as plan options, additional benefits and customizability, availability, trustworthiness, customer service, and more. Here’s how each company stacks up against the others:
Our Top Picks For Lawn Care Service Companies
What Is Lawn Care?
Lawn care is an umbrella term that encompasses services dedicated to improving and maintaining lawn health. These services include everything from basic mowing to comprehensive soil treatment. Some of the most common lawn care services include the following:
- Debris removal
- Fertilization
- Leaf blowing
- Mowing
- Overseeding
- Weed removal and weed control
- Pest removal (lawn grubs, aphids, mosquitoes, ticks, etc.)
- Soil aeration
- Tree and shrub management
- Trimming
How Much Does Lawn Care Service Cost?
According to our research, the average cost of lawn care services is between $100 and $200 per month. The exact price of your lawn care plan will vary based on the size of your lawn and the treatments you need—larger lawns and a wide variety of treatments like aeration or tree services will increase your price.
What Lawn Care Service Factors Should You Consider?
With many options to choose from, considering your preferences for each of these factors will help you choose a DIY or full-service lawn care that meets your lawn’s individual needs.
When looking into lawn care companies, it’s important to think about what kind of treatments you want. Do you need extensive lawn care, covering fertilization, weed control, core aeration, and overseeding? Or do you have fewer needs and want a streamlined plan?
- Aeration: This process removes soil cores, so your lawn has little holes in it for water, grass seed, and fertilizer to enter. This treatment allows you to breathe new life into parts of your lawn that might otherwise be dead.
- Overseeding: This treatment sees a lawn care professional add new seedlings onto existing turf. This promotes overall turf health and development, and it can assist in replacing worn-out grass.
- Fertilization: Typically a flagship service offering of lawn care companies, this treatment has a technician place granular fertilizer across your lawn to promote its health.
- Weed control: Another popular lawn care service, weed control varies from company to company. Each company will most likely use a custom product and approach to treat the weeds in your yard.
- Soil pH control: This process measures your soil’s pH and restores a balance to it through the addition of lime.
Many lawn care companies offer the option for customers to pick between organic and chemical products.
- Chemical: These products are often a blend of chemical formulas that work to treat your lawn through non-natural means. They are tested to make sure they do not cause damage to your lawn, and they often yield results faster than organic products.
- Organic: These products are typically more eco-friendly, with reduced risk to your pets or children. These products are often naturally occurring substances or treatment methods that assist in your lawn’s health. They sometimes take longer to yield results.
What to Look for When Hiring a Lawn Care Company?
To choose the best lawn care service, consider these details for each company:
What Type of Service is Offered?
Many lawn care services provide comprehensive treatment and maintenance options, sending out professional crews to do the work. But if you enjoy taking care of your lawn, it may be worth considering a DIY subscription service. This will alleviate you having to decide on the specific treatment options for your lawn, but you will still be responsible for the work.
What’s the Company’s Reputation?
Reputation and industry standing can tell you a lot about whether you should put your trust in the hands of a certain company. Examine the company’s history as well as expert reviews to get a sense of its reliability, professionalism, and competence.
Is Scheduling an Issue?
Different lawn care companies have unique schedules for when they visit your home. Find a lawn care company that offers visits that sync up to your schedule. Some providers arrive frequently to maintain your lawn, but others may only visit a few times per growing season. Subscription services also vary in timing, and it’s important to understand the specifics.
How Much Do They Cost?
We always recommend getting several quotes before making your ultimate decision. It’s also a good idea to inquire about how billing is done, in case you are concerned about auto-renewal.
Do They Have Enough Training and Experience?
Some lawn care companies, such as TruGreen, advertise the training process their specialists go through to highlight how intensive the program is. You’re better off with more experienced specialists on your lawn rather than newcomers, so this is something to consider.
Are They Licensed and Insured?
Ensure your lawn care provider is properly licensed and insured (also called “bonded”). Each state has different rules on licensing for lawn care providers. Some states don’t require licenses, while others may only require licensing if the contractor performs certain services or is of a certain size.
Those states requiring a license will have a department or oversight agency that issues contractor licensing. These departments often provide a lookup tool for checking your landscaper’s license. Typically, the state’s Department of Agriculture handles these licenses.
We recommend looking up your state’s lawn care licensing and bonding laws. Then, ensure your landscaper or lawn service provider has been licensed through your state’s appropriate agency. You can check their insurance status by asking which company provides their insurance and requesting a policy number.
Do They Offer any Guarantees?
You don’t want to pay for professional lawn care only to have the end result look unsatisfactory. Make sure the lawn care company you choose offers a guarantee to return as needed to re-treat at no extra cost. Always read the fine print of the provider’s guarantee to verify that it covers your specific lawn care plan.
What Are the Advantages of Hiring a Professional Lawn Care Service?
Professional lawn care services carry several benefits. The first and most important is increasing your lawn’s overall health and quality. Well-cared-for lawns last longer, look better, and are less expensive to maintain. Professional lawn care companies have the experience, tools, and training to ensure your lawn stays at peak health all year round.
Another benefit of hiring a professional lawn care company is the pest prevention that comes with a better-maintained lawn. Pests such as mice, earwigs, termites, and slugs are drawn to unruly lawns. Keeping your lawn in pristine condition acts as a preventative barrier to these pests. Many lawn care companies offer pest prevention services for lawn pests, including slugs, lawn grubs, and mosquitoes.
Pros and Cons of Professional vs. DIY Lawn Care
Professional lawn care has a higher price tag but offers high-quality results for minimal effort on the part of the homeowner. If you love spending time outdoors, the extra time and effort required for DIY lawn care may be worth it, and you have more control over your lawn.
Professional Lawn Care
DIY Lawn Care
What Lawn Care Service Is Right for You?
Professional or subscription lawn care can take the guesswork out of lawn maintenance and boost your home’s curb appeal. If your lawn is in need of customized care or you don’t have time to nourish your yard regularly, consider calling in the experts.
TruGreen offers a customizable variety of plans across the broadest region. We also like its convenient online chat function and mobile app for ease in customer service. Sunday sends out expert-developed, nutrient-packed lawn care kits to customers through a subscription service.
No matter what your lawn needs, we always recommend getting quotes from multiple companies to help determine which one is best for you.
FAQs about Lawn Care Services
What is the cost of a lawn treatment?
In our secret-shopping process, we found that the average cost of lawn treatment per square foot is approximately $0.05 to $0.25. Annual plans can run from $250 to $1,400 on average, depending on the size of your lawn and the treatments you receive. If you want to reduce lawn treatment costs, you may opt for DIY lawn care or choose a simple fertilizer and weed control service.
Who is the competitor of TruGreen?
Popular competitors for TruGreen’s full-service lawn care include Lawn Doctor, Weed Man, and Lawn Love. DIY companies like Sunday and Lawnbright are also popular. However, after extensive research, we named TruGreen our overall pick thanks to its re-treatments, convenient mobile app, years of experience, and excellent customer service.
What are the benefits of TruGreen service?
TruGreen service can benefit your lawn by improving the health and appearance of your outdoor space. Treatments include aeration, overseeding, soil amendments, fertilization, lawn insect control, and tree and shrub care. TruGreen offers both stand-alone treatments and annual plans.
What is in a lawn care subscription plan?
Many lawn care subscription plans include fertilizers, weed control, and grass seed that you will need to apply yourself. Plans will vary among providers and can include extras, such as a pet spot treatment and pest control.
How does aeration help my lawn?
Aeration is a process that uses a machine to remove plugs of soil from your yard. This reduces compaction and allows nutrients to more easily penetrate the soil.
How should I start improving my lawn?
To start improving your lawn, you should choose a plan from a lawn care service that includes fertilization and weed control. You may also want to consider a provider that offers overseeding with the appropriate grass seed for your area of the country to keep your yard full and healthy.
Our Rating Methodology
We back up our lawn recommendations with a detailed rating methodology that we use to objectively score each provider. We review lawn care plans and packages, navigate the provider website and speak with customer service representatives, request quotes, and analyze customer reviews for each provider. We then score the provider against our review standards for plan options, additional benefits and customizability, availability, trustworthiness, and customer service to arrive at a final score out of 100.
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