Lawn Care Tips for a Weed-Free Yard

In order to achieve and maintain a beautiful lawn, A B Pest Control and Insulation truly believes that you should implement basic lawn care practices. On top of that, it takes time and work to ensure your lawn isn't overtaken by weeds. The best lawn service company at the Lake of the Ozarks has put together some information to help you get your yard in tip-top shape and weed-free!

Do a Spring Time Lawn Revamp
Fall and spring are the best times to give your lawn some much needed TLC to ensure it remains healthy and lush. Here are some tasks you should be doing every spring:

• Testing the soil
• Core aeration
• Adding soil amendments
• Top-dressing
• Fertilizing
• Planting grass seed or sod

Keep Up with Lawn Maintenance

Spring and summer time typically means you're out and about doing things you enjoy doing and are probably rarely home. However, to maintain a healthy lawn all year round, you really do need to keep up with lawn maintenance. This means mowing regularly, spraying for weeds routinely, and watering often!

Promote a Healthy Lawn

While fighting weeds is a year-round job, weed prevention is best practiced in the fall and early spring to take advantage of the growing season of turf grasses. A healthy, thick lawn is your number one defense against weeds. For a nice, green lawn that is free of weeds, focus first on getting your grass healthy, then give it a couple of months to become strong before applying weed control products. Minimize turf areas, so that you’re only growing grass where grass easily grows.

Hire the Professionals!

Every yard is different and it’s important to have a proper lawn management program that is tailored to your unique yard. A B Pest Control and Insulation has a formula for success for your lawn. The best lawn service company at the Lake of the Ozarks can evaluate your lawn’s needs and put it on a regular maintenance schedule so that it stays healthy and weed-free throughout the year. If your lawn is in need of some help, visit our website or give us a call today. We would love to get your yard back on track!

Lake of the Ozarks
Pest Control Company

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www.abpest.net

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Controlling Weeds This Summer

Although the extreme heat may be killing off your grass, the weeds are still sticking around. The summer heat can be hard on our lawns. However, weeds are much heartier than grass and can withstand the heat much better than grass can. At A B Pest Control & Insulation, our Lake of the Ozarks lawn care services can help you have a weed free yard this summer. Here are a few tips to help you have the best looking lawn even during the late summer season.

1. Mow At The Right Height

If your grass is still growing and hasn't died off during the heat, it's important to make sure to keep mowing, and to mow at the right height. In the summer, it's best to adjust the mower blades higher to leave the grass taller. Taller grass shades soil, which reduces water evaporation and deeper roots. This can help prevent weeds from germinating. It's important to time your mowing as to not cut too much at a time.

2. Keep Watering

For the healthiest grass, water the lawn deeply and infrequently. Lawns need at least one inch of water per week and more when the heat is severe. It's best to water early in the day to reduce evaporation and fungus growth. If your lawn has gone brown and dormant, don't try to "water it back to life". If it goes dormant in the summer, it should stay that way until fall. Don't worry, it should recover once the weather changes.

3. Leave The Clippings, Clean Up The Clutter

When mowing your lawn, it's best to leave the clippings. This will help fertilize your lawn and keep the grass shaded from the sun. Summer activities can leave toys, water games, lawn chairs and other items on the grass. This could result in damage the grass and also create dangerous obstacles while mowing. As much as we love dogs, they don't help much with making sure our lawns look good. Pick up their waste and dispose of it properly to avoid pests for coming into the yard. If their urination is turning the grass yellow, flush the area with water to dilute the urine in the soil.

Call A B Pest Control & Insulation

If you're tired of the weeds popping up in your yard and rock areas, call A B Pest Control & Insulation at 573-964-1100. Weeds are often symptoms of a more serious problem, and at A B Pest Control & Insulation, we can develop a turf management program tailored just for your lawn. In addition to controlling the weeds, we can also treat your lawn and outdoor perimeter for pests that invade and damage your yard, plant beds and gardens.

Lake of the Ozarks
Pest Control Company

Visit Our Website:

www.abpest.net

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Tips For A Healthy Spring Yard

Now that spring is here, it's time to get back into our lawn care routine. It's best to start early in order to have a lawn that is beautiful and healthy in the summer. We spend a lot of time outdoors during the warmer months, so we want to make sure our lawns are healthy enough to withstand not only the heat but also people walking across them. A B Pest Control & Insulation has 6 tips to keep in mind this spring to have a beautiful lawn you can enjoy this summer.

1. Mow Regularly

It's best to keep your lawn between 3 - 4 inches from the ground to help protect from weeds and to provide shade. Start mowing your lawn as soon as your lawn needs it and mow it as often as it takes to keep it between the 3-4 inches, which is usually about once a week. However, it's important not to cut your lawn too short either, as that could be just as damaging as letting it grow too tall.

2. Water In The Early Morning

It's best to water your lawn in the early morning, as that's when it's the coolest. While it's cool in the evenings as well, when the lawn is watered in the evenings, water droplets cling to the blades and can't evaporate, which can cause lawn disease. When water sits in the yard overnight, it's the perfect breeding ground for fungus. In addition to watering in the morning, it's best to water the lawn less, but for longer periods of time to allow the roots to grow deeply. 

3. Fertilizer 

The type of grass you have in your lawn will affect when and how you should fertilize your lawn. If you have cool-season grasses, don't heavily fertilize your lawn in the spring. This will encourage rapid tender growth that will struggle to survive the heat of the summer. If your cool-season lawn is in in bad shape, fertilize lightly in the spring with a slow-releasing fertilizer. Save the heavier feedings for fall when cool-season grasses are at their peak growing season. If you have a warm-season grass, fertilize in the late spring as soon as the lawn gets nice and green and begins to actively grow. This is usually after the last frost in April or May.

4. Use Weed Control

Both cool and warm season kinds of grass can benefit from weed control during the spring months. It's best to use a pre-emergent weed control during the spring to prevent the seeds from germinating. The best way to control weeds is to eliminate them before they start to grow.  Keeping the weeds out of your grass helps it not only look good but it keeps it healthy too. 

5. Aerate

The best time to aerate your lawn depends on the type of grass is in your yard. For warm-season grasses, it's best to aerate in the early to mid-summer. For cool-season grasses, aeration is best saved for the fall, however, it can be repeated in the springtime if the soil is extremely compacted. It's best to wait until the lawn has been mowed two or three times in the season so you know it will recover from the aeration.

6. Overeseeding

In the spring, you will need to decide if you want to focus on weed control or lawn seeding. Pre-emergent herbicides prevent grass seed from sprouting as well, so you can't do both. The herbicide usually last up to 12 weeks, which means you'll miss the spring planting season.

If your focus is on filling in bare spots or establishing a new lawn, then follow these steps depending on the type of grass you have. If you have cool-season grasses, they can be planted as soon as the temperature is in the 60s and soil temperatures are in the 50s. Plant as soon as temperatures allow the seedlings a chance to get established before the hot weather hits. Fall is typically the better time to plant cool-season grasses, so use the spring months for patching bare spots and be prepared to keep your lawn well-watered during the summer. Warm-season grasses can be planted when air temperatures are in the 70 and soil temperatures are in the 60s. It's important to make sure the danger of frost has passed. Late spring is the best time to plant warm-season grasses.

If you need help with your lawn care maintenance at the Lake of the Ozarks, A B Pest Control & Insulation is here for you. We can help you have a healthy and pest free yard. To learn more or to schedule your appointment, give us a call at 573-964-1100.

Lake of the Ozarks
Pest Control Company

Visit Our Website:

www.abpest.net

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Protect Your Lawn with a Fertilizer and a Pre-Emergent Lawn Care Treament

For a beautiful lawn this season and to win the war on weeds, now is the time to apply a fertilizer and pre-emergent lawn care treatment. Feeding your lawn will keep it healthy while keeping the weeds away. Timing is everything to prevent seeds from germinating. Prevention happens in the spring. Before your lawn gets engulfed in unsightly weeds, you should contact a lawn service at the Lake of the Ozarks. A B Pest Control and Insulation offers a turf management program tailored just for your lawn.

Why You Need To Fertilize Your Lawn

If you want a healthy lawn, it takes more than mowing and watering it. Fertilizer provides the proper nutrients for your lawn to grow lush and green. Optimal results occur when the fertilizer is applied accurately and evenly across your lawn. Inconsistent coverage can make your lawn grow uneven. Too much fertilization can cause havoc too. Thatch buildup can harbor large populations of insects, causing an increase in pest problems in your yard. Fertilization is generally most successful if applied using a slow release product that contains nitrogen, which is responsible for green growth and optimized health. It also reduces the risk of disease and fungus. It is best to address individual lawn care at Lake of the Ozarks, by factoring in location and the type of grass you have. 

The Benefits of a Pre-Emergent Lawn Care Treatment

You have probably spent countless hours pulling weeds or spraying weed killers from your local home improvement store. This can be frustrating, but there is a way to improve the appearance of your lawn with less hassle. A pre-emergent lawn care product should be applied in spring which will help throughout the majority of the growing season. Various weeds germinate at different times, so repeated applications of the right chemical can eliminate most of the weeds in your lawn. Below are some of the benefits:

• It stops the weeds from growing
• A minimal amount of labor is involved 
• Dealing with remaining weeds is easier
• Each successive season, the need to spray a post-emergent weed killer is lessened

Let A B Pest Control and Insulation Treat Your Lawn

A B Pest Control and Insulation can offer an evaluation to customize the best fertilizer to fit your lawn's needs. Once weeds appear in your lawn, it could indicate more serious problems in your yard. Weeds do not produce unhealthy lawns, unhealthy lawns produce weeds. We will develop a turf management program tailored just for your lawn. This is the first step in an effective, environmentally sound weed-free yard. A B Pest Control and Insulation also offers pest control services at the Lake of the Ozarks, to prevent pests from invading your plant beds and gardens. Let us help you keep your outdoor space beautiful and pest-free!

Lake of the Ozarks
Pest Control Company

Visit Our Website:
www.abpest.net

Like us on Facebook
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