In this DIY world where it’s easy to find “how to” videos online, many homeowners are interested in handling services around their home on their own. That includes DIY lawn care. Many homeowners decide they’ll perform services like fertilization and weed control on their own instead of paying for a professional lawn care service.
But there are some important considerations to keep in mind if you’re thinking about tackling lawn care yourself. It’s not that it’s not doable…it’s that we want you to understand what you’re getting into.
To be clear, when talking about lawn care services, we are talking about services that include fertilization, weed control, insect control, seeding, aeration and soil amendments.
While it’s true that lawn mowing is also a vital lawn service (and it’s important that it’s performed properly), that’s not what we’re discussing in this article.
In this guide, we’ll compare DIY vs. professional lawn care so that you can ultimately make the wise choice that is right for you.
We will cover:
- Comparing Products & Equipment
- Understanding the Time Commitment
- Cost of Professional Lawn Care vs DIY Investment
- What to Expect from Your Results
- Choosing a Professional Lawn Service
At the end of the day, we want you to feel confident with the decision you’ve made for your property.
Comparing Products and Equipment
As you consider pursuing DIY lawn care, you’ll need to make sure that you have all of the products and equipment needed to perform services like fertilization and weed control. Obviously this is going to require an investment on your part.
It’s important to recognize that the products sold at the hardware store are not going to be the same as the commercial-grade weed control and fertilization products used by a pro.
Everything from ingredient variety to concentration can really play a role in how well the product works. New (and better) professional products are frequently coming to the market which may be unavailable to do-it-yourselfers for 5-10 years after their introduction into the professional world.
You’ll also need the proper equipment to apply the products you’ve purchased. This might include a push spreader and/or backpack sprayer.
This store-bought equipment should be sufficient but it’s not going to be able to deliver the same results as that of a pro. A professional will use commercial-grade equipment that is designed for optimal and uniform application rates.
Understanding the Time Commitment
Another big consideration that homeowners sometimes overlook is the time commitment involved in tackling DIY lawn care.
It’s not just a matter of spending some free time on the weekend applying products. It’s also the time involved in going to the store to buy products and researching what you need to know before you get started.
The truth is, without the background knowledge and training on lawn care, you will likely need to spend more time working on your lawn than a professional would as you aim to try and get the results right.
It’s also important to recognize how important the proper timing is in order for a lawn care program to be effective. If you only have the weekends to work, and it rains for two weekends in a row, you can throw off your timing completely. That could have a huge impact on results.
Whether or not this is something that you truly have time to do or not will likely depend on your circumstances and motivation. If you’re retired, for instance, and you are looking to fill some free time, this might not sound like a big deal.
But if you’re already struggling to find free time for other tasks around the house, this might feel like another item on your plate that you really don’t want to handle.
We just want people to take an honest assessment of how much time lawn care might consume before investing the time, energy, and money into getting it started.
Homeowners are typically more frustrated if they’ve already purchased products and equipment only to realize they should have just chosen professional lawn care.
Cost of Professional Lawn Care vs DIY Investment
One of the main reasons that people tell us they consider DIY lawn care is that they want to save money. But you’ll obviously still need to spend money to perform lawn care yourself.
As we’ve mentioned, you’ll need to purchase the proper equipment and products to complete routine services like fertilization and weed control.
Specialty products for pest control and for soil amendments can be costly. And a service like lawn aeration is even more involved when it comes to spending since you’ll need to rent an aerator. But considering this is one of the best services you can do for your lawn, it’s not one to skip.
While you definitely might save some money, even after these purchases, there are two key considerations to keep in mind.
Your Time is Worth Something
First and foremost, it’s important to remember that your time is valuable. As with most things in life, you’ll need to weigh the value of your time to the cost of professional lawn care.
Most of the time when people start to truly evaluate how much time they need to invest in order to get the best results, they realize it’s not worth the money they’ll be saving to do it on their own. They’d rather just hand these services over to a pro.
That removes all the hassles and headaches involved, too.
Mistakes Are Costly
The other big consideration is the fact that if you make lawn care mistakes, they could lead to much bigger financial trouble. Anyone who has damaged their lawn with the improper application of products knows just how expensive and time-consuming it can be to restore your grass.
You might also find yourself in a never-ending cycle of “trial and error” with lawn care products in an attempt to find the right product for your needs. Since different weeds may require different products and even different timing of applications, there’s not a one-size-fits all approach to the best strategy.
This is all information that a professional would know and be able to get right on the first try, saving you the hassle and the investment of trying so many different products.
What to Expect From Your Results
Finally, the biggest comparison is obviously going to be the results. This is something that you’ll have to wait on if you’ve decided to tackle DIY lawn care. Whether you’re working with a pro or handling these services on your own, it’s a process and it takes time.
Homeowners who figure out what they’re doing with services like fertilization and weed control might be satisfied with their results. But there is usually a noticeable difference between a lawn maintained by a professional lawn care service and one maintained by the homeowner.
Again, this comes back to some of the points we’ve already discussed like the differences in the products and equipment being used. But it’s also largely about the expertise.
After all, when you pay for professional lawn care, you’re not just getting someone on your lawn applying products. You’re also investing in an expert who is constantly on the lookout for problems.
When everything is going fine with the lawn, this might not seem like a big deal. But at the first sign of trouble like brown spots or bare areas, homeowners often don’t know what to do. Is it a disease, pest, or just an environmental stressor? It can often be hard to tell.
However, a pro will not only have the training to make proper diagnoses, but they are also going to have access to resources (such as soil testing) that will pinpoint highly specific concerns going on with your lawn.
You might be treating what you think is a problem but in reality, only making it worse. There could be something going on underground that you aren’t even aware of and your efforts could be exacerbating the problem.
And not only that, but you could be throwing dollars away.
Sometimes a misdiagnosed problem doesn’t actually warrant a treatment, but just needs an adjustment in practices such as watering or a change in mowing habits.
Having professional guidance will ensure your lawn is getting what it really needs, taking the guesswork—and the risk of making costly mistakes—out of it for you.
Choosing a Professional Lawn Service
While we obviously feel strongly that professional lawn care is the best way to go, we also just want homeowners to be happy with their decision at the end of the day.
We have worked with many clients who got started with DIY lawn care and either became frustrated with the time involved or their lack of results.
We’ve also worked with clients who have made lawn care mistakes and we know that’s particularly stressful. It can be a big setback to make lawn care repairs.
If you do decide to opt for professional lawn care, it’s important to do your research. There are a lot of companies out there and you’ll want to choose a lawn care provider that you feel confident hiring.
If we can help in any way, we always want people to turn to us with their lawn care questions. We are here to be your lawn care experts.
If you’d like to know more about how Joshua Tree Experts can help meet your lawn needs at your home, or you have more questions, we’re here to help! Get in touch or give us a call at 833-JTE-TREE to get free expert advice and learn more about our lawn care program options!
