How much do you pay for lawn care?

[fryjack2]

Short version: If you have a lawn service, how often do they come, what do they do, and how much is it?

Long version: We have about 0.4 acres of land. We had some landscaping done that was mostly hardscapes, laying sod, and planting trees and boxwoods.

I wanted a yard that required very minimal work. It takes about an hour and a half to two hours to mow.

H asked the company who did the work for a quote for the maintenance, which we had said before was mowing.

The quote we got back is for weeding and trimming and extra watering (we have automated sprinklers) and insect spraying. They would come every two weeks at a cost of about a grand a month. More for fall and spring clean ups. Does not include mowing, the one thing I actually wanted to hire out.

We are in VHCOL and I was still surprised at the quote.

Adding it to the reasons why I can’t wait to move back to a condo in the city list

[Jalapeñomel]

When we got just weekly mowing and trim, it was $200 a month. We also had annual clean up for $300, and then leaf removal for $300. We didn’t do any planting, weeding, or seeding.

We had a smallish yard, but there was a huge slope in the back. We also live in a VHCOL.

[chilerellanos]

I have a very small corner yard in prob LCOL. It’s just a basic mow and trim every 2 weeks and it’s $45 every 2 weeks.

[bittybomb]

Also vhcol.

For basic mowing and edging on our postage stamp sized yard we pay $145/month for weekly service. Takes him like 20 minutes tops.

He will also do a fall clean up, a spring clean up, throw some seed down and prune and trim the rest of our landscaping throughout the season, which he charges extra for. Never to the tune of $1k a month though. 😳

[whattheheck]

I have two acres, HCOL, just mowing and edging. $100 each time and I had it done weekly.

[mrspez07]

Honestly, convert it to native plants or meadow or similar. Your maintenance drops drastically after establishment. And you’ll save a ton of water. Or at least look at reducing the lawn areas and that will cut down on both maintenance and water.
My xeric/native front yard was installed in 2020 (by us, Covid project), and I add plants as I want and just weed, good thick mulch is the best way to cut down on maintenance. It’s not no maintenance, but it’s lower.

ETA: I did just read this after the Colorado River thread On CE&P. Outside of that prompting my response, I’m also am all for functional turf and increasing habitat for birds and pollinators.

[Susie]

omg to $1k/mo!

We don't hire this out, so I can't help.  We moved last year and went from 1/4 acre to 2/3 acre.  Landscapers are in such demand around here that we couldn't (still can't) get calls back, let alone actually hire someone.  So we DIY by default.

Several people gave us the advice to buy whatever we needed in order to get our mow time down to an hour.  We only had a push mower for the first 5 months while we waited for our new mower to come.  That was like a 3 hour job.  F that.  Now we have a John Deere riding mower now with a 42" deck and it was indeed a game changer.  

Next we are going to reshape and enlarge the beds to accommodate the turning radius and deck size of the mower, so we can stop doing edging separately.  More and larger beds, for less grass, and more pollinator friendly plants.  I bet we can get it down to 45 mins, easy, with that.  Maybe less.  At that point it's not such a big deal to DIY.

[brooklyn]

We’re in NNJ with a small yard, and pay $30 a week for mowing. It also only takes them 20 minutes or less to do the front and back. We did pay $800 for mulch in all our garden beds though. And additional $$ for fall/spring cleanup.

[mysteriouswife]

We pay $75 for every cut, trim, and blow.* Insect and pest control is covered in our quarterly house spray. We lucked up and got a deal when we moved in. It’s $35 a month and has a termite bond. Weeding and seasonal care cost about $300 each time. We typically do this ourselves. We did use them for end of spring when H had surgery. We paid $500 for mulch and weeding last year. We added mulch in bare spots ourselves this summer



*I’m giggling since I realized I pay the same for my hair.

[Poppy]

We pay $30/wk for mowing and some weed whacking.

[beerlover]

About $32 a week for some mowing and weed whacking. I have a postage stamp sized yard that they bring a riding mower to and its quite amusing. It used to be $20 but they've added a fuel surcharge.

I just looked back at my invoices and we paid $120 for a leaf cleanup, which I think is expensive for a few dudes to come and leaf blow everything to the front (our town has a leaf vaccuum then). but I haaaaate leaf cleanup (and we have a huge sycamore tree so its a ton), so I'll pay.

[UMaineTeach]

$40/ trip. They come when they want, usually once a week. Mow and weed whack. 2 workers. Most customers are 45/trip, but our lawns are small (maybe the same half acre as yours? I don’t know), so he gave us a discount.

It’s about $800-1,000/mowing season. The only downside is that the company sends only a few bills a year, so I have to come up with the money all at once.

We have had them come a couple years for spring cleanup/mulch, but we do fall ourselves. I don’t know how much it was.

[melmaria]

$48/week for weekly mowing
Between $300-400 for spring/fall cleanup (one-time).

[gummybear]

We have a .8 acre lot and we pay just over $35/cut. He comes every week. He has been coming e/o week this summer bc we live in the dust dry Sahara though. Which is nice.

He’s also bizarre and partially insane 🤣

[jackie011]

$40/week for a teenager to mow, trim, & clean up. He did mulch for us at the beginning of the season for $400 including mulch, delivery, & his labor, which I thought was a good price. He’s also trimmed some shrubs and pulled weeds and then adds on $10 more that week. On one hand I like supporting a teenager who is working hard and takes pride in what he’s doing. But, then I get a text TODAY telling me he’s coming tomorrow because he’s leaving Thursday to go to college 🤦🏻‍♀️ I had no idea he was a senior, plus a lot of kids around here go to college in town or the big state school that’s an hour away. So, now I need to figure out who’s going to cut my grass for the rest of the season…

[DarcyLongfellow]

WTF to that quote!! That's insane.

We have a .6 acre lot. We pay $300/month for them to come weekly (year-round -- we're in Florida) and mow, edge, weed, trim shrubs and hedges, and prune smaller trees. If we have a hurricane and there's excessive yard waste, they will charge us an extra fee if it's too much to put on the curb and has to be hauled away.

It's a crew of 3 (sometimes 4) guys that comes, and they're here less than an hour. The mowing is on one of those huge mowers that you stand on the back of, so it doesn't take them long at all.

[Roc A Bee]

$130 a month for mow and blow.

[devonpow]

I can recommend our guys to you. We use one service did the basics - they mow and clean up every week, plus do a big spring and fall clean up. They will fertilize, mulch, etc if we ask. They charge $125 a month (we also use them for our winter shoveling and plowing, that is a charge per inch of snow)

We have another landscaping service that does the “fancy” stuff and takes very good care of our plants. They are pricier - but sounds like you need just the basics.

[dancingirl21]

$40 per week for mowing/edging.

$800 for spring cleanup and mulch.

[expectantsteelerfan]

We pay $75 a week for mowing/edging/trimming along with weed maintenance, and about $25 a month for them to spray the flower beds and do a more extensive weed management. We have EXTENSIVE mulched flower beds, so we pay a LARGE amount for a yearly mulching and clean up in the spring. There would be another extra charge for them to spray the yard for weeds, but we choose not to do that because 1. we don't care about having dandelions and clover in our yard and 2. we have dogs and kids who are all over our yard and just don't feel good about having the chemicals in the grass even though everyone swears it's 'safe.' We are one of the only houses in our neighborhood who opts to not do this though, so our yard is one of the only ones with grass that doesn't look 'perfect.' We don't have an HOA though so oh well lol.

[CurlyQ284]

$45 for mowing and edging that I have done weekly. Weeding and fall cleanup and extra stuff is so expensive because the work sucks, its hard work so it costs more. I have just under 1 acre in a MCOL.

[simpsongal]

We pay a service to put fertilizer and weed management on our lawn- that's up to about $90/visit (lime, fertilizer, weed control). We choose how many applications, but it's between 6-8 per year. And we pay $350 for seeding and aeration. I have shrunk the amount of grass by installing more beds and I'm trying to growing more trees and bushes.

Mulching and spring or fall clean up is usually about $800. I need to hire out some heavy maintenance for a couple borders that are out of control, I'm expecting to pay quite a bit for it.

[mokes]

Our property is 3.5 acres, although a good amount is woods. Still, we have a very large front and back yard just not sure how big. Our service charges us $100/week for mowing.

It's been so hot this summer that they've skipped a few weeks (obviously no charge for those weeks) or they weeded instead of mowing (with our OK).

I think spring and fall cleanups are around $300 each.

We also established an hourly rate with them if we ever want to hire for other work, like trimming bushes when needed.

I do think this is very reasonable for the size of our yard -- I think others would charge more. I would clarify you're just looking for cutting and seasonal cleanups!

[fryjack2]

Thanks everyone! I definitely have to clarify and speak to them about what it is we are looking for. Especially because we already have a tick and mosquito company that takes care of that year round.

devonpow, I’d love the number or your crew

[mcmel]

We do our own but I oversee my mom’s. They come every other week to mow and weed eat. She pays ~$70. She probably has a 0.25 acre lot. LCOL.

[abs]

$30 each trip--it's generally every other week. This is for basic mowing, edging, and pulling weeds. We also pay extra for mulching once a year. Our yard is half dead at the moment due to the crazy drought we've been in so at some point we will paying them to replace a bunch of grass/flowers, too.

[liverandonions]

Mow/edge/blow only, $30 each trip, every other week. We live in suburbs of Houston.

[foundmylazybum]

We are getting a Fall clean up and it's $69/hour.

I gasped at 1k.

[wildrice]

I have no idea what it costs around here, but 1k a month that doesn't even include mowing sounds insane. Maybe that's not one of their regular services that they offer, so they gave you a bullshit quote to deter you from hiring them?

I think they did a poor job of putting in low maintenance landscaping if it requires work that justifies that high of a price!

We don't have a lawn service, but we also don't have a lawn! My yards are small and they are all plants and mulch.

[sadlebred]

I pay $250/month for weekly service year round in GA. They mow, blow, edge, and will put week killer on the hard scapes. I have about 1/4 acre that is mostly grass/green weeds. I'd love to put down some sod in the front in the areas that are bare. I pay about $180-200/year for pine straw in all of the beds.

I trim the bushes with the battery powered trimmer I bought last year. I do it once/month, so that it's easy to keep up with and takes about 10 minutes. There usually isn't a spring or fall clean up. If I need them to do something else I think it's $50/"person" hour.