An outdoor maintenance plan tailored to your specific needs will give your home an inviting curb appeal that will last throughout the year. With the warmer weather and blooming spring flowers, now is the time to re-evaluate your lawns health and beauty plan.
Tom’s Outdoor Living answers frequently asked questions they receive about bugs, worms, weeds and everything in between.
Do you know how to help control or get rid of mosquitos?
We offer a mosquito control program. Our technicians will fog around all beds, shady areas, drains, trash can areas, and any other area mosquitos are active and breeding. This will be done on a 21 day interval minimum and more often depending on mosquito activity, starting in April to help control mosquitos and continuing through October. We are currently offering a special for the 2019 season on mosquito control. We are giving away 1 free mosquito treatment with no commitment to a contract needed. We encourage customers to try our service before their next outdoor event and see the difference mosquito control can make on their outdoor experience.
I have brown patches showing up in my fescue. Do you know what it is and how can you treat for it?
Brown Patch usually starts when over watering occurs and night temperatures are 70 degrees or above. For treatment, we apply fungicide on a 14 day interval while the conditions are favorable for the disease until the Brown Patch shows no signs of activity. We also offer preventative fungicide services as part of our fertilization program and lawn maintenance program.
Can you treat for spring dead spot in my yard?
We will do 2 fungicide treatments for spring dead spot on a 30 day interval in early fall. The first treatment is usually mid-September and a second in mid-October. This is in addition to cutting back the nitrogen during the summer to help reduce further damage before treatments in the fall.
When do you treat for bagworms?
As part of our Plant Health Program, we treat for bagworms in April and May while the larvae is actively eating and before they develop the bag. If you already see the bags hanging on the limbs, the worms have ended their feeding cycle. We encourage our customers to sign up for our Plant Health Program to ensure these spring treatments are applied, notably when bagworms have been present in past seasons.
When will you start fertilizing my yard?
We begin fertilizing Bermuda and Zoysia in April to mid-April when the grass starts to green up. At this time, the second fertilization application for Fescue is needed.
Do I need to water this application in?
The application round being applied will determine if it needs to be watered. We will inform you if that particular application needs to be watered as well as leave a door hanger informing you what treatments were done, area treated, and if you need to water.
How do you treat for moles?
Our approach to moles is to eliminate the food source (i.e. grubs and worms) by applying insecticide to the entire lawn. This forces the moles to look elsewhere for food. If your moles are stubborn and can’t take the hint, we will bait them with trapper worms. Our lawn insect services are an option with both our lawn fertilization program and our lawn maintenance program.
Will your weed killer kill the grass?
During the growing season we will only use selective herbicides as spot treatments for weeds present. The weeds that are present will determine which herbicides we will have to use, while killing the weeds and not the grass. It is possible you could see some yellowing from some spot treatments but that is temporary and we add iron to our mix in order to combat those reactions.
Can you treat for aphids?
As part of our Plant Health Program, we will apply dormant oil in late winter to any dormant plants to help reduce an insect infestation as well as treat them when plants begin to flower.
How long before I can let my dogs outside after the treatment?
They will need to stay off until it dries, usually around 30 to 45 minutes.
If I water my lawn will it affect the weed treatment?
We add a surfactant to our selective herbicides if they do not already have one added in, that allows the herbicide to stick to the leaves of the weeds and will not allow water to wash it off. However, we do typically request the customer allow 30 minutes to an hour for the application to dry.
When should I aerate my lawn and do I need to?
The best time to aerate Bermuda and Zoysia is in the spring when it starts to green up. This will help reduce soil compaction and allow oxygen and nutrients to reach the roots giving you a healthier lawn. The best time to aerate Fescue will be in the fall usually in September or October. We also encourage our Zoysia clients to verticut their lawns at least once per year in order to alleviate the buildup in the thatch layer just below the surface. This service will allow for better water and nutrient percolation into the plants rootzone.
If you have questions about your lawn maintenance needs, you can contact Tom’s Outdoor Living at 918.695.1653 or visit TomsOutdoorLiving.com.