There are few things quite like a thick, lush, dark green lawn to please a homeowner’s eye—and set the neighbors’ hearts aflame with envy. However, there are also a few things that are quite difficult to achieve.
A lawn is a living thing. You can’t just put a coat of paint on it like it was a fence or wall and expect it to look great. Lawns require regular maintenance in the form of mowing and watering.
And, like all plants, lawn grass needs the proper mix of nutrients to thrive. Often, lawns require pesticide applications to control weeds and pests.
Knowing just what and when to apply to your lawn to make it grow the way you want it to is one of the hardest things about owning and caring for a lawn. That’s where professional lawn care services come in.
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Companies like TruGreen
If you’re like most homeowners, the first name that springs to mind when you think of lawn care is TruGreen. That’s understandable.
Memphis-based TruGreen is the nation’s biggest residential lawn care company. There are bigger commercial landscaping companies that cater to businesses.
But when it comes to homeowners, TruGreen is the one they turn to most often. Still, TruGreen is not the ideal solution for all homeowners.
There are some significant competitors on the national scene. Each of these offers some things that TruGreen doesn’t, making them legitimate contenders for many homeowners’ lawn care businesses.
To help you understand each option, we’ve compiled a list of companies like TruGreen, their services, and the pros and cons of each.
1. TruGreen
TruGreen has the biggest national reach of any lawn care company. With more than 200 branches in every state except Hawaii, TruGreen can provide you with the lawn care you need.
In addition to being big, TruGreen provides quality service. As the official lawn care provider to the PGA, TruGreen can easily lay claim to being an expert at creating beautiful spreads of grass.
TruGreen can also claim to use a scientific approach to lawn care. Its services are designed by university-degreed horticulturists and agronomists.
As a result, they’re tailored to meet the specific needs of local soils, climates, pests, and seasons. The company also trains its technicians extensively.
The TruExpert certification program requires annual re-certification in skills such as analyzing soil chemistry.
What They Offer
TruGreen offers a variety of lawn care packages. Each offers a different combination of its basic services, which include:
- Aeration
- Fertilization
- Grub prevention and control
- Overseeding
- Pre-emergent and targeted weed control
- Soil analysis
- Soil amendment
- Tick and flea control
- Mosquito control
- Tree and shrub care
The TruComplete lawn care plan includes most of the above services, offered as subscriptions. Treatments occur about eight times a year.
The company does not disclose its prices. To find out what your package will cost, you have to request a free quote. Prices will vary depending on the package, and discounts can be negotiated.
But according to online reviews, its packages are typically priced at about $900 a year, or around $100 per visit.
TruGreen Pros and Cons
TruGreen’s national reach can’t be equaled by any competitor. And its science-based approach to lawn nourishment and pest prevention is likely to produce good results for most homeowners.
Some subscribers complain about unevenly expert technicians and persistent upselling by company marketing representatives.
2. Lawn Doctor
Lawn Doctor is also a national concern, with more than 500 service outlets across the United States. Lawn Doctor is based in New Jersey. But since it is a franchise, each outlet is locally owned.
That suggests owners will be knowledgeable about local soils, pests, climate, and other matters. One of Lawn Doctor’s marketing edges is its guarantee.
If a customer is dissatisfied with its service, the company offers to re-treat for free. It that still won’t do it, Lawn Doctor promises a full refund of the cost of the last application.
What They Offer
The company’s lawn care services include:
- Fertilization
- Power seeding
- Mosquito and tick control
- Aeration
- Weed control
- Grub control
- Ph balancing
- Tree and shrub care
- Lawn pest control
Lawn Doctor has four different lawn care packages addressing fertilization, weed control, and mosquito and tick control, respectively. It sells its services on annual contracts.
Service begins with an analysis of your yard. Then the technician suggests services that will benefit your lawn. The company does not disclose pricing. Customers have to request a free quote to find out what they’ll pay.
Lawn Doctor Pros and Cons
While Lawn Doctor is a large company, it doesn’t have a presence in about ten states. Also, because its franchises are independently owned, the quality of service may vary in each location.
At the same time, local ownership suggests local knowledge. In the event of a problem, smaller franchises may be easier to deal with than sizeable corporate customer service departments.
3. Weed Man
Weed Man began in Canada and today offers lawn care services in more than 300 locations there and across the U.S. and U.K. as well, including more than 250 in the U.S.
Like Lawn Doctor, local franchisees independently own weed Man businesses. Weed Man offers several basic programs: Lawn Fertilization, Lawn Care, Insect Control, Mosquito Control, and Perimeter Pest Control.
What They Offer
Together, they cover a wide range of lawn care services, including:
- Fertilization
- Weed control
- Aeration
- Overseeding
- Grub control
- Chinch bug, cutworm, and other surface pest control
- Fire ant management
- Flea and tick control
- Mole control
- Organic lawn dressing
- Soil Ph control
- Soil revitalizing
- Perimeter pest control
- Mosquito control
Weed Man does not disclose pricing online, so customers have to get quotes to determine the cost of the service. However, online reviews suggest the cost for a typical visit is about $60.
Weed Man Pros and Cons
Since it’s not a large or widespread as some of its competitors, it’s less likely you’ll find a Weed Man in your town. However, Weed Man has been growing steadily for 50 years, and its reputation is as good as anyone’s.
4. SavATree
SavATree operates 41 locations in 22 states, mostly in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West region. So it’s not a national company. However, its commitment to using environmentally preferable products and techniques merits a mention.
What They Offer
SavATree offers an environmentally sensible approach to caring for lawns and trees, including organic fertilizers. The Organic Material Review Institute certifies ingredients in the organic products it uses.
According to the company, their process uses the same standards as the organic food for human consumption certification process. That doesn’t mean the company won’t use artificial pesticides if they are needed. But that’s rare.
SavATree Pros and Cons
SavATree began as a tree service and still offers an extensive list of tree and shrub services. Its lawn care services are somewhat more limited than some competitors.
For instance, it doesn’t provide aerating or overseeding. And it doesn’t offer to control mosquitos, ticks, fleas, and similar pests. However, its environmentally aware approach is likely to appeal to some homeowners.
That’s especially true of those with pets or children that might be exposed to potentially harmful artificial chemicals contained in lawn products.
Local Lawn Care Services
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There are nearly 142,000 landscaping service businesses in the United States, according to Dun & Bradstreet. Most of these are small, local operations.
And many won’t have the technical sophistication of the big national brands. However, many local landscaping offer essential lawn care services that the big ones don’t.
Most notably, this includes mowing. None of the big national lawn care companies will cut and trim your grass. If you work with TruGreen, Lawn Doctor, or one of the others you’ll have to cut your grass yourself.
Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with another, probably local service to do it for you. Don’t worry — we make finding a pro easy. Simply enter your information into the form below to see your options.
How to Choose a Lawn Care Company
The first step in selecting a lawn care company is to gather personal referrals. Talk to neighbors, friends, and others about their experiences with various companies.
This is important because the service quality at individual locations of national networks may vary. Next, talk to the companies. All of them offer free quotes.
It’s a good idea to keep in mind that some of them can be very persistent about following up. You may want to consider giving them alternate email addresses or phone numbers.
Understand the Contract
After all, you don’t want to be pestered by sales calls after you’ve made your choice. Some companies have annual contracts, while others are month to month. The longer contracts offer lower pricing per service visit.
Also keep in mind that it can take time to get a yard in shape. Giving a lawn care company a yearly contract is likely to produce the best results.
A sensible approach is to start with a basic package or limited list of services such as fertilization and aeration. If you like the company and the service, it’s easy to add more services.
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So, Which Companies Are Like TruGreen?
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Still looking for companies like TruGreen? We hope not. If so, we didn’t do a good job of making a complete guide. In this case, we hope you at least learned something.
TruGreen is approximately as good as any of its competitors, but there are differences. Sometimes going with one of the franchises may produce better service than using one of TruGreen’s corporate-owned branches.
Lawn Doctor’s guarantee and SavATree’s environmental approach may cause some homeowners to prefer them. That’s all up to you, though.
No matter which you choose, there’s a lot to be said for having someone with training and experience handle the tricky task of feeding and caring for your lawn.