Nobody likes seeing weeds in their yard. They are an eyesore and a major source of frustration. In fact, weeds are often what prompts homeowners to sign up for a lawn care service in the first place.
But what happens if you’re already investing in lawn care and there are still weeds growing?
What should you do if weeds pop up between lawn care visits?
Well first and foremost, it helps to understand why you might be seeing weeds in between visits. Some of the reasons that you may have weeds between lawn care visits include:
#1: You haven’t waited enough time
#2: You are not mowing properly
#3: You’re trimming too short
#4: You have aggressive weed varieties
#5: There’s a change of seasons
In this article, we’ll discuss these reasons as well as what you should do if you notice weed breakthroughs between lawn care visits. We want the best for your lawn and are here to help educate you on how to achieve it.
There are some practical reasons why you might be seeing weeds growing even after they’ve been treated.
If your lawn has been treated but you see weeds growing, it’s important to remember that weed control products do not work instantly. Weed control products can take 10 to 14 days to work and some weeds are going to take longer to die than others.
Keep in mind that during the prime growing season, weed control products will work faster. That’s because these products work by moving through the plant system during their growth. But if it’s not the prime growing season, the process could take longer.
Another common reason for breakthrough is improper mowing habits. When you mow the lawn too short, you create a habitat that is favorable for weed growth. We advise raising the mowing deck to 4 inches. While we know that people love a short lawn, if it’s too short, it’s not going to be healthy.
Trimming can also impact weed growth. When you scalp the edges of your lawn with a trimmer, it makes weeds like crabgrass much more likely to pop up. When you are cutting grass around hardscaped areas, utilizing the vertical blade of an edger, versus scalping it with a slanted horizontal trimmer string, will help.
If you find yourself asking Why do weeds keep coming back, it could be that you just have some very aggressive weed varieties growing. Some weeds do require repeated controls over time to knock them back. A common aggressive and persistent weed in our area is the common violet.
Sometimes breakthrough is just related to a change of seasons. Different seasons bring new weeds with them. Your lawn might have been looking great in the spring and then summer rolls around and now you’ve got a whole bunch of new weeds.
This is why it’s important to work with a lawn care company that will vary their approach based on the season. Sometimes different weed control products will need to be used for these new growers.
Now that you understand why weeds might be popping up between visits, you can correct any of the issues that might be related to your lawn care habits (like mowing and trimming).
But say you’ve done that…and you’ve given it ample time for weed control products to work…and you’re still seeing weeds. Now what?
At Limbwalker, we always tell our clients that they can text our customer service number if they see a weed breakthrough between visits. That number is 502-377-5441. Feel free to text a picture too!
We can do a respray on breakthroughs.
What we definitely do not recommend is that you try to treat the weeds yourself. If you see a few weeds you might be tempted to take care of it on your own. But this could lead to more harm than good. People are often surprised to learn that hand-pulling certain weeds can actually stimulate them to grow more!
Another reason we don’t want people pulling or spraying weeds themselves between visits is that it eliminates the chance for us to see what’s going on with your lawn. You might have a new weed growing that requires a specialty control that we haven’t used yet.
But if we don’t see that weed variety on our next visit, we won’t know.
In order for us to create a plan to address your weeds, we need to see what’s going on in the lawn.
When it comes to effective weed control, you need a lawn care service that takes it seriously. The fight against weeds is so much more than just spraying some product here and there.
The best defense is truly a comprehensive strategy that not only includes a multitude of products, but other lawn care services that will improve the overall health of your lawn.
It’s actually quite a bit to tackle.
While you might think about taking on these responsibilities on your own, the beauty of partnering with a lawn care professional is that you can hand over these tasks and let them take care of them for you.
At Limbwalker, we know that weeds are a major source of frustration, but we are here to help.
Are you ready to have a thick and healthy lawn that naturally chokes out weeds at your Louisville, KY home? Get in touch with us to get a quote for our lawn care programs, which include three lawn care pricing options.
