Lawn Maintenance - What Are You Paying?

[Liquidfluidity]

Moved into a new place and the yard is just horrible. Looking at roughly 13k sq. ft. Dandelions , Crabgrass , thistle , Clover , and the list goes on. I'm trying a few things myself but I think I am going to get some estimates from a few places for a yearly maintenance - weedkiller , Crabgrass preemergents , fertilizer , etc. Looks like 4-6 visits a year. The one I just got was $65 a shot and looks like 4 visits. He said he's probably overestimating yard size so others may be slightly cheaper. The cost would be adjusted accordingly. So , what are you guys paying?

 

[arcenite]

Just ask oldsmoboat. He does my lawn for a 6 pack and rent-free use of my basement.

 

[Texashiker]

So , what are you guys paying?

About $8 a month for lawnmower gasoline.

 

[BillGates]

$169/year, 5 treatments thru the year for the various seasonal treatments necessary, 5000sq ft of lawn.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

my front yard is like a 6'x1' strip that my dog keeps pretty well ruined with his piss. i covered the backyard (25'x20') in rocks and dug a pond, so that took care of that too

a definite advantage of a townhouse. bad memories of cutting the grass EVERY WEEK (summer time) growing up in houston

 

[Engineer]

Bag of fertilizer, bottle of concentrated lawn weed killer and 16 year old mower. Spray weed killer in a pump and spray bottle at a much higher concentration than the hose diluted bottle sprayers. About $25 per year or so plus gas for the mower. Did sew a little grass seed this year because of the bare spots from last years dry conditions killing parts of the lawn.

 

[Liquidfluidity]

Every time I look outside - I just want to pour some concrete! I guess it's not as bad as the neighbors across the street - their yard is basically yellow. I think they must be Dandelion farmers!

 

[boomerang]

I'm paying $73.90 per treatment for a 4 treatment regimen. It's pretty tough to estimate how much I mow out of the 2 1/2 acres I have as the borders to the woods are very irregular, but I've always felt it was about 1 acre - 43560 sf.

This is with a smaller independent company, not one of the big guys like TruGreen.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Just gas for the lawn mower and roundup. Maybe $60-$70 a year with gas prices the way they are.

 

[dainthomas]

I can only assume the OP is a chick.

 

[Liquidfluidity]

Why , because I care what the yard looks like? I live in a neighborhood between $500k+ houses so I'd rather have grass than weeds since the previous people obviously didn't give a crap about the yard.

 

[dullard]

If it is that bad, then find the time of year where you have the fewest weeds sprouting and when the temperature isn't too hot or too cold for grass to grow. Then Roundup the entire yard, grass and all (skip lanscaping plants of course). Everything will die. Two weeks later, reseed. Water well.

That'll give a much better result and be far cheaper.

 

[spidey07]

Call Scotts and get quotes from others. All will haggle on price so just negotiate. They quoted me 95 but I got them down to 50 bucks per treatment. That's what I would pay if I bought the stuff myself.

 

[sdifox]

we are not allowed herbicides so dandelions own the lawn. I gave up.

 

[Malak]

my front yard is like a 6'x1' strip that my dog keeps pretty well ruined with his piss. i covered the backyard (25'x20') in rocks and dug a pond, so that took care of that too

a definite advantage of a townhouse. bad memories of cutting the grass EVERY WEEK (summer time) growing up in houston

I don't have a dog, so I just let the dandelions take over the front. I was going to do the pond thing too, but instead parked a motorhome back there.

 

[jtvang125]

If it is that bad, then find the time of year where you have the fewest weeds sprouting and when the temperature isn't too hot or too cold for grass to grow. Then Roundup the entire yard, grass and all (skip lanscaping plants of course). Everything will die. Two weeks later, reseed. Water well.

That'll give a much better result and be far cheaper.

So how would you roundup the yard if it borders right against your neighbor's yard?

 

[dainthomas]

Why , because I care what the yard looks like?

Because a man takes care of his own yard.

 

[spidey07]

So how would you roundup the yard if it borders right against your neighbor's yard?

Yes. It's called a Total Kill. Do it on a day that isn't windy and you'll be fine. If weeds are really that bad it's the only way to get it done.

 

[boomerang]

So how would you roundup the yard if it borders right against your neighbor's yard?

Roundup only kills what it touches. It doesn't kill through the roots.

 

[Liquidfluidity]

Because a man takes care of his own yard.

I'll agree with that - to a point. I just started taking it personal as to what I think about my yard so I'm pretty much a "noob". I'm hoping to be able to pick the maintenance guys brain a little and then do it myself. It's just totally out of control right now and I work 60+ hrs a week. I'm also chemically clueless so I'm hoping once it's under control , I can take it back over.

Oh yeah , we just moved here and it was already screwed beyond the bounds........

 

[Exterous]

So how would you roundup the yard if it borders right against your neighbor's yard?

Tie a string line and don't roundup beyond that?

But yeah - I would consider starting over. You'd get results much faster. I believe it would take a number of years to get it to look nice otherwise. Also - when buying fertilizer look for wholesalers. John Deere Landscapes is a wholesaler of Lesco products and will sell to the public. (While JDL is not as cheap as some wholesalers it's what I have in my area)

I paid $35 for Lesco 19-0-7 with Dimension (3mo crabgrass control) and 30% slow release nitrogen (IIRC) for 12,000 sqft which will get me through two applications

Scott's wants something like $25 for a 5,000 sqft bag with Halts (doesn't last as long as dimension) and a significantly higher amount of quick release nitrogen

Don't despair - it can take a couple of years to make it look great but every year it gets easier

 

[boomerang]

Add up the cost of the fertilizer, weed killers, etc., and then add in your time. You couldn't do the work yourself for the same price. The added bonus is that you don't have to handle or breathe in the chemicals that 20 years from now we'll hear cause cancer.

 

[Liquidfluidity]

Thank God I have patience. I just hate the look of our yard compared to all of the old retired guys around me that have nothing but time on their hands(or lots of money to pay to have it done) to do yard work.


That was another issue - once all of the chemicals , sprayers/tools , and time are added up - it really is cheaper to have someone to do it. You/I just end up losing the satisfaction of doing/have done it yourself.

 

[Exterous]

Oh - something else people tend to do incorrectly: Your lawn needs about 1" of water a week (Put a tuna tin or something in your yard and time how long it takes to get 1" of water in there). People tend to do short waterings every couple of days. This tends to promote shallow root growth which is mroe susceptible to drought and sun damage. Watering once or twice a week for longer periods of time will tend to result in deeper root growth which will lead to healthier grass

 

[Exterous]

That was another issue - once all of the chemicals , sprayers/tools , and time are added up - it really is cheaper to have someone to do it. You/I just end up losing the satisfaction of doing/have done it yourself.

I can't speak for your situation but it is much cheaper for me to take care of my own yard. The fertilizer spreader was $10 (used). I pay about I pay $18 every time I fertilize my yard ($35 bag big enough for 2 applications). A hose sprayer attachment was about $8 I think and $15 for the weed killer spray. At first that lasted me a year. Now it looks like I will get 3 years out of a bottle. I also bought a pump spray weed killer that was 20$ that I am going to finally finish up after 3 years.

Now it looks like my yard is half the size of yours but for me, the added time investment was worth it for the sense of accomplishment but thats a decision you'll have to make for yourself