If you want a great-looking lawn, then you might be considering professional lawn care services in Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton, PA in order to achieve those results.
Of course, if it’s something you’re thinking about, you might also want to know the answer to the question, “Is lawn care expensive?”
If you’re going to invest in a professional service you likely want some understanding of the costs associated with it.
How Much Does Lawn Care Cost?
We covered lawn care prices in greater depth here, but we’ll review some of the basics.
The cost of lawn care is dependent upon a variety of factors including products used, methodologies, and even what treatment options are included in a package. For these reasons, comparing two companies side-by-side could be like comparing apples and oranges.
The local marketplace certainly plays some role in setting cost ranges as well. For an average-sized residential lawn in Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton, PA, you could expect to pay anywhere from $250-$1,000+ a year. That’s obviously a big range and the difference in cost is truly in the details described above. For example, while one company might appear cheaper at the onset, it could be because they use subpar materials or methods that will ultimately lead to subpar results.
It’s important that you understand why lawn care costs what it does so that you can fairly evaluate one company against another.
Is Lawn Care Expensive?
Of course, what you really want to know is whether lawn care is expensive. This question is not simple to answer because “expensive” is such a relative term. Cell phone bills are expensive. Cable bills are expensive. But a lot of people would easily say the value outweighs the cost for those services.
And that’s really what it comes down to: value versus price. As Warren Buffet has been known to say: “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” Any time that we choose to spend money on a service, we are weighing the value versus the price (and whether it is “worth it”).
It should be no different with lawn care. Let’s explore that concept a bit deeper by looking at lawn care pricing and “what you get” with two common scenarios.
Is Lawn Care Expensive vs. a DIY Route
The primary reason why anyone might consider DIY lawn care is cost. Homeowners might reason that it doesn’t make sense to pay for a service that they could perform themselves.
But, will you really save that much money doing the work yourself?
The fact of the matter is, doing your own lawn care can be expensive. Investing in spreaders, multiple sprayers (for different products), and the products themselves can all rack up, costing you as much as $400+ before you even get started. Plus, you have to consider the fact that this equipment needs to be maintained or you could wind up needing to replace them. This can all add up quickly.
There are also the hidden costs that are often involved when you try the DIY approach. That’s because there are a lot of issues that can go wrong and become incredibly costly. Anyone who has damaged their lawn with the improper application of products knows just how expensive and time-consuming it can be to restore your grass.
Because of all this, it’s not uncommon for do-it-yourselfers to find out it’s not that much more expensive to hire a professional to do their own. And it’s an investment that’s worth it. Wouldn’t you rather pay a little bit more money for superior results than save a few dollars and be stuck with something mediocre?
Plus, many ultimately discover that professional lawn care pricing isn’t actually as much as they thought it would be. At Joshua Tree, we have three lawn care program options that allow some variety for different needs. Our lawn care starts at around $250 per year for the Basic program and goes up from there.
Is Lawn Care Expensive vs. Doing Nothing?
As you realize that a DIY approach might not actually save you a lot of money, perhaps you’re thinking about just letting your lawn go. Does your lawn really need all of these lawn care services? Won’t it look fine on its own?
Once again, this is a bit of a gray area. What looks “fine” to one homeowner might not be so great to another. But simply knowing the fact that you’ve read this far in this article tells me that you’re someone who probably cares about their lawn. That likely means that you want a lawn that is thick, green, and free of weeds. And the truth is, that can’t be achieved on its own.
A great-looking lawn is nurtured and cultivated. It doesn’t just happen. By choosing to do nothing at all, your lawn’s overall look and performance will decline. Besides that being something that might bother you (as someone who cares what their lawn looks like), it’s also a choice that has monetary value tied to it. The aesthetics of your lawn and landscape are directly linked to the overall value of your property.
On top of that, you might be costing yourself money in the long run. The longer that you allow your lawn to “go without care,” the more of an investment will be needed to get it back to looking great when you decide you can no longer handle its appearance. As bare patches emerge and weeds invade, it’s only going to get increasingly difficult (and more costly) to renovate it.
The Value of Investing in Lawn Care
When push comes to shove, determining whether lawn care is “expensive” will boil down to whether you feel that you receive enough value for your investment. Here are some benefits that you should anticipate by investing in professional lawn care with the right company.
Free Time
One of the biggest values of investing in professional lawn care is freeing up your own time to do the things you’d rather be doing. Your time is valuable—and limited—and there are probably plenty of other things that you could be doing instead of performing lawn care services. For this reason, simply the free time alone is enough reason to invest in professional services rather than attempt them yourself.
Better Results
By investing in professional lawn care, you should anticipate better results. That is, results that are better than what you’d achieve yourself but also results that are better than you’d get for investing in a subpar company.
This means fewer weeds, thicker turf, and better color—and these are a direct result of paying a little bit more for things like better products and technicians with more experience and better training.
Increased Safety
Sometimes the “safety factor” is overlooked when it comes to lawn care services but this is another aspect of value that you receive for your investment. There are safety considerations when working with chemicals (both using them but also storing them).
However, when you invest in professional lawn care services, you don’t have to worry about these safety factors. You also don’t have to worry that something was performed improperly, such as the improper mixing of chemicals, which could raise additional safety concerns.
No More Hassles
Finally, by hiring a professional lawn care company, you don’t have to deal with any of the hassles associated with performing lawn care on your own. You don’t have to take trips back and forth from the store to pick up supplies or deal with problems that might arise when something goes wrong.
You also don’t have to do research to try and figure out how to perform services that you don’t know how to do. Instead, you can just hand everything over to a pro who knows exactly what needs to be done. It takes all of the worries and hassles off of your plate. For many, there’s enough value tied up in this fact alone that it makes investing in professional lawn care services worth it.
Choosing to Invest Wisely in the Right Lawn Care Approach
In the end, the choice is yours. The answer to whether lawn care is expensive really comes down to the value that you see in it. If you love performing your own lawn care and don’t mind investing in the equipment and products needed to do a great job, then that’s great.
But if you’re someone who wants spectacular results and really doesn’t have the time, desire, and/or expertise to achieve them, then you’ll likely see quite a bit of value in investing in professional lawn care services and ending up with the lush green lawn that you desire. You can rest easy knowing that you’re in the hands of a professional that will get the job done well.
If you’d like to find out more about how our lawn care service, which includes three options to fit your budget, can give you the results you desire, contact us for a free consultation or give us a call at 610-365-2200 so we can answer your questions.
