Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions and Answers about LawnAmerica and lawn care

So why is LawnAmerica my best choice for lawncare?
One word sums up why LawnAmerica is the best—CARE! We care more for you, your lawn, the environment, and the community we all share. We’d like a chance to prove how much we care, by your choosing to experience LawnAmerica service. Our “We CARE More Guarantee” states that if you are ever not happy with your lawn or our service to you, we’ll respond promptly for a FREE service call for your lawn, and continue to come out weekly for FREE until you are happy.

What happens after it rains after one of your treatments?
If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times! Easily this is the most common question we hear, because it rains within 3 – 4 days of many of your treatments! That's usually a good thing too, because all our treatments consist of a pre-emergent herbicide, fertilizer, or both. These products need to be watered in within a few days for best results. Research and our experience have shown that even a hard rain will carry these products down into the soil, and they will stay there to do their job. Now if it's one of those toad-stranglers, that's classified as an act of God, and we sure can't control that. Sure, you may lose some product in this case, but not enough to justify re-treatment.

Liquid post-emergent products applied on existing weeds can be affected in a negative way with rainfall too soon after treatment. Our invoices will usually state to delay watering for anywhere between 2-12 hours, depending upon the season. So if a heavy rain comes in before that, enough of the product may not have been absorbed to be totally effective. We do use special "sticker" products on days when rain is forecast to help increase the effectiveness of weed-control products if it does rain. When the temperatures are warm (over 70 degrees), we have experienced good weed control even if we've had 30 minutes for the product to dry and be absorbed by the weeds.

We cannot assume that any amount of rainfall after a treatment will totally negate our treatment, because it will not. We ask that if it does rain too soon after a treatment of post-emergent weed-control, wait 7–14 days to see if your weeds completely die. If they don't, call us then and we will be out promptly to spray post-emergent again on any persisting weeds for no charge.

Are any of your treatments harmful to pets or children?
Homeowners should be aware that the use of pesticides does pose some risk, and their use cannot be made completely safe. The level of risk posed by a chemical depends on its toxicity and level of exposure. The simplest way to minimize risk is to limit your exposure to pesticides. The best way to do that is to use a professional, such as LawnAmerica, who will use only the proper products with people who are trained to use pesticides properly. By using a professional, you'll have no need to store the concentrated pesticide in your garage, thereby eliminating the risk posed by that.

The pesticides used by lawn care professionals are usually the same as "general use" products available to the homeowner at your local garden center. The products used by LawnAmerica are packaged in larger and more concentrated quantities, but they are diluted to the same strength as the ready-to-use products sold directly to the homeowner. When diluted and applied according to label instructions, the products we use pose no unreasonable risk to you, your pets, or our technicians. If anybody should be concerned, it is us, the people who are using the products every day! We have the full confidence in the effectiveness and minimal risk factors when using our products.

When we do a blanket liquid treatment, usually early spring and late fall, we do ask that the pets be off the lawn until the product has had a chance to dry. This is usually about an hour. After that, pets and people can re-enter the lawn according to label instructions. With dry fertilizer applications and spot-treatment of weeds, as long as your dogs are nice and won't eat up our technicians, they can stay out on the lawn if you don't want to keep them inside.

See our section titled Pets and Your Lawn and What You Should Know About Lawn Care Products and Services for more information.

Are there any contracts to sign with LawnAmerica?
No! We are a continuous service, meaning that we continue to come out every year until you tell us to stop. There are no binding 1-year contracts though. If at any time to need to skip a treatment or stop service, just call us and we'll do so.

Lawncare is a continuous process, so most of our customers just want us to come out without being re-sold every year. We will send each customer two letters, one in December and another in January with pre-payment options and letting them know when we’ll be out for their Step 1 treatment in early spring.

Do I need to be home at time of application?
No. We'll just leave you invoice along with watering instructions on your door. If you have a locked gate, dog, or just want to be notified by phone the day before your treatment, just call us and we'll be happy to do that.

Do I need to water in your treatment?
Yes, if we do not receive any rainfall within a few days of our treatment. All fertilizers and pre-emergent products need to be watered into the soil to be effective. If you want your lawn to look it's best, you need to be watering your lawn every week or so anyway. See our section on Watering Your Lawn for more information.

What's the difference between your program choices?
Our best program in most areas is our 7-Step Program. With this, we are coming out about every month during the main part of the growing season, during the time when your lawn is most active. Your turf will receive the maximum amount of nitrogen and other nutrients during the season with our 7-Step Program. Our 7-Step Program is your best choice if you want the very best for your lawn, and if you live in the deep south with their longer growing season.

The 6-Step Program is still a great level of service. The difference is that we space out the treatments during the growing season to about every 6 weeks. In the slightly shorter growing season in the transition zone, our 6-Step is our most popular choice.

Our minimal level of service is our 3-Step Program. With this, you’ll receive the first and last liquid weed-control treatments, with one treatment of fertilizer and weed-control sandwiched in-between during mid to late spring. This may be a good choice if your lawn size if very large, or if you have a limited budget. If you like to do some of your own lawncare, this may be a good choice, since we recommend you supplement what we do with 2-3 treatments of fertilizer yourself.

We also can design a 4 or 5-Step Program to meet your individual needs. Whichever program you choose, just keep in mind that the more frequently we come out to provide service, the better the results will be. Don’t expect the results of a 7-Step Program by only paying for 3 treatments per season. You generally will get what you are wiling to pay for.