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TruGreen Vs DIY lawn care comparison in USA

Do you often think about a professional lawn care service and its comparison with the DIY method of lawn care? I know things like cost difference, result orientation, and overall experience make you curious about their comparison. 

If you never heard about TruGreen, it is one of the top lawn care companies that provide service in all the states of the United States. 

Here, I'll give you a clear picture of the comparison of TruGreen with DIY lawn care so that you'll choose what is right for you and your lawn. 

TruGreen Vs DIY lawn care

Although TruGreen promises to give you guaranteed results before choosing it without comparing it with the DIY method, you may make a mistake if your budget is limited. 

Trugreen vs diy lawn care in USA

Yes. There is a huge difference between TruGreen and DIY but still, I'll suggest you choose one of them according to your requirement and time. 

But before that, if you are a beginner in lawn care, you should take a quick look at these annual lawn conditions and lawn requirements throughout the year. 

Annual lawn condition and requirements

Dormant grass recovery in spring

Almost every lawn grass whether it is of a cool or warm climate, goes in dormancy for the winter season. You can't recover it back or if you try to then the grass will not respond. 

So it's a natural process that grass starts its recovery in the following spring season. Sometimes you hesitate because of various reasons and then you need proper recovery tasks in spring. 

Fertilization 

Lawn grass needs fertilization to grow healthier and natural growth rate. Grass fertilization should be before winter and hot summer because grass needs time to adjust and utilise the fertilizers before summer and winter. 

Compacted soil 

Even if the soil is fertilized enough, it may get compacted with time. Compacted soil is not good for grass roots health and it gets shorter and uglier with time in it. 

The main cause of compacted soil is no water drainage in lawns. Using too rich soil without drainage makes the soil compact. 

If you ignore such cases, then be ready for your grass to die soon. 

Aeration

To release soil stress and reduce the compactness of the soil, aeration is the most important thing in the lawn. Once a year, the soil gets compacted with time so aeration should be impactful and applied in a processed manner. 

Irrigation 

Every lawn grass needs irrigation on a weekly basis and twice or thrice in drought conditions. Some grasses need excessive water to keep lush green but some can grow in slightly dry conditions. 

Generally, installing an automatic sprinkler irrigation system is useful for lawn irrigation. 

Weeding

Lawn weeding is very important in the early stages otherwise weeds invade and overshadow the primary lawn grass. To avoid such weeds like crabgrass, dallisgrass, dandelion weeds, and chickweeds, you should take action before their establishment otherwise you know what can happen. 

Lawn mowing 

You need to cut the grass tips and edges from time to time otherwise it will grow to its peak. In tall lawn grasses, snakes can hide, squirrels, and other small animals can hide easily. 

Also, tall grass is not that good for walking traffic. Mowing help to keep the grass healthier and systematic for required purposes. 

Overseeding

Lawns need overseeding once when they get thin and gaps appear in grass patches. Overseeding help to increase the grass thickness in the lawn and fill the space. 

Generally, spring is the best time to overseed a lawn in a year. Also when the soil gets compacted for a long time, overseeding is very helpful to revive the lawn grass. 

Pest control and moss

Sometimes, pest attacks lawn grass in excessive number. Grubs, mites, and some other pests damage the grass more than the invasive weeds do. Pest reduces the chances of grass recovery to 10% even if you can recover it from weeds. 

Pests are a sign of unhealthy lawns as moss is. 

Both of these appear in wet conditions, less sunlight, shade, and no-drainage conditions. 

Although it happens very rarely you shouldn't ignore them and treat the lawn in the early stages.  

How TruGreen works?

TruGreen is a professional lawn care service and their services work in two stages. 

In the first stage, you call TruGreen and they inspect your lawn and make some basic tests. According to the reports, they offer you some annual plans which include their special programs. 

In the second stage, field workers start the recovery process when the right time comes. These workers give you every inspection and service report every time to apply on your lawn. 

Apart from these services, you can't customize your lawn as they claim to give you a package of all required services as follows-

  • TruMaintenance
  • TruHealth
  • TruComplete
  • TruSignature 
  • TruNatural

Difficulties in DIY lawn care

If you know how to care for your lawn time and have some experience with it then you're not going to get as such difficulties as beginners do common mistakes.

Now, let's understand what are the difficulties in DIY lawn care for a beginner- 

  • Beginners learn to set the dial in the mowing machine but sometimes they do mistakes that at which height they should mow the lawn grass. 
  • Irregular irrigation and no-drainage system installation is a very serious mistake in lawn and often beginners ignore this. 
  • I agree beginners learn theoretical knowledge of all the lawn practices but they ignore the right time to implement them. It can be a disaster in lawn care. 

Cost(est.) comparison of lawn maintenance(1000 sq-ft)

TruGreen

TruGreen provides you with various programs and packages at annual service costs. These services include the product cost and the field workers' fees with all the taxes. It may vary for different locations and your lawn size, and conditions at the time of cost estimation. 

So here, you can get an estimation of TruGreen lawn care cost for a lawn- 

  • TruMaintenance- $180 to $210
  • TruHealth- $220 to $250
  • TruComplete- $250 to $300
  • TruShield tick and flea control- $150
  • TruCare- $240 to $270
  • Tree and Shrub care- $250 

DIY

In DIY lawn care and maintenance, you invest only in materials and tools. You don't need to pay taxes and field workers' fees. So here is an estimation of DIY lawn care cost for a lawn- 

One time cost

  • Tools- $50
  • Machines- $300 

Each practice cost estimation(per year)

  • Fertilizers- $60
  • Weed killers- $30
  • Pre-emergents- $20
  • Post-emergents- $40

I suggest you consider only each practice cost here because most lawn owner invests in one-time cost commonly. So your final cost will be each practice cost in a year. 

Results orientation comparison

Let's see what results these two ways of lawn care promise you- 

TruGreen

TruGreen promises you guaranteed results till the end of their services. Even you can start changes in your lawn within a month. 

Although, some people don't get satisfied with their services because of late results and customization. Also, if one has an issue with TruGreen services then he can ask for all-natural service TruNatural for their lawn. 

They solve many issues in lawns according to their whole lawn care programs which include- 

  • Soil test
  • Weed Control
  • Fertilization
  • Tailored Lawn Treatment
  • Aeration and Overseeding
  • Tree & Shrub Care

DIY

In DIY methods, you the issues one by one. So instead of saying that you'll see results very soon with the right DIY methods, I like to say that DIY lawn care services need too much attention on your lawn with the season change. It gives you results but the precision of results is not as good as TruGreen provides. 

Although, if a person practices these services for a couple of years then he can be more precise and care lawn better. 

Conclusion

TruGreen is helpful for those who are busy in daily life, never touched lawn care tools, don't want additional responsibility of lawn, and who can afford it. 

Because TruGreen uses professional scientists, their results are more precise and positive. They work on a scientific basis and help your lawn even though sometimes results come slightly late. 

But DIY lawn care is not bad at all if one knows what, how, and when a lawn needs you. If you want to save your money up to 75% on lawn care, then DIY lawn care is better. Although it is not successful for everyone but still with practice chances increase with time. 

So in the end it's your decision to choose either TruGreen or go with DIY. I'll suggest you do what your financial conditions, time, and requirements are. 

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