What Our Research Indicates About Landscaping Rates
GreenPal recently conducted a poll of over 10,000 lawn care service providers all over the country about how much they charge for weekly or bi-weekly lawn mowing services.
As it turns out.
78% of lawn care professionals we polled responded they charge at least $60 per man per hour. Or $1 a minute.
Next. 12% responded they charge on average $50 per man per hour
Lastly, 10% responded they charge $40 per man per hour or less
But thats just part of the story
Seasonal Costs For Lawn Maintenance
Of course changing seasons can bring different requirements for your lawn care regime ans thus impact on lawn are coat.
Cleanups
Clean ups in spring and fall yard tend to follow the same procedure. Both of these services snip off and haul away dead and dying branches with fallen leaves. They should trim back dead flowers and shrubs and bald spots in the lawns to make them healthy again. In terms of adding to your lawn care cost they usually run $100 to $250, but they are worth it because professionals can tell that different plants require different care during different times of the year.
Winterizing
In the winter, a lawn is just like a child who needs to take a long deep sleep. While plants that are just flowers in the summer go asleep in winter, plants that are cool in the summer need some nutrition from fall to get better. They will require a different type of fertiliser- one with higher percentage of phosphorus and potassium than can increase their hardiness in the cold weather. It is vital that you remove any debris like fallen branches, together with anything that would kill grass. In terms of lawn care cost for winterizing your lawn it can be in the range of between $80 and $380, depending on the certain conditions you require. If you require winterizing for your sprinkler system, you are more than likely to need an extra $50 to $110.
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The Factors Of Determining A Fair Lawn Care Rate
It’s crazy because it’s not as straightforward a question as you might think
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First of all should you try to negotiate an hourly rate with your lawn care service provider?
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Should you worry about effectively how much youre paying them per hour?
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And what is a fair hourly rate to pay for lawn mowing services?
After all. You don’t want to come off like this person. Do you?
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Lawn Service Cost Estimator By Brand
Many brands, like Lawn Doctor and TruGreen, do not publish prices online. This is because what youll pay can vary so significantly based on the condition of your lawn, its size and where you live. Heres a look at what youll pay with two different popular brands:
- TruComplete Lawn Plan: $780 per year.
- Scotts LawnService: $650 per year.
How Much Does A Lawn Care Service Cost
Lawn Care Service can be one of those types of services that can range from eye-popping expensive to affordable lawn care service, right down to cheap lawn care services. Fortunately, Lawn Care Services are easily identifiable for quality, experience, insured, competence, and attention to detail by the pricing model.
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Faqs About Lawn Care And Lawn Care Costs
Q. How often should I mow the lawn?
A. It should be mowed regularly in order to keep it looking good. For the best results, mow the lawn when the grass is dry so the clippings are easy to remove.
Q What is the best time of day to mow the lawn?
A. It is best to mow in the early morning when the humidity level is low and the grass is still damp from the cool night air. Longer grass is easier to cut, which means you will have to mow less often.
Q. Does frequent mowing thicken grass?
A. Yes. The point of mowing is to remove the clipping, not to leave it on the lawn to decompose and make the lawn thick.
Q. When is the best time to fertilize?
A. Just as the grass is beginning to turn from spring green to summer green in the spring, or in the fall when the grass starts to turn yellow.
Q. Are there different kinds of lawn grass?
A. Yes. There are cool-season grasses and warm-season grasses. Cool-season grasses, such as fescue, require a cold season to grow and develop. They grow better in the spring and fall. Warm-season grasses, such as Bermuda, grow well in the summer.
Q. What kind of grass should I have in my lawn?
A. It depends on your region. The best grass for you depends on your location and the time of year.
Q. Will weeds come up in my new lawn?
Q. Does watering help grass?
A. Yes. Watering your lawn a few times a week will help it grow. Watering will help the grass grow stronger roots and help keep it healthy. It will also help the grass to grow faster.
What Influences The Prices For Lawn Mowing Jobs
Time, Place, Accessibility and Size
The typical lawn mowing cost is affected by several factors, some of which weve previously mentioned in the last section. Supply and demand tend to shift, depending on where you live.
The size and accessibility of your lawn can play a part in increasing prices due to the difficulty of the job, requiring different mower sizes to be utilized.
The time of the year can also be a big factor in whether you can take advantage of seasonal discount prices when demand might be slowing down.
Equipment Models
Lawn mowing services may also charge you depending on the equipment they use. Electric lawn mower variants may not cost that much but make use of your electric line to charge up instead.
Gas lawn mower models will have to consider gas usage and possible maintenance costs, raising the price but providing a more effective clean sweep of the lawn.
If your lawn only needs the barest of maintenance, they may opt to use a lawn cutter instead, which might lead them to charge you less for equipment use.
Cordless mowers allow a more quiet and compact way of trimming grass, although the limited battery life can be a barrier to a thorough cutting.
Ride on mower prices are the highest-prices of lawn cutter models, reaching up to $6,999 per unit, but arguably give the most convenient services provided your lawn has reasonable ease of access.
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Why Do You Need Ear Buds To Mow The Lawn
While this is the case, the pieces cover your ear entirely, thus ensuring no air or sound gets in. This protects you from the sound coming from the lawnmower thus, you mow in peace. Earbuds are small and dont make you sweat even when you wear them even for a long time. Their only flaw is they do less for sound isolation.
It Will Help To Save Your Time
Lawns require constant upkeep and can take up a lot of your time. Maintaining your garden can become like a second job, and Im sure youd rather spend your time off work relaxing and doing the things you enjoy.
If you dont know what you are doing, you will also have to spend time researching, to find out what products are best and what steps you need to take.
A professional already has this knowledge and can straight to work on making your garden look its best, leaving you with more time to enjoy it!
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Getting Your Lawn Overseeded
Overseeding your lawn via a professional usually cost around $1,200, which you saw in my lawn care pricing chart.
Overseeding can boost the health and appearance of your lawn by encouraging the grass to continue growing even when older and problematic patches die.
When you hire a company to overseed your lawn, you can specify that a disease-resistant or drought-resistant grass seed be used. This will be helpful for you if you live in a harsh climate.
I have an article with detailed recommendations about the best seed to use for overseeding if youd like to learn more.
Diy Vs Professional Lawn Care Costs
DIY lawn care is a simple way to cut costs over the long run, though its got significant up-front costs. A gas-powered push mower typically costs between $200 and $400. If you have a large property, youll probably need a riding mower. Those usually run from $800 to $2,000. Fertilizer varies from $20 to $150 or more. Fertilizer with rented equipment is cheaper, while an all-inclusive DIY kit is more expensive. Hedge trimmers run from $50 to $300.
While a pro costs more over time, you get quality work and expertise that keeps your lawn healthy and beautiful.
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Know Your Operational Costs
Your lawn care business costs money to run, and everything you do, from sunup til sundown, drinks some of your revenue.
So, find your operational costs:
- Fuel
- Equipment Maintenance
- Cost of Labor
For example, if you offer lawn mowing services, you need to factor in the cost of materials and material transportation.
Add up all of these costs. Then, youll have a baseline dollar amount that must be made on every job to break even. By the way, you can easily find this information using Service Autopilot.
But heres the good news because you know you get to keep every dollar after this number. The key is to figure out what the perfect profit margin should be
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Types Of Push Lawn Mowers
You probably noticed that our list includes three different types of push lawn mowers: gas, electric, and reel. Heres the difference between the three:
Gas push mowers
As you can guess, gas lawn mowers run on well, gas. That means youll have to store fuel for a gas mower and refill the tank when it gets low.
Gas engines also require more maintenance than other types of mowers, since most of them need regular oil changes. Gas mowers are loud, and their emissions arent great for the environment.
On the flip side, gas engines pack the most power, and they arent limited by a batterys run time or an extension cord.
If you have a large yard with a lot of difficult terrain that needs high torque, a gas mower is your best bet.
Electric push mowers
The category of electric lawn mowers includes both battery-powered and corded models. Each type has drawbacks since batteries create time limits and cords deter movement, but each type has benefits, too.
Electric mowers are eco-friendly, quiet, and low-maintenance. For a small- to mid-sized yard , electric mowers are an excellent choice.
Reel push mowers
Reel mowers are old-school. They dont have a motor: You manually make the mower blades spin as you push it.
Reel lawn mowers are typically cheaper than other types , and theyre the most eco-friendly option since they dont use gas or electricity.
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Lawn Care Service Price Factors
What youll pay for lawn care services depends on several factors. Take these into consideration as youre planning and budgeting for the type of work youd like to get done:
- The size of your yard.
- Residential vs. commercial lawn care costs.
- Regional living expenses.
- The different types of work you need done.
- Whether you hire a large company vs. a smaller independent operation.
If you live in an expensive part of the country and have a large commercial area that needs significant lawn care, you will pay much more than if you hire a small independent company to help with assorted yardwork on a small residential property.
Lawn Services Equipment List Small Scale Initial Startup
- Truck
- Various Hand Tools
- Various Landscaping Tools
- Personal Protective Equipment
Approximate Equipment Startup Cost Range: $12,420 $86,750
This budget is intended for a residential and small property commercial target client base and may not be inclusive of all equipment required.
Here is a note on equipment and vehicle expenses. The grade of equipment chosen for this study includes what I consider to be heavy residential use to medium commercial grade equipment.
As your business scales, you may want to upgrade specific machinery to a more industrial grade of professional machinery. It will depend on the duty cycle your customers need, requiring out of individual pieces of equipment as you start to learn what services work best for your business.
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Scotts Lawn Service Expense Factors
There are a couple of things that can impact Scotts lawn service quotes. These are the factors that can help you determine just how much you will have to pay for their service.
Lawn Care Services Will Provide Quality Work
Lets be honest, unless you are a professional gardener yourself, its highly likely you dont have the expert knowledge needed to care for a lawn properly.
When it comes to DIY lawn care vs. professional there is usually no comparison. For a lawn care professional, it is their job to know how to care for your lawn. They are experienced and carry out the work on a regular basis. This means that they are much more efficient, know which products work, and ultimately they do a better job in a smaller amount of time.
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Cost To Maintain A Lawn
These estimates are for BASIC work performed in serviceable conditions by qualified trade professionals using MID GRADE materials. Work not mentioned on this page and/or work using master craftsman, premium materials and project supervision will result in HIGHER COSTS! Explore the full range of lawn care service new installation labor options and material prices here.
These estimates are NOT substitutes for written quotes from trade professionals. Homewyse strongly recommends that you contact reputable professionals for accurate assessments of work required and costs for your project – before making any decisions or commitments.
The cost estimate includes:
- Costs for local material / equipment delivery to and service provider transportation to and from the job site.
- Costs to prepare the worksite for Lawn Maintenance, including costs to protect existing structure, finishes, materials and components.
- Labor setup time, mobilization time and minimum hourly charges that are commonly included for small Lawn Maintenance jobs.
The cost estimate does NOT include:
What Services You Want
All companies work with a different pricing structure. Some provide comprehensive packages that include landscaping and lawn care. Others charge a certain rate for mowing that’s dependent on the size and type of lawn. Then, they offer other packages and add-on services for more advanced lawn care.
Here are some optional services that might drive up the cost of lawn care:
- Weeding
- Planting flowers or adding flower beds
- Adding sod or grass
- Treating grass or lawns for growth or health
- Caring for trees or other plants on a regular basis
If you want to add some of these types of services, it might also limit which companies you can deal with. Depending on your location, someone may need to be licensed to provide some of these services. And even if that’s not the case, not everyone who mows lawns is qualified to treat unhealthy trees or plan out flower beds for optimal curb appeal.
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Do You Need To Change Oil In Lawnmower
For best lawnmower engine performance, you should change oil after the first 5 hours of use for a new mower, then at least once every spring or summer mowing season or every 50 hours of operation, which ever comes first. Make sure you have the right supplies before you begin. You will need: Oil drain pan.
Average Cost Of Lawn Care In Ohio
Every company is different, but the average lawn care cost in Ohio is $50 to $75 per visit. For an eight visit lawn care program, this equates to $400 to $600 per year. The price youll pay also is primarily based on the size of your lawn .
Since the cost of lawn care in Ohio varies significantly by company, its important to do your research.
As you consider lawn care companies, ask lots of questions about their company, staff, and programs features. The more informed you are, the happier youll be with the quality of services you receive.
At Oasis Turf & Tree, we specialize in creating green, healthy lawns for our customers in the Cincinnati area. We invite you to learn more about how we can help you achieve the lawn of your dreams. Take some time and read more about our lawn care programs, their pricing and request a free estimate.
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