Do I need pest control or lawn care in The Villages?

"Do I need pest control or lawn care in The Villages?" Welcome to the jungle... uh, I mean... Florida. if you are coming from a northern state, you may be surprised to find out what it means to live in a climate that has a 12-month growing season. We mow our lawns every month of the year. In many months, we have to mow weekly. There are also very strict guidelines around mowing and handling of the cut grass in The Villages. For example, there can be no cut grass on the roads. So a part of mowing here includes blowing the cut grass back into the yard. A 12-month growing season also means that the yard needs to be fertilized and treated for weeds and pests several times a year. And we grow some big bugs here in Florida! So the answer to the question is yes. Yes, either you or someone you hire will need to perform pest control, lawn treatment such as weak control and fertilizer, and lawn mowing throughout the year. You will need to budget that cost into your monthly budget. Depending on how large your yard is, if you want to hire out for all three services, your monthly cost will range between $150 and $200 per month. Please note, if you want additional services like care of your palm trees or weed pulling from your landscape, your monthly costs will be higher. Check out my other blog about caring for the palm trees in your yard.

We are still struggling with pest and lawn care here. We started by hiring out for everything. We literally had to go through 3 different companies until we found one that was reliable. Then, after several months, we decided to do it all ourselves (except for termite protection). Honestly, pest control has been pretty easy using chemicals found at Lowes/Home Depot/Ace. Lawn mowing has been manageable as well even with the inconvenience of storing the mower and other equipment in our already small garage. For a large portion of the year, however, we have to mow, weed eat, edge, and then blow the grass off the street every week. Also, it get HOT here but we manage. Our most difficult learning curve, however, has been the weed/pest/fertilizer service to the lawn. We certainly haven't mastered it yet! Monthly treatment is needed for things like treating dollar weed and cinch bugs or thatching the lawn. I am close to waving the white flag and calling them back to do it for us....