Frequently Asked Questions

Leatherjackets resemble short worms that are light grey to greenish brown with a black back. They range in size from 0.5 - 3.0 cm in length with no visible head region. In the spring and summer this larvae will feed on the crowns, stems, roots and blades of turf. Watch for irregular shaped brown patches from May to June. Heavy infestations of leatherjackets can chew the grass down to the bare soil. The larvae can be found washed onto sidewalks after heavy rainfalls.

The adult Crane Fly looks like a giant mosquito but does not bite and is noticeable in mid September. Eggs are laid immediately and will hatch 10-15 days later. Newly hatched leatherjackets can be found in late September and will grow rapidly, feeding until time to over-winter. Feeding will begin in April and continue until mid June. There is no activity during the summer months. Treatments can be applied in the early spring or fall.

Please call the office if you require a quotation to have leatherjackets treated.

Several fungus diseases attack lawn grasses including summer patch, nacrotic ring spot and brown patch. Summer patch and nacrotic ring spot (fusarium blight) attack the roots of lawn grasses. The symptoms start with patches or rings of dead grass that appear suddenly, usually during dry periods that follow wet weather. Light yellow patches 2-6 inches wide, appear first, then change to a tan, brown or straw colour. Brown patch attacks lawns when prolonged heat and humidity exist, disease symptoms often show under stress in summer. Stress factors include excessive thatch, poor soil conditions, sod installed over a poorly prepared site, and excessive nitrogen. Large irregular circular patches appear ranging from 6 inches to several feet, with a browish gray colour at the stems.

Care should focus on using proper cultural practices (cutting & watering-see the back of your work order). Reduce the thatch (aerate, rake or dethatch) and seed using perennial ryegrass. This type of seed is resistant to fungus disease. Washing out the affected area with buckets of soapy water and 3 ounces per bucket of Listerine antiseptic can be helpful in disinfecting the fungus. Please call the office if you require more information.

Mushrooms are found on almost every home lawn at one time or another. They will pop up after a heavy rainfall and may persist in areas where there is excess moisture. Most will dry up on their own once mowed or when weather conditions change. If mushrooms remain a problem, try raking out the affected area to allow better airflow, or rectify the drainage problem.

Drought will most likely effect every lawn at some point. With increasing water shortages during the driest summer months, watering bans will escalate the instances of drought stress in home lawns. You can prepare your lawn for the inevitable drought period by reducing thatch and compaction so that the maximum amount of water reaches the soil surface. Water in the early morning, once per week to a depth of 1-1½ inches. Use a pop or soup can to measure how much water the grass is receiving. Maintain these moisture levels for a month prior to the expected drought. When mowing never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade in a single cutting, maintaining a height of 2-2½ inches. Early signs that the drought has hit include colour change to a dull gray or blue-green, footprints and mower wheel tracks remain for a period of time. Reduce traffic on the lawn, raise the mowing height to 3 inches, and increase watering on areas near buildings and other heat-reflecting surfaces.

If water-use restrictions are implemented, avoid mowing if signs of drought stress are present and the grass is not growing. This may result in permanent damage. Eliminate all traffic on the lawn.

Accept that your lawn will be dormant and brown until conditions improve. A healthy lawn can withstand regular periods of dormancy from 4-6 weeks and recover in 7-10 days with minimal damage when rains return.

Integrated pest management is a process for suppressing pests that uses a combination of techniques, including but not limited to:

• Planning and managing ecosystems to prevent organisms from becoming pests.
• Identifing potential pest problems.
• Monitoring & recording populations of pests & beneficial organisms, pest damage & environmental conditions.
• Using 'thresholds' to make treatment decisions.
• Reducing pest populations to acceptable levels using strategies that may include a combination of biological, physical, cultural, mechanical, behavioural and chemical controls.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of treatments.

'Thresholds' are the number of pests that turf can tolerate before there is unacceptable damage. When pest levels exceed the threshold, control action should be taken. Thresholds have been established for many common turf insect pests. Weed and disease thresholds are more subjective and should be established in consultation with the turf user. It is important to remember that most thresholds are simply guidelines. Factors involved in determining thresholds are:

• The overall health and vigour of the turf.
• What part of the turf is affected.
• What pest is involved and the risk of permanent injury or death to the turf.
• The amount of visible damage the pest causes.
• The location of the problem area in the landscape.
• The attitudes and perceptions of people who use the turf.
• The cost and effectiveness of treatments.

What Is a Pest? In IPM programs, the term 'pest' is usually used as a characteristic of a population of organisms. This means that individuals of a species are not usually 'pests.' They only become pests when there are too many of them, in the wrong place.

Proper Cultural Practices play a major roll in preventing many common weeds and diseases from taking hold in turf and are a necessary component of IPM. A thick vigorous lawn is the best prevention against weed invasion. Mowing has a major influence on turf density, uniformity and aesthetic quality of a home lawn. It is the most repetitious and time-consuming maintenance practice and it is often done incorrectly. Turf can be mowed frequently, provided no more than 1/3 of the grass blade is removed in a single mowing. Lower mowing produces a shallow root system. Shallow grass roots cannot take up water and nutrients and make the lawn susceptible to drought stress. Low mowing also encourages weed invasion and invasion from grassy weeds such a creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass. It is best to mow a lawn when the leaves are dry at the highest setting possible. Dry grass cuts cleanly and clippings distribute more evenly. Leave clipping on unless they are excessively heavy. Sharpen your mower blade once every 6-8 cuttings. Water in the early morning, evening watering encourages disease development, once per week to a depth of 1-1½ inches or 2.5-4 cm should be adequate.

If you got a letter that has your address on it, that would be your price, you can verify this price by using our order on-line option you are not obligated to order.

Aeration is a process in which a machine goes over the lawn pulling plugs or cores out of the soil approximately 2-2 1/2 inches in depth. It loosens compacted soil allowing air, water and other nutrients such as fertilizer to more easily reach the root zone. For best results the cores should be left on the top of the grass to naturally break down and return further nutrients to the soil. It is also helpful for maintaining a desirable thatch level. This service is performed from May to October.
(Included in Complete and Natural programs only)

Aeration is always beneficial even to an already healthy lawn. It is especially helpful to lawns that have been laid on mainly clay surfaces, most new lawns don’t have much topsoil. It is helpful to previously neglected lawns, not watered or cut properly. Any lawn that doesn’t seem to grow at a normal rate or grass that doesn’t seem to turn green even after being fertilized. It can be done on a yearly basis to help reduce thatch build up. It is not recommended for lawns with a high sand content, unless the sand is severely compacted.

Thatch is a build up of dead grass that creates a barrier between the surface and the soil. This makes it difficult for water and other nutrients to reach the soil level. Minor thatch problems can be kept under control by raking. We recommend that the customer rake the lawn twice per season, once in the spring and again in the fall, even if you have a mulching mower. Your lawn should receive 1- 1 1/2 inches of water per week, either by rainfall or irrigation. Watering in the morning is most beneficial. Cutting should be done on a regular basis making sure to never remove more than 1/3rd of the leaf blade in a single cutting. Aeration will also help to reduce thatch build up. If thatch is a serious problem de-thatching can be done for an extra charge.

De-thatching is done with a machine that cuts vertically into the grass to loosen & remove dead grass build up. The removed thatch is then raked by hand, bagged in clear garbage bags and left at the curb. This process is quite traumatic for the grass and usually takes a few weeks to recover. De-thatching is usually performed in the fall. De-thatching in spring is not recommended as the ground is usually too soft and may cause damage.

Crabgrass is not visible in early spring; it will start to appear in late spring depending on how hot spring has been. It is also not visible in the late fall. Crabgrass is a lime green colour starting off with short stubby leaves and is particularly noticeable around the boulevards and sides of driveways. It is easily recognizable in late summer when it sends off long shoots and may turn a red or purplish colour. Crabgrass is commonly confused with Quack or Field grass. These are green all season. Because Quack or Field grass is usually mixed with the good grasses it is impossible to kill these without damaging the good surrounding grasses. All lawns have some Quack or Field grass.

We have been in business since 1988 as a Canadian and family-owned business.

Yes. We have been a member of the Better Business Bureau since 1994.

No, as long as there’s no problem with access to the backyard, we’ll just go ahead and do the application as scheduled. We’ll leave a sign on the front lawn and a bag on the door or mailbox with your application information enclosed.

• Option 1 - Pricing quoted (not including HST) is based on prepayment, due 30 days after the first application.
• Option 2 - You may pay in 4 installments (Early spring, Late spring, Summer & Fall). This option is more expensive (you lose 10 percent discount for prepaying). Extra services are to be paid 30 days after being done. A billing & return envelope will be left after the application.

If you got a letter with your address on it, No, we get maps from the different cities with the lot sizes. When forming the pricing, it is taken into consideration that there is a house, driveway & patio areas. These areas have been deducted from the lot size for pricing. Larger properties have been allowed larger areas for house & driveway. Pools, home additions and other changes a homeowner may make have not been allowed for. If you had a lawn analysis done, yes they physically checked the size of the property and made modifications to the size according to what the customer has on the property.

This is the minimum pricing, if the property is extremely small, we’ll do the adjoining neighbour’s front for no additional charge.

There will be a schedule included with the first application outlining the time frames for the individual service. Some applications will be done together e.g. Late spring fertilizer & weed control. Customers can refer to current year schedule for details.

Animals such as skunks and raccoons looking for grubs are the usual culprits in these situations.

Some suggestions:

• Use commercial animal repellents. These are available at department stores, pet stores and garden centres. E.g. Critter Ridder, Repell.
• Use other repellents E.g. Bloodmeal, Moth Balls, Cayenne Pepper.
• Leave outside lights on, or lay chicken wire as a deterrent.

Following every treatment, notification is left stating what was applied, and any special instructions regarding the treatment. As a general rule cutting should be delayed for 24 hours. Watering can be done right away and is not harmful unless extremely excessive.

Quackgrass is a type of field grass that is present in varying quantities on almost every home lawn. This hardy, cool-season grass is one of the most difficult to eradicate and is commonly confused with crabgrass. It is clearly visible in early spring and fall, whereas crabgrass will not be present until June and die off at the end of the season. Since it is very closely related to the desirable grasses found in lawns, there is no non-selective control that will eliminate the quackgrass and leave the other good grasses untouched. If quackgrass presence is minimal, we recommend that the customers best recourse is to remove it by hand. Make sure to get all the roots, and replace the bare spots with seed. If quackgrass has taken over the entire lawn, then a non-selective control can be applied, killing everything on the lawn. After the waiting period has passed, then lawn renovation can begin.

Fiesta is a liquid selective herbicide (Reg. NO. 29535 P.C.P Act) which is derived from iron. Fiesta has no odour, works quickly, is rain-fast in 3 hours and works in cool weather.

This is a non-chemical application where a machine is taken over the lawn pulling plugs or cores.  This process loosens compacted soil allowing air, water and other nutrients to more easily reach the root zone.  Cores breakdown over a two week period and help reduce thatch build up.  Aerations are done from May to October excluding July or August depending on moisture levels, and grass growth rate.

The adult, a tiny black insect that kills the lawn by sucking on the grass stems.  They enjoy hot dry weather conditions and can be found more often in the sunny areas of the lawn.  Treatment time is July or August, keeping soil moist during this time can help deter the insect.  Damage appears as dead irregular shaped patches occurring in hot, dry locations, but can spread to other areas.  The dead grass in still firmly attached to the ground.

An invader usually found near the edges of driveways, patios and other areas where grass has difficulty growing.  Dormant until usually mid June it appears with the onset of the first hot spell.  Commonly confused with quack or field grass this weed grass is easily identifiable in late summer when it turns a red purplish colour.  It can be treated with a pre-emergent and with a contact control product once growing.

Leather-jackets resemble short worms that are light grey to greenish brown with a black back.  In the spring and summer this larvae will feed on the crowns, stems, roots and blades of turf.  Watch for irregular shaped brown patches during April and May.  The larvae can be found washed onto sidewalks after heavy rainfalls.  The adult Crane Fly looks like a giant mosquito and is noticeable in mid September.  Eggs are laid immediately and will hatch 10-15 days later.  Newly hatched leatherjackets can be found by late September and will grow rapidly feeding until preparing to overwinter.  Feeding will begin again in April and continue until mid June.  There is no activity during the summer months.  Treatments can be applied in the fall or early spring.

This insect has taken hold in our region over the past 6 years, an extremely damaging insect that lives beneath the soil surface.  It chews on grass roots completely undetected until damage starts to occur.  Activity begins in the early part of spring, feeding vigorously in order to pupate when they turn into beetles.  Now mobile, the beetles fly and deposit eggs, create the new larva or grub, and activity returns in early fall.  Watch for dead irregular patches occurring in early spring and early fall.  The turf can be removed easily and may have an airy or bumpy appearance.  Animals such as skunks or raccoons digging up the lawn are a sure sign of grub activity.