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Hiring the Best Lawn Mowing Service Near Me
While some people really enjoy the sun on their shoulders as they meticulously mow stripes into their yard on a hot afternoon, others simply don’t. They may not have the right equipment, or the physical ability, or the inclination. They may be busy, and the only times they can mow are early mornings, when the neighbors are sleeping and the grass is wet. Fortunately, everyone from enterprising teenagers to large-corporation landscaping companies is ready and willing to provide this necessary service. In fact, there are so many lawn-care services for hire that it can be difficult to sort out exactly what you need and how much you should pay for it. We’ll break down the services lawn-care professionals can provide and help you figure out how to choose the best one for you.
Cost of a Lawn Mowing Service Near Me
Lawn mowing service costs will vary tremendously based on your geographic location; different parts of the country have longer or shorter growing seasons, different landscapes, and different challenges. One of the first steps you should take when considering hiring for lawn care is to do a little research on the cost range in your area—in other words, your question should not be “how much does a lawn mowing service cost,” but “how much does a lawn mowing service near me cost?” Online cost comparison sites, local social media pages, and word of mouth are great ways to find out what companies charge for services, and they will give you a range to explore. Costs will also be dependent on the degree of services you’ll need—basic mowing once a week? Careful weed-whacking and yard cleanup? Weed and insect treatment and fertilizer? A basic mowing averages between $30 and $80 nationally, or approximately $175 per acre of grass. Hourly, this comes out to be between $25 and $60 per hour. Landscape maintenance will add an average of $125 to $430 per visit, depending on what you’re having done. Other companies break down their costs hourly, which can be trickier to work out, so in those cases be sure you pin down how long the provider expects your lawn to take.
Often the total costs will be lower if you choose to pay for a season- or year-long contract with services bundled together for complete care at a lower cost, which can discount the price by as much as 25 percent. Lawn companies that have to travel a distance to get to your home will expect to be compensated for that time, too, so try to look locally. Once you have an idea of the cost range and the services you’d like, you can begin asking for quotes from different providers.
Common Jobs a Lawn Mowing Service Near Me Can Do
Lawn mowing services can do much more than keep your grass clipped; most companies or entrepreneurs offer a wide range of landscaping and grass care services. When they’re part of a larger landscaping company, the range of services is even wider, but most companies focused on lawns won’t offer larger equipment-based landscaping services such as grading or digging. Common jobs that lawn mowing services can usually do include:
- Basic lawn mowing care: This can be on a schedule you agree to ahead of time.
- Fertilizing: A good lawn-care company will offer a range of fast- and slow-release fertilizers, organic, child- and pet-safe options, and seasonal treatments to keep your lawn healthy and fresh.
- Weed Treatments: This can include physical weed removal, chemical treatments, and overseeding to thicken the grass and repel weed growth.
- Watering: Some companies will tend to your lawn’s watering needs weekly or while you’re away, or they can install sprinkler systems that automate the process of watering to deliver the right amount just when your lawn needs it.
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Edging: This involves tidying the edges of gardens, walkways, and curbs with either neatly sliced turf or attractive lines of bricks, pavers, or concrete.
Seasonal cleanup and preparation: This can include leaf removal (if you feel it’s necessary), spring and fall yard cleanup, and winterization
Do I Need a Lawn Mowing Service Near Me?
Most towns and cities have laws and ordinances governing how the yards in their area have to look. This guidance often includes the appearance of the lawn. If you don’t have the time or ability to regularly mow your lawn or simply prefer not to, then hiring a lawn mowing service is a necessity to avoid tickets and citations. Even if you enjoy mowing and keeping up your lawn and landscaping, it’s worth checking out the services that lawn mowing services provide: It may be helpful to look at their services during times you’re away on vacation, for example, so that your home looks as well tended as you usually keep it. Or you can hire services for certain tasks such as spring and fall cleanup or weed maintenance and fertilizer application (often, products are more effective and less expensive when applied by a service rather than the homeowner). Finally, if you’ve been battling a weed or insect infestation in your lawn and can’t seem to beat it, lawn-care professionals may have the expertise and the products to fix the problem, so bringing them in to inspect and make recommendations would be beneficial.
DIY vs. Hiring a Professional Lawn Mowing Service Near Me
It may be that this decision is easy for you: You don’t have time to mow yourself, you can’t physically manage the mower, you don’t have a place to store the equipment, or you don’t want to give up the 2 or more hours per week during the height of the growing season to care for your lawn. If these things are clear to you, then start calling lawn mowing services near you. If you’re someone who finds mowing methodical and relaxing, an escape from sitting at your desk all week, and an opportunity to chat with your neighbors, the choice is similarly clear: Mowing and caring for your lawn is a pleasurable escape. If, however, you fall somewhere in the middle, there are some considerations to think about. Consider the time spent on mowing and maintaining the equipment (because your time, especially on the weekend, has a value). Add that to the cost of owning and maintaining the equipment, learning how to use it well, and the safety considerations included. If cost is the main concern, you may find that the difference between what you’ll “spend” to mow your own lawn and the money you’ll spend to hire someone else is smaller than you think.
There are benefits to hiring someone else to do this work for you: A professional will have expertise in both the equipment and lawn care, may be able to diagnose and correct problems more quickly and accurately, and is specifically insured against any injury. If you’d prefer to DIY and are hoping to save costs, you can take some steps to make the area you’ll be mowing smaller by planting ground cover plants or installing low-maintenance gardens to reduce the size of your lawn without increasing your workload. In the end, the balance of cost and effort will help you decide whether to care for your own lawn or hire a service, but it’s a good idea to explore all the options before making the choice.
How to Find a Reputable Lawn Mowing Service Near Me
If you’re going to hire someone to manage your mowing and lawn care, you’ll want to make sure they’re reliable and do quality work, especially if the purpose of the hire is to reduce your own stress levels—if your grass is knee-high and you’ve been making calls for 2 weeks with no response, you’re adding stress and paying for it. To avoid this, you’ll want to make sure you choose carefully.
- Talk to your neighbors. If there’s a company that services many yards in your area, you’ll be able to assess what kind of work the company does and how easy it is to work with.
- Contact several companies and inquire about the services they provide and the packages they offer, then compare. Don’t base this on pricing alone: Think hard about the services you do need, might need, and don’t need to find the company that best matches your priorities.
- Ask for an in-person estimate from companies you’re considering. This will allow you to ask questions and gauge how knowledgeable the contractor is about your grass, your area, and your concerns.
- Check local websites for reviews, both positive and negative, and check with the Better Business Bureau in your state.
- Look for a detailed, up-front contract that specifies the guaranteed services, the cost, and the potential services that may be recommended separately.
Questions to Ask Your Local Lawn Mowing Service
When hiring any contractor, you’ll want to ask questions about the company’s qualifications, registrations, licensing, and insurance. Insurance is especially important in lawn care and maintenance because the equipment the contractors will be using can cause injury to the workers and can potentially cause damage to your property. There are several other questions specific to lawn-care professionals that you’ll want answers for before you hire them.
- How long have you been in business?
- What kind of ongoing training do your workers have?
- Do you carry the same employees from year to year, or do you hire new workers seasonally?
- Are all of your workers insured and licensed?
- How will you protect my pets/children/yard/property?
- How often do you update your equipment?
- Who is my contact person if I have a question before, during, or after service?
- Do you have a set maintenance schedule for all clients, or can I customize what and when services are completed?
- What other services do you offer?
- What payment arrangements are available?
FAQs
You’ll need to consider what services you would like a lawn mowing service to provide, how often you’d like the services provided, and whether you’d prefer pay-as-you-go or a seasonal/yearly contract. Once you have a good grasp on those choices, you’ll have to start asking for estimates. But if you’re not sure, here are a few of the questions we’re asked most frequently that you can use as a starting point as you begin considering whether or not you would like to invest in this time- and labor-saving service.
Q. How much does it cost to have your lawn mowed?
Nationally, the average for a simple lawn mowing visit is between $25 and $60 per hour, or between $30 and $80 per visit, depending on your geographic area, the size of your lawn, and the complexity of the job.
Q. Are lawn mowing services available 24/7?
Especially if you work unusual hours, you may wonder if all services are available only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In general, you’ll find that lawn mowing and landscape services run with the weather: If a rainy day is expected, the day before may be packed from sunup to sundown (as local noise ordinances allow) for lawn mowing services to try to get to all their customers before the rain comes. If the weather isn’t suitable, services may be pushed off for a few days. While there aren’t companies that will necessarily mow in the dark of night (nor would most towns permit this), many companies have customer service representatives available 24/7 to answer your questions, schedule or reschedule services, or make payments, so you’ll be able to reach someone at any time.
Q. How can I know that a lawn mowing service is reliable?
The best way to ensure reliability is to do solid research and ask a lot of questions before contracting for the service. Ask neighbors, check local social media neighborhood sites, look at reviews and recommendations online, consult professional association sites, and look at rankings on the Better Business Bureau’s website. Once you’ve used these tools to narrow down your search, talk to and meet with the potential service providers to see if they can confidently answer your questions and are up-front. Ask them for references, then call them to check them out. And in the end, if you’ve done this research, you should be able to hire the contractor that best fits your landscape and budget and feels like a good fit.
