Get Quotes from Top Lawn Care Companies in Jacksonville, FL
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Lawn Care Company in Jacksonville
Investing in a professional lawn care program for your Jacksonville lawn might result in a 267 percent return on investments if you decide to sell your house. Beyond the significant benefit of increasing the value of your property, professional lawn care also helps you avoid lawn mower-related accidents, saves the environment, and saves you the time and money associated with ill-executed DIY lawn care attempts.
Before selecting any Jacksonville lawn care company, confirm that the possible personnel are certified, insured, possess the required knowledge, and have the appropriate equipment to keep your grass in peak shape. To achieve this, inquire about the following:
- How Long Have You Been in the Lawn Care Business in Jacksonville?
- Do You Hold Any Professional Qualifications Relevant to Lawn Care?
- How Much Do You Charge Compared to Other Lawn Care Companies in the City?
- What Is Included in Your Lawn Care Program?
- Do You Provide Organic Lawn Care Services?
- Do You Offer a Warranty for Plants Installed?
- Do You Carry the Necessary Insurance Policy for Lawn Care Companies in the City?
- How to File a Complaint Against a Bad Lawn Care Service in Jacksonville
How Long Have You Been in the Lawn Care Business in Jacksonville?
In Jacksonville, when looking for lawn care services, it is advisable to look for established lawn care businesses. Lawn care companies that have been in operation for a while—ideally no less than two years—and have a proven track record of success frequently hire skilled and experienced landscapers. These experts typically have a deeper comprehension of native grasses and garden plants than less skilled landscapers, as well as more expertise about how to care for them. In lawns all across Jacksonville, you can find the natural grasses, ground coverings, flowering plants, and garden plants listed below:
- Azaleas
- Bahiagrass
- Bermudagrass
- Blanket flower
- Centipedegrass
- Powderpuff mimosa
- St. Augustinegrass
- Zoysiagrass
Another benefit of hiring lawn care companies with a good reputation is that they are less likely to be involved in home improvement scams. According to the Consumer Federation of America, complaints about home improvements ranked third among US customers' grievances in 2021. If you hire dependable, enduring lawn care service providers, your chances of falling prey to these scams are greatly decreased.
You should always request and examine references of prior clients from any lawn care company you want to utilize, regardless of how long a firm has been in business. You can look into a company's business background and client testimonies on websites like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, and Google Reviews.
Do You Hold Any Professional Qualifications Relevant to Lawn Care?
One way to assess their expertise is to find out if your lawn care experts have professional credentials in lawn care specialties pertaining to the services you require. There are no occupation-specific licensing requirements for landscapers and lawn care providers working in Jacksonville, but depending on the services they intend to offer, they might be asked to abide by certain municipal and state regulatory standards.
Landscapers must possess a pesticide applicator license provided by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) in order to use restricted-use pesticides on any outdoor area in Jacksonville that is not related to buildings or public health pest control. This license is primarily of three types, namely Private Applicator License, Public Applicator License and Commercial Applicator License.
A Private Applicator license is required for individuals who apply restricted-use pesticides to produce agricultural commodities on land they own, rent or are employed to manage. People who work for the government and apply restricted-use pesticides for agricultural or related purposes must have a public applicator license. People who use restricted use pesticides on any agricultural or related area that is not connected to buildings for any purpose not covered by the other two licenses often need a commercial applicator license. Note that for uses covered by the commercial license, a commercial applicator license may take the place of a private applicator license.
In addition to obtaining licenses and certifications that are mandated by the state or the city, many professional landscapers and lawn care professionals in Jacksonville often also pursue voluntary certifications from organizations like:
- The Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA)
- The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)
- The Irrigation Association (IA)
- The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP)
- The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS)
It should be noted that it is crucial to verify any claims of voluntary certification made by a lawn care company you wish to hire by requesting documentation and verifying it with the appropriate organization. By doing this, you can avoid choosing a lawn care contractor who will not do a good job.
How Much Do You Charge Compared to Other Lawn Care Companies in the City?
Another step to take to ensure that you receive satisfactory lawn care services in Jacksonville is to find out how much your preferred lawn care companies charge for their services and agree on these prices. City-based lawn care companies frequently base their rates on the following pricing models:
- Per Hour: Under this straightforward price structure, the lawn care service will determine an hourly cost for each hour they spend working on your lawn. These fees may be greater, but they typically run from $20 to $80 per hour, depending on the nature and scope of the task.
- Per Square Foot: Under this price structure, consumers are charged for every square foot of maintained grass by the lawn care provider. Typically, this construction will cost between $3 and $10 per square foot.
- Per Visit/Per Project: Under this pricing structure, the lawn care company charges a flat fee for either specific services it provides or for a variety of services delivered over a predetermined period of time. Fees might be between $50 and $1,000 per visit.
The following factors, among others, have an impact on Jacksonville's costs for lawn care services:
- Obstacles like sharp hills, trees, fences, and rocks on your lawn.
- Size of your lawn area
- The frequency of the required lawn care services
- The kind and scope of the services that are required
- The number of people needed to provide the services needed
- The specific tools and machinery required for the task
- Your location in the city
When looking for the best lawn care company to provide you with lawn maintenance and other landscaping services, it is typically a good idea to request and compare price quotations from multiple businesses before making your final hiring decision. This has several benefits, including:
- It gives you a picture of what the going rate is for the services you require.
- It helps you prevent being ripped off for services by unethical companies.
- It makes it simpler to recognize unethical lawn care companies.
Lawn care contractors in Jacksonville earn an average wage of $31,790 every year. The list below compares the average wages earned by these contractors per hour against the average hourly wages of lawn care contractors in other parts of Florida and also in other locations across the United States:
What Is Included in Your Lawn Care Program?
In the city of Jacksonville, interested parties have a selection of lawn care services from which to choose, including but not restricted to:
- Flower services
- Garden cleanup and debris removal
- Irrigation system maintenance and repair
- Landscape design
- Lawn aeration
- Lawn fertilization
- Lawn mowing
- Lawn seeding
- Leaf blowing
- Mulching
- Pest control
- Retaining wall installation
- Shrub and hedge trimming
- Shrub and tree planting
- Tree trimming
- Weed control
When hiring neighborhood lawn care companies, ask them just what they intend to offer as part of your lawn care program. Certain lawn care companies lure prospective clients with extremely low-priced lawn care plans in the hopes that they will sign up for their services, fully aware that these clients will eventually need more intense, and frequently more expensive services. If you insist on knowing the actual nature, scope, and cost of your desired lawn care program up front, especially if you intend to sign up for recurring lawn care services and treatments, you can prevent misunderstandings with your lawn care provider later on.
Numerous reputable lawn care companies in Jacksonville typically provide two basic types of packages:
- Basic Lawn Care Treatments: The main goal of these treatments is to improve your lawn's appearance rather than its general health. Basic lawn care programs frequently include services like lawn mowing, leaf blowing, hedge and shrub trimming, and garden maintenance.
- Full-service Lawn Maintenance: These include treatments that not only improve your lawn's appearance but also its general health. Full-service lawn care plans frequently include standard lawn care services as well as extras like lawn aeration and fertilization, tree trimming and pruning, weed control, and treatment of grass diseases.
Cost estimates for common lawn care services included in Jacksonville's lawn care programs are provided below:
Do You Provide Organic Lawn Care Services?
The concept of organic lawn care involves keeping a lawn healthy without using synthetic materials or chemicals, such as pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides. Instead, organic materials like potash, compost, leaf mulch, seaweed, bone char, worm castings, and manure from plants or animals are used to maintain the grass. Organic lawn care frequently seeks to lessen the volume and amount of chemicals released into the atmosphere while also supplying a chemical-free outdoor space suited for children and dogs.
Finding out if your preferred lawn care company offers organic lawn care services is typically a good idea, especially if you care about the environment, have young children or animals who will be playing in your yard frequently, or respect the environment. The number of pesticides and other potentially harmful lawn care chemicals that these children and pets are exposed to might be significantly decreased by doing this.
Be mindful that maintaining an organic lawn needs more work than maintaining a standard lawn, which could raise your costs. However, there are a lot of benefits to using this form of lawn care, including:
- It enhances root development
- It facilitates the process of photosynthesis.
- It is secure for both kids and animals.
- It lessens contamination of the land and water.
- It makes use of biodegradable materials.
- It makes your soil less susceptible to illnesses and pests as a result.
- It restores the ecosystem of your lawn.
- It saves you money over time
- It strengthens your lawn.
- There is no chance of applying too much.
Do You Offer a Warranty for Plants Installed?
Plant warranties must be taken into consideration when choosing lawn care companies, especially if the services under consideration entail the installation of plants, flowers, seeds, or sod on your lawn. Because these warranties are guarantees that the plants will grow and thrive once they are planted on your lawn, you should be wary of lawn care companies that do not offer them.
Remember that various lawn care companies frequently provide various plant installation warranties with various particular terms and coverage. But many respected Jacksonville lawn care companies only offer plant warranties that are valid for a year and do not cover things like:
- Animal-related damage.
- Damage brought on by the client's improper plant upkeep and care
- Natural disaster damage and acts of vandalism
Due to the biological nature of plants and flowers and the necessity for proper care and maintenance, many lawn care companies also include conditions in their plant warranties that must be adhered to for the warranties to remain in effect. Usually, these consist of
- Watering practices
- Mowing schedules and allowable mowing heights
- The conditions for fertilization
Always be sure to study the particular terms and conditions of any plant warranty that your preferred lawn care provider gives to avoid the guarantee being void.
Do You Carry the Necessary Insurance Policy for Lawn Care Companies in the City?
Before signing any hiring contracts with any Jacksonville lawn care company, it is crucial to confirm that the business, as well as any landscapers and lawn care contractors they employ, are adequately insured. Lawn care and maintenance tasks have the potential to be dangerous; work-related risks such as cuts, hand injuries, amputations from tools and equipment, and chemical exposure are frequently faced by landscapers. The occurrence of these injuries or any other unplanned unpleasant events during your lawn care operation could result in out-of-pocket expenses and other legal liabilities if your lawn care contractors and landscapers are not adequately insured.
Always ask for proof of insurance from your lawn care company before signing any contracts with them, get this proof validated by their insurance provider, and evaluate whether the firm's general liability insurance coverage is sufficient for the range of your requested services.
Jacksonville does not mandate that lawn care workers have insurance, but it is still imperative that you make sure that anybody you employ to take care of your lawn has adequate protection. Insist on general liability insurance to prevent being held accountable for injuries and accidents that occur during the project. Additionally, bear in mind that Jacksonville requires all employers to have worker's compensation insurance for their workers.
Contacting the Florida Department of Financial Services at (877) 693-5236 will provide you with more information on the insurance, bond, and other necessary financial requirements that landscapers in Jacksonville must meet.
How to File a Complaint Against a Bad Lawn Care Service in Jacksonville
The Consumer Protection division of the Office of the Attorney General of Florida, which is responsible for safeguarding Florida consumers by receiving complaints and pursuing civil actions in the public interest, accepts complaints against Jacksonville lawn care professionals who offer inadequate service.
A Jacksonville contractor was jailed, according to a 2019 article by 105WOKV, for allegedly taking part in a fraud operation that involved forging client signatures and, in some cases, failing to deliver the work that was promised. Four homeowners transferred their insurance benefits to the aforementioned contractor, who was contracted to complete the construction work. The contractor was accused of defrauding the government out of more than $40,000 by allegedly forging homeowners' signatures.
When trying to adopt a lawn care program for your house, there is always a possibility that you may run into dishonest people or firms, despite the fact that many lawn care companies in Jacksonville are legitimate and offer their services in a professional manner. These dishonest lawn care businesses and landscapers employ a variety of techniques to defraud customers of their money, including:
- Their contracts include unnecessary additional services and hidden expenses.
- They begin by offering lawn care services at a fair price but raise their fees after that.
- They perform substandard work while being paid extravagantly for their services
- They promise to use more expensive, organic lawn care items, then carry out the task with non-organic products
When carrying out your lawn care project, you can successfully avoid lawn care scammers by doing the following:
- Do not allow lawn care companies, landscapers, or unsolicited offers of lawn care and maintenance services to persuade you into enrolling in lawn care plans.
- Before making a final hiring decision, request price estimates from at least three different lawn care companies and compare them. Inquire as to why a lawn care professional's estimate differs so greatly from those of other lawn care providers.
- Pay caution to landscaping companies who offer quotes without first inspecting your lawn. They are more likely than not trying to scam you.
- Before signing any contracts, make sure to read them through completely. Do not sign any contract unless you are satisfied with the terms.
- Never pay the entire money for your lawn care services in advance, and be wary of companies that request or require big down payments. Any request above ten percent of the entire cost is a red flag.
- Maintain copies of any documents related to your lawn care strategy.
- Conduct thorough research on any lawn care company you plan to work with to ensure that they have a good reputation for offering the best services. On websites like the Better Business Bureau and Google Reviews, you may look up online reviews for neighborhood landscapers and lawn care companies.
- When choosing someone to hire, keep an eye out for professional qualifications. Make sure the landscaper has received the appropriate certification from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) if your lawn care services will include the application of pesticides.
- Always look into referrals from prior customers.
- Make sure your lawn care company has enough insurance.
- The specifics of your lawn care program, including its nature and extent, as well as the frequency and cost of the necessary services, should be outlined in a written agreement. Keep in mind that any service involving the application of pesticides to residential property is subject to formal contracts being needed by state legislation.
- Be wary of lawn care companies that advertise deals and services that sound too good to be true.
You can file a complaint with the Florida Attorney General's Office by calling (866) 966-7226 or (850) 414-3990 if you think a Jacksonville lawn care company or contractor has taken unfair advantage of you. A complaint may also be registered to the Office online.
Table of Contents
- How Long Have You Been in the Lawn Care Business in Jacksonville?
- Do You Hold Any Professional Qualifications Relevant to Lawn Care?
- How Much Do You Charge Compared to Other Lawn Care Companies in the City?
- What Is Included in Your Lawn Care Program?
- Do You Provide Organic Lawn Care Services?
- Do You Offer a Warranty for Plants Installed?
- Do You Carry the Necessary Insurance Policy for Lawn Care Companies in the City?
- How to File a Complaint Against a Bad Lawn Care Service in Jacksonville