Find the Best Lawn Care Services in Baltimore, MD

Getting lawn care in Baltimore

Most people know the benefits of hiring a professional lawn care service — they save time, energy and hassle. Professional companies in Baltimore also have the expertise to get better results more quickly.

One perk that often goes unmentioned is that professional lawn care can save money. When you don’t know the ins and outs of lawn management, landscaping, pest abatement and weed control, you can easily end up spending more on products and tools than it would cost to hire professionals.

Professional lawn care can also earn money when its time to sell your property. According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, you recover 100 percent of the cost of landscape maintenance and tree care when you sell your home. The report estimates homeowners recover 83 percent of the cost of a landscaping upgrade at the time of sale.

The NAR report also found there was a 267 percent return on investment for standard lawn care service performed one year before a home’s sale. The report also shows estimated value recovered from upgrading your landscaping with walkways, lighting an irrigation system and other common features.

Common lawn services in Baltimore

The four main reasons Baltimore residents choose to hire a professional lawn service are:

• Lawn rehabilitation
• Pest and weed control
• Preparation to sell a home
• Satisfying the requirements of a homeowners association

Rodents are attracted to unkempt lawns, and pet droppings or yard debris can be a rat magnet. Residents in neighborhoods like Towson, Ridgeleigh and Parkville are utilizing the combination of a new city program and lawn maintenance to eradicate rodent problems.

In many Baltimore neighborhoods with homeowners associations, such as The Orchards, residents must follow codes that enforce regular grass cutting, fertilization, reseeding, tree trimming and landscaping maintenance. Residents in neighborhoods with similar rules often prefer to rely on a landscaping or lawn mowing service.

Lawn care in Baltimore requires knowledge of the local ecology. If watering and mowing aren’t doing the trick, it could be the result of chafer grubs, slime mold, red thread or salt damage — all common lawn issues in the area.

The type of grass in your yard may also be the root of lawn problems. Grass in Baltimore needs to be resistant to cold winters and unpredictable summer temperatures. If your lawn can’t tolerate the weather, a landscaping company can replace the grass with a type that requires less care.

Best grass types for Baltimore lawns

• Tall fescue
• Fine fescue
• Kentucky bluegrass
• Perennial ryegrass

Another common cause of problems in Baltimore is lawn thatch, which is dead turf grass found between the green vegetation and the soil below it. Lawn aeration, which creates openings in the turf and soil to allow water and air to reach the roots of the grass, helps solves issues caused by lawn thatch or compacted soil.

Sometimes lawn aeration is as simple as poking holes in the ground. For the best results and lawns with extensive needs, core aeration and routine thatch removal are required. A professional lawn care service has the proper equipment and experience to aerate your yard without damaging it.

The cost of lawn care and landscaping services in Baltimore

Professional lawn care is an easy way to get a beautiful lawn without spending hours doing yard work, and it doesn’t cost as much as you might think. The average cost of lawn mowing in Baltimore is about $35 to $55 per week, depending on the size of your lawn.

Cost go up from there, to an average of $70 to $100 for lawn treatments, depending on type and frequency, and an average of $125 to $300 for lawn aeration.

Landscaping generally has a higher upfront cost to establish the plants and grass used in the design and can cost between $650 and $8,000. Maintenance is less expensive, and most Baltimore residents pay an annual average of $1,000 to $1,500 for landscaping services.

Hiring a lawn care company in Baltimore

Before you hire a professional lawn care service in Baltimore, find out if the company:

• Requires annual contracts
• Is licensed and insured
• Belongs to any trade organizations
• Uses pesticides or other dangerous chemicals

It also helps to do a little research to learn more about the business and what customers are saying about its reliability and quality of work. Finally, consider asking the following questions before you sign an agreement.

Questions to ask lawn care companies in Baltimore

• How much experience do you have?
• How do you schedule visits?
• What products will you be using on my lawn?
• How do you handle property damage claims?
• What services do you think I need?
• What services do you offer?
• Will I pay a flat monthly rate? If not, how are costs determined?

In Maryland, general lawn care services such as trimming and mowing don’t require a license, but companies must be licensed to use chemicals. The state also regulates when certain fertilizers and pesticides can be used. To learn more about these state regulations, visit the Maryland Department of Agriculture website.

To protect the health of your lawn and your loved ones, make sure any company applying pesticides has the proper experience and licenses. You can verify a pesticide license on the MDA website or visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture website to learn more about the side effects of chemicals in pesticides and fertilizers.