Lawn Maintenance Services Columbia South Carolina

If you are searching for lawn maintenance services in Columbia, S.C., be aware that not all companies are alike. "Value" is an aspect of any company in the current economy that should be taken into account. Alternately, "price" is a criteria that one should be careful with as a prudent choice could mean the difference between overall customer satisfaction and failure in a business relationship. Value, Experience, and communication are crucial elements that should be considered when choosing a lawn maintenanace service.

Value in lawn mowing, gardening, groundskeeping, and the landscape maintenance business is something that is increasingly sought after by the customer as it should be in any economy. The company who can go over and above the standard service and deliver more than the customer bargained for in a deal is likely to thrive in this environment.

Experience and professionalism is another aspect of lawn maintenance services that should be seriously considered. If a less experienced worker scalps a lawn or weakens the turf by cutting the grass too short and/or too often, the long-term cost of that service is inflated. Also, few workers have a feel for when to mulch grass and when to bag the clippings. Replacing sod is a costly endeavor. If the companies you are considering do not specialize in lawn care, you would be best advised to not employ those companies.

Communication between the residential or commercial lawn customer, the company supervisor, and the labor staff is the third crucial element. Email is one way that customers can relay their wants, concerns, and needs to the lawn service manager. In this way, there is a paper trail of items that have been asked for and negociations that have been made. The customer deserves and should demand effective communication when it comes to their yard services.

Cutting grass is no longer a casual labor service where the "here today gone tomorrow", inexperienced companies or individuals can thrive - the customer can no longer afford to pay for the mistakes that these lesser experienced services can make! Customers deserve a valuable service whereby their money goes a long way and where they are content with the beauty in their lawn that they bargained for. A strong relationship involving a high level of effective communication can make the difference.

Lawn Fertilization Service in Columbia South Carolina

Proper lawn maintenance goes much further than just fertilization and mowing. The greenest, most lush and healthy grass is a result of an annual treatment program, which does include lawn grass fertilization service, but goes much further. Below is a breakdown of each service for a moderate maintenance, centipede or St. Augustine lawn (as opposed to a high maintenance football field!).

In January, a soil test is recommended. The pH of the soil must be measured in order to know whether to add lime or not (high pH calls for the addition of other chemicals). Usually, though, in Columbia S.C. the pH falls low towards the “acidic” level. Simply spreading granular lawn lime at the proper time will amend this acidic condition and give your turf a great head start.

In February, you want to start preparing to fend off the weeds that appear in the growing season. As early as the 2nd week in February, you can apply a pre-emergent (like Dimension granular) to prevent the summer weeds from even sprouting.

If, in February, you have weeds that have already “emerged” and are showing, you can treat them with a “post” emergent, topical spray or prevent them altogether. Read on…

Just before the grass growing season starts, you may want to get a sprinkler system checkup. This consists of checking all of the valves for proper sealing, checking the programming of the master control panel, and checking the sprinkler heads for coverage, breakage, or anything else that might have gone wrong.

In April, what is commonly sold and referred to as “weed and feed” is applied. Weed and feed will shore up your weed prevention measures as well as feed the newly sprouting grass growth with the nitrogen food it needs. Weed and feed should not be applied to new sod.

During the hot, dry summer, your turf is growing and using a lot of nitrogen. It is at this time that you should apply a high nitrogen fertilizer (with no weed treatment included). Carolina Special is not a bad product, but we tend to use products that are specific to the individual yard’s needs and conditions (light, moisture, type of grass, etc).

Core aeration service is something you may need. If your turf gets a lot of traffic and is compacted, if you see moss, if you have bare spots or waterlogged spots, you are a prime candidate for a core aeration service. Core aeration literally takes a plug out of your lawn, thousands of them (12 per square foot is best), and flings the core up to the surface to melt back to the turf when watered. This “aerates” the turf, allowing the roots to get air and nutrients to them (plants roots need air too!).

Also during the summer, bugs can wreak havoc on your lawn. Bugs will feed on the root systems of grass and destroy the turf that you have worked so hard to grow. With St. Augustine, in particular, chinch bugs and grub worms are the main pests that you are after. Lawn bug and pest treatment can be done by spreading a granular bug killer like “Bayer” Brand. This treatment plan also needs to be tailored to the specific yard and done with care so as to not harm animals, children, or “good” bugs (yes, there are good bugs in your yard too!).

As stubborn broadleaf weeds occur, I recommend you “spot treat” them with an aggressive herbicide like Roundup or the blend I use, Roundup “Pro”. You will kill the weed to the root then simply weedeat the weed away when it has yellowed. You will, of course, kill surrounding “good” turf with this treatment, this is why you have to be very careful with overspray.

Your goal with weed control should also be to nurture the “good” grass so it grows so well that it squelches out or “chokes out” the bad, unwanted weeds. A “weed” is defined as anything that grows that you do-not-want to grow.

Right about the time that fall comes, you need to be preparing your lawn for the winter. This is commonly referred to as winterizing or “winterization”. The only aspect of winterization that I personally recommend abiding by is the weed prevention component. This pre-emergent is mixed in with other chemicals (which again, I don’t think you really need) and will prevent the WINTER weeds from emerging (those weeds that may be in your lawn in February). In a nutshell, put down some pre-emergent for the 2nd time of the year in the fall.

Another thing to do in the cool season is to “decommission” your sprinkler system. This means that compressed air is forced through your system at some point, forcing all of the water out of the system through the sprinkler heads. What this does is prevents frozen pipes from expanding and breaking, saving you time and money for the season ahead when you start the system back up.

Enjoy the BEST in service, communication, and competitive pricing: Call Busy Bee Lawn Care today and talk to Ashley!

(803)331-5323
BusyBeeLawnCare.com

When is the best time to apply pre-emergent to lawn

Weeds - Heading them off at the pass. When is the best time to apply pre emergent to the lawn, turf, and beds. What do you use to prevent weeds? What is the best pre-emergent herbicide product?

Within the next 3 weeks, your worker bees will be applying pre-emergent (weed preventer in spreadable, granular form) to the customer's lawns and beds. Pre-emergent will prevent summer weeds from even beginning to grow, therefore saving time and money (and unsightliness) in the coming months. Pre-emergent is easiest to apply in granular form, with a spreader, in an even manner and in accordance with the instructions on the label.

Note: weeds that are currently "emerged" or growing or green in your lawn now will not be affected. Also, pre-emergent will weaken your cool season grass, but as long as your rye grass or fescue is established, it should not kill it out.

The cost of this application varies, but customers who are on the regular route of the lawn care company will usually enjoy a much cheaper price. The other application of pre-emergent during the year, the October application, will prevent "winter" weeds (like you may have now) and is projected to be the same price, but market cost of materials will determine for sure (fertilizer is supposed to skyrocket this in 2009).

Would you like to be on this application cycle? If so, contact me and I will be glad to make you one of my customers!

Pricing Lawn and Yard Care Maintenance Services Prices

Pricing Lawn Care and Landscape Maintenance Services and the various prices for such services can be a challenge to the shopper. Especially if you are after the lowest price lawn maintenance only and are not considering quality or accountability. Below is a guide that may be of help to you when choosing a company to do your residential or commercial grounds keeping.

Landscape Maintenance represents a significant expense to you. I am offering a way for you to save a significant amount of money while maintaining your outdoor property to the level of beauty of your liking.

Many lawn or landscape maintenance companies and services fall short because they either underbid and do not do the tasks to the level and expectation of the customer or they overbid and charge the customer an exorbitant amount of money over the fair market cost of such services, protecting themselves in case of the worst case scenario as far as labor needs (a heavy growth year, a high fertilization need year, a heavy leaf or pine straw cleanup year, etc). Very few are on target at fair market value for labor.

Fixed price bidding is a faulty method! If you are currently paying a fixed price for landscape maintenance, this solution is for you!

THE Solution to your grounds keeping needs is the Busy Bee Lawn Care Hourly Rate Agreement:

 Cap on Hours – Initial agreement starts with an estimated number of hours needed for that month. For your particular landscape management needs, I will propose we start with a cap of ever how many man hours in the first month you need and adjust that monthly hourly cap up or down from there and on an as needed basis.

 No matter what the approved cap is, you are only billed for the time spent working on your property, not the max cap hours unless all of those hours are needed. Billing is done on the 28th of every month by email or mail.

 Materials are only billed if they are used – sometimes you may need things like lime or post emergent herbicide. Other times you may NOT need these things. If you do not need them, you are not billed for them. If you do need them, as a customer of Busy Bee, you will enjoy the least amount of markup in the industry; we receive discounts on materials and are not in the business of up selling materials. Where materials are concerned, you will be presented with a fixed cost on materials and installation of those materials before those materials are installed. You will have the option of installing or not installing those materials.

 Our workers work fast using only the best power equipment available, we are dependable, professional, exercise a high level of customer service and communication and most importantly attentive to the time spent on the job.


Price breaks (or “rebates”) are sometimes given at the discretion of Busy Bee depending upon the economy, fuel prices, etc. Also, often times in the slow season (winter), we have a surplus of labor on our hands – I offer my customers specials on labor in times like these for any extra projects you may want us to tackle. If we can afford to give you a break, we will certainly pass that savings on to you!

We only do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done paying attention to the condition of the grass, the season, the variances of nature, your budget, etc. This applies especially where grass is concerned: Mowing the grass too often for the sake of “earning the keep”, for example, can be very bad for the grass (or bushes, etc). Bagging instead of mulching every single time is definitely bad for the grass. If your current crew is showing up every week or 2 weeks on the dot to mow the grass they are potentially doing a disservice to your lawn (does it look weak, sparse, stressed?). Our goal is maximum beauty and health for the plants while maintaining a neat, even appearance. We do also realize that your budget may not allow “the full package” so we will accommodate your tolerance in that regard.

 If this agreement does not meet your needs or does not work out for some reason, all you have to do is have a new contractor come in – you have no risk involved and no contractual obligation to Busy Bee. We’ll even help you find a new contractor!

This worksheet below is designed to help you find out if you are paying too much, too little, or just the right amount of money for your yard work, grounds keeping, lawn care, or any other physical labor related to landscape maintenance.

Fill in the blanks below, then tally up the number you get. Compare that dollar amount to the amount that you are currently paying. Keep in mind that this calculation is for labor and not materials (fertilizer, mulch, flowers, etc):

 How many hours per month and how many workers does it take for your current service to maintain your property? If, for example, you observe 2 workers working for 1 hour, that is considered to be 2 “man hours” of labor __________

 What are you currently paying per month for landscape maintenance? $_________

 What amount of money is being spent on materials every year (divide that number by 12)? Annualization of the materials cost is important because large install costs like pine straw, mulch, flowers, or fertilizers do not occur in even amounts every month. If you do not know how much is being spent on materials, you should! Companies sometimes double their cost for materials and pass that expense down to you! Subtract that monthly materials cost from your total bill:
$_________

Divide the amount of money on the bottom line by the amount of time they are actually spending working on your property. Example: Total bill is $1000/month. Subtract $100/month in materials. Then $900/month divided by number of hours spent, say, 13 man hours. The total that you are paying, then, for labor is an exhorbitant $70/man/hour!

Busy Bee Lawn Care charges $40/man/hour – Take the hours spent and multiply it times $40. That is what your charge would be with Busy Bee Lawn Care.

• If that dollar amount that you are currently paying equals the dollar amount you calculate below, then your current service is probably fairly compensated, content with the account and doing a good job as a reflection of them being content.

• If you calculate that your current landscape maintenance company is spending a significant amount of time less than what you are being billed for, then they are probably very content with the contract, doing a super job, showing up on time, etc. The downside, though, is that you as a customer are paying that much money in excess of the market value of a fully equipped landscape maintenance crew. Here is where you can save a significant amount of money by switching to a company who is geared towards an hourly rate and not a fixed rate “bid”.

• If, you come up with a dollar amount that is significantly more than the dollar amount that you are currently being charged, your current service is underpaid and you are probably dealing with shortcomings as a result (they are not trimming bushes like they should, not fertilizing, not taking care of debris removal, etc). Take a look at the situation: are your grounds being kept up to your liking? Is your current service reliable? Is your current service employing illegal labor in order to make ends meet? Do you find yourself switching from service to service every year because they are not meeting your expectations? These things happen as a result of the landscape, lawn care, and grounds keeping company “under bidding” or not charging enough money to give you good service. How long can a company in that position last? They won the “bid” but are they delivering? Where landscape management is concerned, you truly do “get what you pay for”.

Busy Bee Lawn Care Customarily
Charges $40/man/hour

Busy Bee Lawn Care – Professional landscape maintenance, lawn care, and grounds keeping charges the customer an hourly rate for as little or as much grounds maintenance as you want or can afford. You regulate the level of beauty and maintenance from the cost standpoint, we manage the grounds. Low maintenance calls for low hours which results in a low cost. High maintenance would merit a higher cost. Our hourly price, nevertheless, is calculated given the current “lowball” market price plus the current “high” market price, then dividing by two; we charge the average, correct market price for Columbia, S.C. for fully equipped, seasoned, licensed and insured legal American, professional workers. We work fast, take few breaks, and keep up with our time to the minute, billing you by email at the end of each month. Our level of communication and customer service is unmatched.

Give me a call, email, text, or invitation to “bid” and let’s find out how much money I can save you in 2009!

Thanks for considering Busy Bee Lawn Care as your “worker bees”!
Ash

Mr. Ashley Brooks
Owner/Operator
Busy Bee Lawn Care, LLC
Based in Columbia, S.C.
www.BusyBeeLawnCare.com 
(803)331-5323