FAQ

Monthly Lawn Service Cost

Most companies do not offer plans with three-week or monthly mows. Most monthly service plans are around $200 to $250 a month for a 3,000 to 5,000-square-foot lawn. Costs are higher or lower for differently sized yards.

But the fact of the matter is that a do it yourself lawn care program can actually be more expensive if you wind up making costly mistakes and have to pay to fix them. … The cost of lawn care may only be slightly more than what you’d expect, and well worth the value it provides beyond dollars and cents.

Feeding. In mid-spring (often late March to April), use a proprietary spring or summer lawn fertilizer at the manufacturer’s recommended rates. Feeding the lawn will increase vigor and help prevent weeds and moss from establishing. Apply fertilizers when the soil is moist, or when rain is expected.

On average, mowing your lawn ranges between $30 and $80 per visit. Most companies charge a flat rate per visit for grass cutting based on hourly rates or the size of your property. Expect more fees for services like edging, leaf-blowing or seasonal cleanup visits.

Environmental experts say raking leaves and removing them from your property is bad not only for your lawn but for the planet as a whole.

Add 10 ounces of powdered borax to 2.5 gallons of water, mix thoroughly, and use a sprayer to coat the leaves of unwanted weeds in your yard. Keep overspray off of any plants you want to keep, avoid saturating the soil with the solution, and avoid contact with bare skin.

So, a 20-5-10 bag will have 20 percent nitrogen, 5 percent phosphate, and 10 percent potassium. The rest of the bag usually contains filler material that helps ensure an even application of the fertilizer. By the way, a 20-5-10 lawn fertilizer is a good basic mix to use in spring.

If you skip the service and mow yourself, you can save up to $1,200 a year, even after accounting for the cost of a push mower, gas, and your time. “There’s no doubt — it is much, much cheaper to do it yourself,” Casey Reynolds, executive director of The Lawn Institute, tells CNBC Make It.

Lawn Mowing Rates Per Hour

When cutting smaller spaces, most lawn mowing pros charge about $25 to $60 per hour. They often calculate travel time and equipment prep work into their estimate.

Wet leaves won’t chop well with a mower, and they tend to clog rakes and leaf vacuums. You can skip raking completely by mowing over leaves and chopping them into small pieces. … Use a grass catcher to gather leaves as you mow over them. You also can allow leaf pieces to decompose in place on the lawn.