Does your lawn look like it needs some extra care and attention lately? Is your lush, green lawn full of brown patches or unsightly weeds? Do your neighbors stare with concern as they drive by? If so, maybe it’s time to hire a professional lawn service in NJ.
Keeping your lawn green and healthy year-round is a full-time commitment. If you’re like most busy Northern NJ homeowners, you probably don’t have the time for regular lawn care and maintenance that’s necessary to maintain a beautiful lawn.
If you’re struggling with DIY lawn care, hiring a professional lawn service in NJ can take care of your lawn problems and keep your lawn looking great year-round. Here are five signs that you may need to consider professional lawn care help.
Not Enough Time for Lawn Care
If you’re trying to keep up with your own lawn care and maintenance, you may be feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, and your lawn may still look like it needs some care and attention. Regular lawn care is hard work that requires constant effort and commitment.
Between work and family time, most homeowners don’t have enough time for regular yard work like mowing the grass, raking leaves, pulling weeds and trimming plants and shrubs.
With a busy schedule, who wants to devote all of their free time to lawn maintenance? By hiring a professional lawn service in NJ, you can keep your lawn well-maintained and spend your free time with family and friends.
You will benefit from:
- Professional Experience – A professional lawn care company employs trained and experienced crews to take care of your lawn care and maintenance. Crews are equipped with the proper tools to get things done quickly and efficiently. If you compare DIY lawn care to professional lawn care, you have to consider the differences in training and skill, experience and proper equipment that’s necessary for the best results.
- Quality Care – A beautiful, green lawn not only requires time and effort, but it also requires knowledge about different types of soil and grass, plant growth, pruning schedules, fertilizers, pesticides and lawn care equipment. Many full-service landscape companies are owned or managed by someone with an education in horticulture or landscape architecture, so they are extremely knowledgeable about proper lawn care and lawn problems.
- Healthier Lawn – To stay thick and green all year, your lawn needs to stay healthy. Even beautiful lawns can be attacked by a variety of harmful outdoor insects and pests that can cause significant damage. Regular lawn care and maintenance will keep your lawn well-maintained, and proper fertilization, insect and pest control, lawn aeration and organic lawn care will keep your lawn healthy.
Weeds in the Lawn
If your lawn has developed unsightly weeds, you need help from a professional lawn service in NJ to get them under control. Most weeds are fast growing, and without proper weed control they can spread across your entire lawn quickly. The main cause of weeds in your lawn is improper lawn care.
Lack of regular lawn care and maintenance, improper watering and using the wrong weed control products all contribute to weed growth and thatch, the buildup of dead grass in your lawn. If thatch gets thick, it will prevent essential nutrients, air and water from reaching turf roots, resulting in grass that’s weaker, less green and more susceptible to lawn diseases and weeds.
Weeds fall into two main categories, broadleaf weeds and grassy weeds, and both varieties will take every opportunity to invade your lawn without proper weed control.
- Broadleaf Weeds – Broadleaf weeds are easy to identify because of broader, thicker leaves. They may have one leaf or several leaves that are long and stalky. Common broadleaf weeds in Northern NJ lawns, dandelions, creeping Charlie (ground ivy), clover, chickweed, purslane and plantain, show up the spring and fall when soil temperatures are cooler.
- Grassy Weeds – Grassy weeds are more difficult to identify, because they look similar to most turf grass. They are also harder to control, because typical lawn care practices that encourage grass growth also encourage grassy weed growth. Common grassy weeds in Northern NJ lawns, crabgrass, green foxtail, smutgrass, creeping bentgrass, sandbur and nimblewill, show up in the spring and summer during warmer weather.
There are hundreds of weed varieties that are common in Bergen County, so proper weed control is essential. For best weed control, a pre-emergent herbicide should be applied in early spring by a professional lawn service in NJ, since weeds grow most abundantly in spring, summer and early fall.
Overgrown Grass, Shrubs and Trees
Overgrown grass, shrubs and trees can quickly destroy your home’s curb appeal and cause a variety of lawn and landscape problems. Overgrowth attracts insects, outdoor pests and small animals to your property.
During the warmth of spring and summer, insects and outdoor pests can invade your soil and grass and cause significant damage to your lawn. A healthy lawn can tolerate some harmful insects and pests, but an overgrown lawn will be quickly invaded.
During the fall and winter when temperatures are dropping, small animals like rats, field mice, moles, gophers, chipmunks, racoons, and even snakes will be attracted to the overgrowth for a warm winter home.
Overgrown shrubs and trees make your property look ill-maintained and messy, but they can also block the view of your house from the street causing safety issues. Overgrown shrubs, hedges and trees, especially near your windows and doors, prevent a clear view of your home and pose safety concerns.
Statistics show that burglaries occur more often in homes that are partially hidden by overgrowth, because it provides a good hiding place for burglars. If you have overgrown grass, shrubs and trees contact a professional lawn service in NJ about regular lawn care and maintenance for your home.
A well-maintained lawn and landscape will help to prevent numerous lawn problems and home safety issues.
Lawn Diseases
All lawns are subject to diseases, but poorly maintained and malnourished lawns are the most susceptible. Most lawn diseases, caused by some type of fungal growth, invade the soil beneath your lawn and the grass blades. Fungal spores are quickly spread by contaminated soil, insects, rain, wind and foot traffic on wet grass.
Lawn diseases often cause brown or yellow patches; bare spots; dead patches of grass; circular rings; blackened grass areas; mold; and damaged grass blades. Proper fungicide treatments are essential to eliminate lawn diseases that can destroy your entire lawn. Extensive damage often requires planting new sod.
Here are several common lawn diseases that attack cool-season grasses, most common in Northern NJ lawns:
- Brown Patch – Most common in Kentucky bluegrass, bent grass, perennial ryegrass and centipede grass, brown patch thrives in high humidity and shady areas. It usually starts as a small spot, then spreads outward in a circular or horseshoe pattern up to two or three feet wide. Sometimes, the inside of the circle will recover, leaving brown patches that look like smoke-rings outside the circle.
- Fairy Ring – Fairy rings are easily recognized by bright green circular rings and attack all types of grass and usually appear in the spring or fall. The rings can grow up to fifty feet across and spread across the lawn at a rapid rate. The grass around the rings turns brown and sometimes contains excessive mushroom growth.
- Fusarium Blight – Fusarium blight, also called summer patch, causes light green circular patches of grass that are usually one to three inches in diameter. Patches turn reddish brown, then die. After winter snows melt, grass is covered with a white to pink mold. Fusarium blight causes common lawn issues in NJ during late winter and early spring.
- Red Thread – Most commonly found in Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and fescue, red thread grows rapidly in moist and cool weather. It gets its name from the pinkish-red threads that form on grass blades, often most visible on wet grass. Once affected, grass blades turn brown and die.
If you notice any of these problems or others in your lawn, talk to a professional lawn service in NJ right away. Proper fungicide applications are essential to eliminate the underlying fungus and prevent further lawn damage.
Outdoor Insects and Pests
All lawns are susceptible to a variety of outdoor insects and pests, but regular lawn care and maintenance will help to keep them away. Without proper pest control, it’s easier for tiny insects like aphids, slugs, mealybugs, grubs, webworms, sodworms, fire ants and caterpillars to invade your soil and pests like rats, mice, moles and voles to invade your lawn.
An Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) will focus on safe, healthy pest control solutions to keep your lawn and landscape pest-free year-round. If you have an existing insect or pest problem, a professional lawn service in NJ can identify the insects and pests that are causing the damage and provide the proper pest control solutions to eliminate them.
An Integrated Pest Management Program will help to change the balance of outdoor insects and pests in your lawn by getting rid of overgrowth, weeds, debris and standing water that attract them.
Professional lawn care services can provide proper fertilization for healthy soil and plants; pest-resistant varieties of plants, shrubs and trees; and flowering plants that will attract beneficial insects and animals, rather than those that cause lawn damages.
Specialty pest control treatments are also available:
- Winter lawn pests protection
- Organic root zone feedings
- Organic flea, tick and mosquito control
- Organic deer repellent
- Additional special pests control treatments as needed
To keep your lawn looking it’s best all year and prevent unwanted insects and pests that cause lawn damage, talk to a qualified, professional lawn service in NJ that can provide regular pest control services for your home.
