There’s more interest these days about the use of lawn chemicals, which means more questions are popping up.
When your tenants, residents or employees have questions, can you answer them?
Are lawn chemicals safe? What are crew members actually doing out there? How do you protect the environment? What happens if your community bans certain chemicals?
Joey Schneider, regional manager at Level Green Landscaping, is here to help you answer five common questions that we sometimes get from customers.
Let’s learn more about commercial lawn chemicals for grass, including:
What Are You Actually Doing Out There?
When Is The Best Time To Do Turf Applications?
Are Lawn Chemicals Safe for Kids and Dogs To Walk On the Grass After Your Visit?
What Happens If My Community Doesn’t Allow Landscaping Chemicals?
Are Lawn Chemicals Really Harmful To The Environment?
“This is the question we get the most,” Schneider says.
Turns out this whole lawn chemicals application process is pretty mysterious to property managers.
“During the first two applications, we’re putting down a pre-emergent for crabgrass, to keep it from growing,” Schneider says. “We also put down fertilizer, to provide nutrients to help the grass grow.
“And we’re spraying a post-emergent to kill broadleaf weeds like dandelions and clover,” he says.
“You want as much grass — not weeds — in your lawn as possible.”
Lawn care management includes keeping close track of timing so lawns get what they need at the right time of year.
We visit twice in the spring — first in March or April to apply fertilizer, pre-emergent crabgrass killer, and post-emergent broadleaf weed killer to target weeds like dandelion and clover.
A second visit in May or June repeats the process. Those two applications target weed seeds before they germinate, then again after any sprout.
We visit a third time in July or August to spot spray only for any broadleaf weeds that have popped up. No need to spray everything just for the sake of spraying. Spot spray is better for the environment, and better for your budget, but still targets weeds.
Then, a final round of fertilizer goes down in October or November to help your turf store nutrients for the winter and emerge strong and healthy in the spring.
After Level Green crews apply lawn chemicals on your commercial property, we post a sign that advises everybody to stay off the grass for 48 hours, including pets that might nibble the wet grass.
“That sign can look intimidating, but actually, there’s no harm in walking on it once the liquid chemicals have dried,” Schneider says, which is about 15 to 30 minutes after application. The 48 hours is extra precautionary.
Commercial lawn chemicals for grass are most dangerous in their concentrated form — before trained crews mix and dilute them and deliver them to a property for application. Once diluted, they pose no significant risk.
Level Green pesticide technicians are thoroughly trained and certified, and provided with personal protection equipment when they’re mixing lawn chemicals.
More municipalities are considering the effects of pesticide use in lawn care management.
The Montgomery County, Md. Council passed a measure in 2020 that bans the use of certain pesticides on private lawns, at childcare facilities, and playgrounds.
That lawn chemicals legislation changed the conversations we have with those customers about expectations for their lawns.
With the lawn chemicals we normally use, customers can expect a nearly perfect lawn — emerald green, with few or no weeds.
When those products are banned, you’ll see some weeds.
“Our focus is on a healthy lawn,” Schneider says, “not a perfect lawn.”
There’s increased cost, too.
The products we have to use in communities with bans to combat weeds, insects, and disease are more expensive, Schneider says.
Organic products for lawn care management are allowed under the new legislation, but there are no organic products that work as well as our traditional products, Schneider says, and the best ones are expensive. And there are no good organics for crabgrass.
“When you can’t spray weed killer, you want grass filling in any empty spots,” Schneider says. “So, you want new grass growing all the time.”
That means regular aeration and overseeding are more crucial than ever.
Aeration uses a machine to pull out tiny cores of soil from your lawn, allowing water and oxygen to get to the roots, so they can grow nice and deep.
Aeration is typically followed by overseeding, as the holes created are perfect new homes for grass seed.
If your community doesn’t allow commercial lawn chemicals for grass to prevent weeds, Schneider says, “spring and fall aeration is an absolute must.”
Used in excess, yes. Lawn fertilizer’s two key nutrients — nitrogen and phosphorus — seep into the groundwater or join the runoff from rainstorms and wind up in the Chesapeake Bay.
The nutrients then feed massive algae blooms that prevent sunlight from reaching underwater grass beds, killing them. Then the algae dies and is consumed by bacteria that sucks oxygen from the water.
The result? Vast “dead zones” that suffocate the fish, oysters, crabs and other creatures who live in the bay.
Using fertilizer wisely (more on this in a minute) encourages healthy turf, which is good for the environment, Schneider says.
“When you have strong, healthy grass, there’s no runoff when it rains — the water isn’t just rushing into parking lots and storm drains,” he says. "It’s soaking into the soil.”
Maryland passed strict regulations several years ago governing when landscaping companies can apply fertilizer and how much they can apply, Schneider says.
Efforts to protect the bay include:
Level Green’s careful use of lawn chemicals goes back to its motto.
“‘Do the right thing’ applies to everything we do,” Schneider says.
This matters a lot to us,” Schneider says. “When you work in the green industry, you have to have a love of the outdoors. You want the environment to be as healthy as possible.”
At Level Green Landscaping we go above and beyond Maryland laws that protect the Chesapeake Bay from lawn chemicals.
We hope you join us in caring for and protecting this beautiful natural resource
If you’re not already a Level Green Landscaping client, we’d love to add you to our growing list of happy customers.
Our focus is on commercial properties like offices, mixed-use sites, HOAs, municipalities and institutions in Maryland, Washington DC and parts of Virginia.
Contact us at 202-544-0968. You can also request a free consultation online to meet with us one-on-one.
We’d love to hear from you.