Lawn Care – Frequently Asked Questions

Homeowners ask these questions all the time. But if your question isn’t listed here, please call 334.466.0600, email Sales@SouthernLawns.net, or visit Request Estimate to get a free analysis and estimate.

How much does lawn care cost?

With four lawn treatment program options and a variety of beneficial services for lawns and ornamental trees and shrubs, we’ve got a plan for every budget. While most companies do seven or eight lawn fertilizer applications, our lawn care services (included in every program) fertilizes turf and controls common weeds with just six applications, saving you money without sacrificing quality. Our cost per treatment is based on the square footage of your yard and the plan you choose.

Once you are a customer, we offer a 5% discount on your yearly plan when you pre-pay for the year!

What weeds, funguses, and diseases do you treat?

At Southern Lawns we treat all the weeds, funguses and pests found in a typical yard in the South. Those spotted most frequently in Alabama and Georgia are:

What are the oddly shaped brown patches that have appeared in my yard?

Those are the products of a fungal disease that attacks the roots and stems of grass. Its name, appropriately, is brown patch, and it loves high humidity and the frequent, shallow watering that leaves grass wet but the underlying soil relatively dry.

You can stop it from taking hold with preventative fungicide treatments. In addition, be sure not to supply your lawn with more than an inch of water per week, and deliver that inch in one or two deep, thorough waterings rather than smaller daily doses.

What are the small round spots in my yard?

It may have been a while since you saw a silver dollar, but back in the day some literal-minded folks observed that these straw-colored circles were about that size and named the disease that causes them dollar spot. Most common in Bermuda lawns in early summer, it thrives in soil that is lacking in both moisture and nitrogen. It can be controlled with fungicides, but it sometimes clears up after a heaping helping of nitrogen-rich fertilizer.

Why does my turf separate in mat-like sections?

The most likely explanation is grubs, the new hatchlings of many species of beetles, feeding on grass roots. The turf that comes off in chunks is likely to be a paler shade of green than your healthy grass. Local birds will happily help to control the grub population, as will moles, who cause another problem by pulling up tufts of grass as they dig their tunnels. Southern Lawns can help you eliminate the grubs, which will encourage the moles to move on.

Other potential culprits include armyworms and mole crickets. We can help with those, too.

How often will you treat my lawn, trees and shrubs?

We can provide all the basics for a beautiful lawn in only six lawn treatments. You’ll get the same quantity of products and the same quality of lawn care fertilizer service as the competition, but you’ll save because our lawn programs are based on fewer applications. With only six treatments compared to seven or eight, you’ll have a thick, green, healthy lawn for a lower annual cost.

To learn about our beneficial services, check out our program options. Mosquito Control and Fire Ant Control are also available during their active seasons without enrollment in a lawn care program.

Why do I still have weeds on my lawn after a treatment?

Our pre- and post-emergent applications knock out most weeds, but some types – for example, nutsedge, dallisgrass, doveweed, lespedeza and broomsedge – require treatment with a targeted herbicide. Others are so tough that they have to be hand-pulled.

Why can’t my lawn look like a golf course?

It can! All you need are a few full-time employees. For various reasons, most people prefer to hire a lawn service company for treatments and do everything else themselves. You can keep your lawn looking good without quitting your job by following best practices for mowing, watering, and fertilizing.

When do you apply fertilizer to a lawn?

For all the warm-season grasses we treat, including Bermuda, Zoysia and St. Augustine, we apply a liquid fertilizer during application #2 (March – May), a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer during applications #3 and #4 (May – September) and potassium fertilizer during application #6 (November – December).

What’s the best lawn to have in our area?

Most homeowners in our region choose one of three types of grass. Bermuda sod will thrive in most yards if it’s always in direct sunlight. Zoysia does well in sun or shade but may require a little more water. St. Augustine is the most shade-tolerant of the warm-season grasses and usually needs mowing less frequently than the other varieties.

How much water does my lawn need?

The baseline amount for lawns of all descriptions is one inch per week. You may find that the combination of your soil and turf with the regional climate requires you to adjust that number up or down.

Fortunately, it’s usually easy to diagnose problems. Grass that needs water will turn paler shades of green and eventually a color that’s more like grey. Other indicators are footprints or tracks that you can still see more than 30 minutes after they were made. Soil that’s too moist will be slick to the touch, and overwatered grass may develop spots that turn yellow or even brown.

Rain gauges are inexpensive, or you can just use an empty cat food or tuna can to collect rainwater. If rain doesn’t supply enough, it’s up to you to calculate how much you need to add.

What does heat stress do to my lawn and how can I minimize it?

Signs of dehydration in grass include curling instead of staying straight; impressions from feet, paws, or wheels that linger longer than half an hour; and changing color from a healthy dark green to hues that are more blue, grey, or even purple. (Straw-colored or brown patches are signs that a fungus is taking advantages of the dry grass’s weakened state.)

The best way to support your grass is to stick to the watering regime we recommend: a baseline of one inch per week, adjusted slightly up or down depending on your specific conditions; applied in one or two thorough waterings rather than shorter, more frequent sessions; conducted before 10:00am to minimize evaporation and give the moisture time to soak into the soil.

Appropriately watered grass is better able to extract nutrients from soil and stand up to hot conditions and trampling.

What kind of training do your technicians have?

Each of our staff members has ten or more years of experience in the lawn care industry, and many of them also hold state certifications. We require that all of our Lawn Care Professionals review training in driving safety and pesticide safety yearly.

Do you offer free service calls if I notice a problem between scheduled visits?

Yes. Give us a call at 334.466.0600, and we’ll stop by to assess the situation. It’s especially helpful if you can also email us a photo of the problem area at Sales@SouthernLawns.net.

What sets your lawn care company apart from its competitors?

Our tagline says it all: Call us for your lawn care. Keep us for our people.

Southern Lawns is a third-generation lawn treatment company founded in 1978 by Auburn University agriculture graduates. We were one of Alabama’s first local lawn treatment companies and are still locally owned and operated.

You’ve never met a local lawn treatment team like ours (unless you are already a happy client!). From management to technicians, you’ll appreciate working with a down-to-earth group of people who genuinely care about you, your lawn, your specific needs, and even your pets. Our knowledge and dedication to customer satisfaction set us apart from the competition. Our employees love what they do, and it shows.

Again, we welcome your questions at 334.466.0600 or sales@southernlawns.net.

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