We can appreciate when homeowners want to make wise choices and save money by tackling tasks around their home on their own. But the trouble is, when things go wrong, it can wind up costing you more money than if you had hired a professional in the first place. We understand how this can be incredibly frustrating.
This is certainly the case when comparing professional lawn care vs. DIY.
Common lawn care mistakes like the misapplication of products, improper mowing, and even underestimating the amount of labor involved can end up being costly for homeowners in more ways than one.
In this article, we’ll dive into important considerations before tackling DIY lawn care in North Texas. We want to help you avoid common mistakes and make the best choices for your property.
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Putting down the right amount of a lawn care product sounds relatively easy but this is a really common mistake. It’s actually not always that simple to figure out the application amount and how it might need to be changed based on your lawn or the weather conditions.
Overfertilizing the lawn tends to be one of the more common lawn care mistakes related to product application. Fertilizer burn can occur when too much fertilizer is applied and the lawn turns yellow or brown. This can be particularly challenging here in North Texas where our hot climate makes fertilizer burn even more likely to occur.
Unfortunately, this is something that we see fairly often when it comes to DIY lawn care mistakes. Often it comes down to calibrating their spreader incorrectly and putting the wrong amount of product down. Too little product won’t cause damage, it will just mean subpar results.
But overapplication can be a big deal. Lawns that have experienced fertilizer burn might not recover and will need to be re-seeded or sodded. This can require bringing in a pro and spending more money than it would have cost to have your yard professionally fertilized.
Another common lawn care problem is simply using the wrong products….or assuming that a store-bought product is going to do more than it’s capable of doing. Homeowners often buy a bag of “weed and feed” and assume this combo of weed control and fertilizer will be a cure-all for all their lawn care needs.
But given how complicated it can be to apply products at the proper rate, this simply isn’t the case. One of the biggest benefits of using a lawn care professional to apply products is that they’ll know what’s needed and how much to apply. This can make a world of difference in your results.
DIY weed control gone wrong is usually just a matter of buying the wrong products or using them incorrectly…and then still having a yard full of weeds!
The truth is, weed control can be complicated. You need to understand what’s growing in your yard before you can begin to treat it. It’s important that a weed control program is varied with different products for different weeds. Some weeds even require specialty controls.
Whether you’ve bought the wrong lawn care products or maybe you’ve bought subpar products that are not yielding great results, it can feel really frustrating to throw money away and not get the results that you desire.
The truth is, DIY lawn care isn’t all that inexpensive, to begin with. You will need to buy a variety of products to have a complete lawn care arsenal that meets all of your lawn’s needs. This is another reason why working with a pro can remove a lot of this guesswork and simplify the process. You also want to avoid wasting money on products you don’t need or that don’t get used.
Lawn care mowing mistakes are another common problem. Most notably, mowing the lawn too short can be detrimental to the overall health of your turf.
When you cut the grass too short, you harm its ability to perform photosynthesis which is essential for healthy growth. If your lawn is starting to turn yellow, it could be the result of being repeatedly cut too short. While we know that people do tend to prefer a shorter lawn, the color is often the most important factor. And a slightly taller lawn is usually a greener lawn thanks to the photosynthesis process.
Grass that is repeatedly cut too short is also more prone to problems with disease, pests, and even weed pressure. All of these can lead to more maintenance headaches down to the road as opposed to saving you any time.
So, to what length should you mow the grass? The ideal mowing heights are going to vary depending upon what grass type you have in your lawn. Here are a few guidelines.
In addition to paying attention to cut height, it’s also important not to cut more than one third of the grass blade at a time. That means if you accidentally wait too long to mow, you shouldn’t make one drastic cut all at once. This puts too much stress on the lawn.
Other lawn care mowing mistakes that come back to mowing have to do with the equipment. Be sure to mow with a sharp mowing blade and a level deck. And inflate tires so that the mower is not leaving ruts.
One thing that people don’t always consider is that lawn care can be dangerous. For one, it’s grueling and tiresome work that can lead to lawn care injuries. But it’s also exposing you to the risk of heat stroke, which is a scary risk of any intense outdoor work. Lawn care heat risks are not to be taken lightly. Performing intense labor in the hot Texas sun can lead to serious complications.
You might also encounter bees, wasps, or even snakes, all of which are prevalent in our region.
On top of all that, working on your lawn can take a toll on your back (or your body in general). It’s undeniable that lawn care is labor-intensive work—probably not the way that you want to spend your weekend. Common lawn care injuries include sprains, lacerations, eye injuries, and even fractures.
It’s important to know what you’re doing and to use any lawn care equipment or products properly.
You should also recognize that lawn care products are perfectly safe when handled and applied properly, which professional lawn care technicians are trained to do. But as a homeowner, you are rightfully worried about the dangers of a spill.
If you’re performing DIY lawn care, you’ll also need to worry about storing products yourself. This can be a hassle that you don’t want to deal with.
If you have children or pets, you might have extra concerns about whether they would come into contact with these products in a shed, garage, or basement. It’s so important that you are storing them safely.
DIY lawn care problems can happen anywhere. But unfortunately, lawn care in North Texas can be especially challenging. Our year-round warmer weather means that issues with lawn disease, pests, and weeds never really take a break (like they do in other parts of the country).
In addition, here in North Texas, extreme heat and drought conditions are inevitable. But this can take a serious toll on lawns. After all, water is the lifeblood of all living things and without ample water, your lawn will never be able to perform optimally. It may even die. And these conditions can make performing basic lawn care tasks even more complicated.
For all these reasons, it makes a lot of sense to partner with a lawn care professional who will know how to adapt lawn care services to the local conditions. This will help you get the best results without exacerbating problems.
We know that many homeowners like to handle some of their lawn and landscaping tasks on their own. Things like planting flowers or gardening might be a hobby and we certainly wouldn’t tell anyone they have to give that up.
But there are also many tasks that are best left in the hands of a professional.
At the end of the day, it simply might not be worth the lawn care mistakes that can be made with DIY lawn care. When you hire a pro, you can avoid these mistakes talked about above and ultimately get better results.
It will also free up your time. After all, these tasks can be major time drains.
Most of the time, DIY lawn care ends up being a lot more work than people realize, too. They think they’ll knock it out in a free hour, but it might be a lot more time and energy than that. That means instead of enjoying free time with friends or family, you’ll also be spending it in your yard, doing work.
In the end, is it really worth it?
We’ve talked to customers who have gone down the DIY path only to regret it later.
That’s because these common DIY lawn mistakes are all too easy to make:
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If you’re looking for lawn care services in Flower Mound, Highland Village, and Lewisville, TX, we’re eager to assist.
At Grassperson, we’re here to help however you need us. We know that lawn care mistakes are easy to make but we believe many problems can be avoided with preventative and proactive care by a pro.
If you are on the hunt for a lawn care provider in North Texas to help you with lawn problems, we’d love for you to consider Grassperson. We’ll help you put your worries to rest and get your lawn back on track to being the best on the block.
Ready to get a worry-free lawn at your Flower Mound, Highland Village, or Lewisville, TX home? Get a free quote and get ready to enjoy the best lawn on the block with no hassles on your end.
