There are so many challenges lawn service providers with large managed communities face and the biggest one of them is personal differences. Different homeowners have different views on what landscaping should be. While some of them love a particular landscape design, others don’t. So, lawn service providers are left to walk the tightrope of satisfying at least the majority of homeowners in a community.

One way to walk around this problem is to develop a great working relationship with the management of any facility whose lawn you are maintaining. Once you can get the management’s go-ahead on what you intend to do, you will have no problem with the homeowners. It is even better to implement what the management suggests. The other challenges bedeviling lawn service providers are outlined below.

Finding and retaining good hands

While it is already a difficult task to find experienced field workers, retaining them is even more difficult. What makes the situation worse is the fact that employees’ pay in the industry has been generally stagnating for the past few years due to economic circumstances. Employees are often swayed to switch employers with a few dollars more than what they currently receive.

You also need to understand that exceptionally good workers are quite rare. It all boils down to one thing. If you can’t afford to pay the best hands, you will have to let them go. In fact, some lawn service providers now engage the services of less skilled workers for large projects.

Government and regulations

Another great lawn service challenge is government and regulations. Government often comes up with different taxes, restrictions, and laws. While these laws already pose a big challenge, the fact that government often changes them is another challenge on its own. The rules can make you buy equipment that you really do not need.

Some of these challenges are fertilizer, leaf blower, and pesticide rules and restrictions. Unfortunately, these regulations change and leave service providers with little time. It is needless to remind you that when you run afoul of any of the laws, ignorance of the law will not be accepted as an excuse. So, it is your responsibility to be up-to-date with the ordinances. As a landscape contractor, it is advisable for you to join the landscape association of your state to be abreast of the rules and all other related issues. Some contractors have even taken things farther by joining relevant national associations not only to be abreast of the rules and regulations but also to take part in making rules and in lobbying.

Professionalism isn’t appreciated

Homeowners often think that landscaping is just about mowing their lawns and they treat contractors as such. Apart from that, there are so many unlicensed landscaping contractors who charge next to nothing and these contractors drive down the prices. It is even more worrisome that service consumers do not see the difference. So, they go for the contractor with the lowest cost.

To survive, landscaping contractors are forced to reduce their charges. In fact, some of them have had to downsize their team of employees. Government cannot do much here because many clients are not worried about licenses, experience and expertise. All they want are low charges.

Although there are other pitfalls in the landscaping business, the few discussed above are the biggest ones and being able to navigate around them may boost your business tremendously.

When your lawn has problems, it can really take a toll on the overall look of your garden. There are a number of issues that can plague an otherwise beautiful lawn and prevent it from thriving. These are the things you should look out for so that you can know that your lawn may not be in the best condition. When you familiarize yourself with these problems, you can work toward fixing them.

Brown Spots or Patches

Brown spots or patches in your lawn is usually a sign of a disease caused by Rhizoctonia, a type of fungus. When it isn’t caught quickly, the problem spreads quickly and can cause your lawn to look dingy and dead. Another issue that can cause brown spots or patches in a lawn is poor draining in the soil. If the soil is too heavily compacted from over-watering or too much rain, this can occur. However, it’s easy to fix by moderating the amount of water and fertilizer you give your lawn.

White Grubs

Various dead spots in your lawn that lack green, growing grass can be caused by grubs. Grubs are the larvae of beetles, which can wreak havoc in your garden by feeding on the roots of the grass. Generally, they are mostly a problem during the fall. As they continue to munch on your lawn, pieces of dead turf get pulled up and reveal the larvae.

Striped Lawn

Many home gardeners have a problem with their lawn appeared striped. This is noticeable by the alternating lush, green grass and dull, yellow strips. It is caused by the uneven application of fertilizer and can be rectified by ensuring that you apply the fertilizer evenly.

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew can occur when the lawn consists of a type of grass that isn’t tolerant to shade or when in areas that lack sufficient flow of air. This is an issue that can be easily treated by trimming trees and bushes near affected areas of the lawn. Doing that can open up the airflow and allow more sunlight to reach those areas of the lawn. You should also avoid watering or cutting the affected area until after all traces of powdery mildew disappear. Another option is to only plant grass that is shade-tolerant.

Dead Spots in Lawn

If you have a dog, one problem you may frequently notice with your lawn is dead spots. This is caused by your dog urinating in certain spots on the grass. You can easily distinguish the dead spots among healthy, lush, green grass in the lawn. To avoid having this issue, keep your dog off your lawn. In time, as you water the area, the dead spots will recover and the grass will be healthier.

Snow Mold

If you notice white or gray spots on the grass, your lawn may be infected with snow mold. Snow mold occurs in early spring when the snow melts but you failed to rake the grass during the fall. The problem usually clears up on its own as the weather warms. However, if you notice pink snow mold, you need to do a little more work and rake the lawn so that it can dry and more air can get to the affected area.