Question
MY mother has been getting her lawn 'taken care of' by a local company.  I believe that they're soaking her for $ in unnecessary 'treatments, as it is in great shape.  Does she really need to aereate/crabgrass killer (not preventer)/insecticide EVERY year?  Our zone is 5; we live in the Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada area.
I think all she needs is her spring crabgrass preventer/fertilizer, summer updating fertilizer, and fall application.  If her lawn is o.k. I see no need for insecticides, unless a problem arises..
thanks --Jo

Answer
Every lawn service has their own approach, and some are more intense than others.  Clearly, the lawn looks great by your own account, so at least something is being done right. The question here is, "could the lawn look just as good with less intensive care?"

Aeration is a great thing for any lawn, and you could start to see the lawn go downhill after a few years if you stopped. Still, under most circumstances, every other year would be sufficient as long as it is done thoroughly enough.

Generally, crabgrass treatments are done preventatively, but if your lawn is already in great shape, the company could be taking the "wait and see" approach of treating the isolated patches as they pop up rather than blanketing the lawn with a preventer, which they may perceive as overkill.

As for the insecticide, it kind of depends on what they are treating for.  If white grubs are a problem in your area, I wouldn't pass on a preventative treatment as an eventual outbreak is usually too difficult to diagnose until things have gone way too far. Then you'd be paying for some pretty extensive re-seeding. Beyond grubs though, usually an insect treatment is avoidable.

I would just caution you to keep in mind that the company is likely covering their bases so that they can do what they need to do to keep the lawn looking great. When they start to cut back on services, they run the risk of problems arising that they may not catch in time since they aren't at the property every day. Under most circumstances, that also means risking their reputation as a good service provider. The last thing any lawn company wants is to have a bad looking lawn under their control so all the neighbors see their trucks at the ugly lawn, and draw the worst conclusions.

Could some of the preventative treatments end up being unnecessary since the problem may not have arisen? Sure, but  that's a risk that you'd have to take if you want to save on treatments. I would only advise you to open a dialogue with the company to express your concerns and see if they are able to work out a more amenable program to your liking. If they aren't willing to bend, then you can get proposals from various other companies to see what their approach is.

I'll finish this off by simply pointing out that you yourself admitted that the lawn looks great. That is at least partly due to the fact that they are performing their job well and seem to know what they are doing. If they change the program around, you should expect to see a drop in quality to a certain extent. You can then decide if it is acceptable, or if you'd like to return the lawn to it's previous greatness by getting back on the original program.

Good luck Jo!  I hope things work out well for you and for your mother.  Take care.

-C.J. Brown
www.TheLawnCoach.com