Some lawn care mistakes are obvious, like when you let your 13-year-old mow the lawn without his glasses.
Other mistakes sneak up on you. Excessive fertilizer use is a significant issue, but it can take some time to become apparent. Some mistakes can cost you money, such as wasting water or requiring you to replace your grass.
Jump to Section
- Overfertilizing Is Among the Biggest Lawn Care Mistakes
- Lawn Care Mistakes Include Skipping Grub Control
- Mowing Too Short
- Among the Biggest Lawn Care Mistakes: Watering Too Often
- Hiring an Irrigation Company Without Expert Design
- Big Lawn Care Mistake: Skipping Pre-emergent Weed Control
- Lawn Care Mistakes Include Using Cheap Lawn Products
- Ignoring Irrigation Maintenance
- Hiring the Wrong Minneapolis Lawn Care Company
What is the most common mistake seen when treating lawns? A few top the list: Mowing too short. Watering too often. Applying too much fertilizer. Skipping pre-emergent weed control. Ignoring grub control. And more.
Keep reading to discover more about the biggest lawn care mistakes.
1. Overfertilizing Is Among the Biggest Lawn Care Mistakes
What mistakes do homeowners typically make when fertilizing lawns?
Too much fertilizer. This happens quite frequently with DIY lawn care.
You want a green lawn. So you pour on the fertilizer. Then dump on some more. The more fertilizer, the greener, right?
Oops. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
The same nutrients that make your lawn green and healthy -- nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium -- can hurt your lawn if you apply too much.
Too much fertilizer adds too much nitrogen and salt to the soil. It’s called fertilizer burn, and can kill your lawn.
Liquid fertilizer is more likely to burn your lawn if you use too much than granular fertilizer, because the liquid stuff is designed to work right away, while granular releases slowly, over time.
While this is one of the biggest lawn care mistakes, you may not notice the damage immediately. You keep checking the lawn, excited about the green on the way.
Everything seems fine. But days or even weeks later, you’ll notice the dead patches or stripes of yellow that got too much fertilizer.
When pros apply fertilizer, they’re using perfectly calibrated equipment. Chances are, that old spreader you dragged out of the garage hasn’t been calibrated in, well, maybe never.
The fertilizer instructions can be tricky as well. Maybe you’re not sure of the exact size of your yard — or you bought the wrong kind of fertilizer. This aspect of lawn care, specifically the use of fertilizers, is one of the most challenging parts of lawn care in Minneapolis.
If you've made a mistake, turn on the water. Extra water will help wash the extra fertilizer out of your lawn and dilute the excess nitrogen and salt.
The sooner you catch this, the better. Over time, your over-fertilized lawn should recover and regain its green color. If it doesn’t, plan to re-seed.
2. Lawn Care Mistakes Include Skipping Grub Control
You’ve got a lot going on. Is grub control necessary? Grubs might not even show up, right?
Better safe than sorry. Grubs are among the more common lawn care problems.
Grub control is like getting insurance. You don’t know for sure you’ll get grubs. But better to keep them away than risk your beautiful lawn, right?
Grubs, besides being squishy and disgusting, are bad news for your lawn.
They’re the larvae of Japanese beetles, June beetles, chafers, and other beetles. And those gross little larvae are ravenous. They feed on grass roots and organic matter in the soil, causing whole sections of your lawn to die.
It happens fast. The little monsters can destroy your lawn in two days, and you never even see it happening. The grubs silently feasted on your lawn’s tender roots, killing the grass.
Skipping grub control is among the biggest lawn care mistakes. The key is to kill them before they hatch and begin to cause damage to your lawn.
At RainMaster, we apply Grub Guard right away in the spring. Then, you’re all set for the season. Our grub control lasts throughout the entire growing season.
Bonus: When we apply Grub Guard to your lawn, it won’t kill bees like the cheaper products most other companies use. Bees are amazing. Let’s not kill them.
3. Mowing Too Short
What is the most common lawn mowing mistake? Mowing too short.
This might not seem too important, as lawn care mistakes go.
But mowing too short hurts your grass.
When you mow, you’re removing a portion of the leaf surface that creates food through photosynthesis. Take off too much, and you’re starving your grass.
Mowing your lawn too short can cause the soil to heat up, which in turn helps weed seeds germinate. And it stresses the grass, making it more susceptible to damage from insects and disease.
Shoot for a height of 3-3.5” tall when you finish mowing.
P.S. Keep those mower blades sharp.
A dull blade “rips” the top off a blade of grass, leaving a jagged edge that invites pests and disease.
A sharp blade makes a nice, clean cut, which helps the grass heal faster and promotes the important process of photosynthesis.
4. Among the Biggest Lawn Care Mistakes: Watering Too Often
This is an easy mistake to make.
You’re probably just trying to be a good lawn owner and giving your grass plenty to drink.
But your lawn doesn’t need water every day. Too much hurts it.
Too much water drowns your lawn’s roots, and they can’t absorb the oxygen they need to thrive.
Your struggling lawn will turn yellow, be susceptible to lawn diseases and insect invasions and could eventually die.
Proper lawn care in Minneapolis means watering less frequently but for longer periods.
You want your grass to have to search for water, sending its roots deeper into the soil. That encourages the roots to grow longer and deeper, resulting in healthier grass.
Water too often, and those roots can simply hang out near the surface, getting all the water they need.
Shallow roots are weak and can’t handle the stress of drought, insects or diseases.
Meanwhile, this is one of the biggest lawn care mistakes that cost you money. You’re paying for that excess water. Not only is it causing lawn water damage, but it’s clobbering your wallet.
Your goal should be to add an inch of water per week, which includes any rain that falls.
5. Hiring an Irrigation Company Without Expert Design
When it comes to lawn care mistakes, this is a sneaky one. You might not realize design is a crucial element of irrigation system installation.
However, you’ll discover this pretty quickly when some of your irrigation heads are barely spraying water or spraying all over the place.
But then, it’s too late. You have to install a sprinkler system right the first time. If it’s wrong, it’s costly to fix. Sometimes it even means starting over.
Sprinkler system companies that ignore good design might skimp on the number of irrigation heads or the number of zones to reduce the amount of materials and labor, thereby offering a lower price.
They might install two heads where there really should be three. They might install four zones when five would do a better job.
That means your entire lawn might not be getting the water it needs.
Poor design can result in wasting hundreds to thousands of gallons of water each year. That’s a lot of water, and a lot of money wasted—big lawn care mistake.
Ensure that the irrigation company you choose includes expert design in its installation cost. Not every irrigation company does.
At RainMaster, our team includes trained and certified irrigation designers.
6. Big Lawn Care Mistake: Skipping Pre-emergent Weed Control
Hmmmm, there’s no sign of any weeds. Do you need pre-emergent?
Listen closely, and you can hear your crabgrass whispering, “Nah, don’t worry about it.”
But weed seeds are pesky. They hang around, ready to germinate the following spring and start the evil weed cycle all over again.
Prevent those stubborn seeds from becoming more seed-producing plants with pre-emergent weed control. Pre-emergent targets those seeds as they germinate and take root in the soil.
While most lawn care companies in Minneapolis apply one crabgrass treatment in the spring, here at RainMaster, we apply two, one in early spring and another in late spring.
Double protection against one of the peskiest weeds. Longer-lasting results.
Skip it, and you’ll end up spending more to battle your frustrating weed infestation.
7. Lawn Care Mistakes Include Using Cheap Lawn Products
Cheap lawn care products can end up costing you more money in the long run. If you’re standing in the lawn care aisle, excited about the bargain price on grass seed, you’ve already made a lawn care mistake.
Sure, you can find grass seed for pretty cheap.
But will you know you’re getting the right kind, designed for the conditions of your yard? And will you know what you’re getting? Bargain seeds from big-box stores often contain weed seeds mixed in.
Same with fertilizer. RainMaster uses premium professional-grade formulations of granular fertilizer, which is more expensive and effective than liquid counterparts some of our competitors use.
Our granular fertilizer breaks down slowly, giving you consistent benefits from fertilization.
Leave it to the pros. Conscientious lawn care services in Minneapolis follow the latest research and trends, and they know which lawn care products deliver results.
It often means we spend more money for an improved product vs. the 20-year-old standby that competitors and DIY lawn care programs utilize to keep costs down.
You do get what you pay for.
8. Ignoring Irrigation Maintenance
A new sprinkler system almost seems magical, turning on just when your lawn needs it, watering efficiently, and removing a considerable amount of effort and stress from your life.
But these things don’t just take care of themselves.
Before you turn your system on after a long winter, it needs some attention. Heads could be leaking. A snow plow might have caused damage. Residue in the line can flow to the heads once the water is turned on, clogging the head without you even realizing it. A fitting might have come loose.
Most irrigation systems need at least a minor repair after winter.
Things can go wrong during the busy summer months as well. Ignoring routine maintenance and small issues can quickly turn into big, costly lawn care mistakes.
If a leak goes undetected, damage can occur quickly. Retaining walls are washed out. Landscaping is ruined.
This is a common lawn care mistake. Most homeowners don’t conduct thorough sprinkler system inspections, so they don’t notice the small issues that can develop into major problems later.
So, by the time their system needs repair, it’s an emergency. The grass is getting brown. Those expensive plants are dying.
Invest in an irrigation system maintenance program and rest easy.
9. Hiring the Wrong Minneapolis Lawn Care Company
What could go wrong with professional lawn care in Minneapolis?
Let’s see. They don’t show up. They use cheap products. They cut corners on irrigation design and installation. You end up wasting water and money. You pay for expert service, and your lawn still looks terrible.
You get the idea. Even some professionals make lawn care mistakes.
Hire a lawn care company you can trust to show up, deliver great results, and remove stress and worry from your life.
Avoid Lawn Care Mistakes with RainMaster
Stressed out about all the potential lawn care mistakes you could be making? You just need to make one good decision to avoid them all.
Choose RainMaster. We believe the best lawn care in Minneapolis focuses on the total health of your lawn.
Make no mistake — this is a partnership, a relationship built on trust, good communication, and conscientious customer service.
Are you ready to ditch your lawn care mistakes and trust your lawn to the pros? Request a quote today! We’ll review your options together so you can make a great choice. Then, you can finally enjoy your lawn and stop worrying about it.
