Get Quotes from Top Lawn Care Companies in Nashville, TN

How Long Have You Been in the Lawn Care Business in Nashville?

An indicator of a lawn care company's expertise and competence is how long they have been in business. Companies that have been in business for a significant period are likely to have handled several lawn care projects and have a larger pool of clients they can request references from on demand. They are also familiar with relevant laws and regulations and are less likely to commit fraud or engage in deceptive conduct. As such, this is a crucial consideration when searching for lawn care companies for your lawn care project. At least two years of doing business is a reasonable level to consider.

Another benefit of going for lawn care companies that have been in business for some time is that you can assess their reputation. This helps you determine if they are ethically reliable or prone to engage in dishonest schemes. Home improvement complaints, which include lawn care scams, were the most reported consumer complaints in Nashville and other cities across Tennessee in 2020. Complaints involving shoddy and incomplete work were particularly prevalent.

However, checking a company's reputation can help avoid falling victim to such scams, as you become aware of any pattern of dishonesty or areas of lawn care that they deliver unsatisfactory results. You can conduct this reputation assessment by asking for customer references from your lawn care company or checking their customer reviews on online third-party platforms like Better Business Bureau, Yelp, and Google Review.

Additionally, lawn care companies in business for a long time typically have ample experience and expertise in maintaining native grasses in Nashville. Therefore, they can give better advice on appropriate methods for caring for these grasses, which grass is best for your neighborhood, and assist with other considerations such as the costs and labor necessary to plant them. Some of these grasses native to Nashville include:

• Bermudagrass
• Bluegrass
• Fescue
• Zoysiagrass
• Centipedegrass
• Ryegrass

On the whole, your chances of making a decent hire for your lawn care project increase when you go for lawn care companies that are not new to the business.

Do You Hold Any Professional Qualifications Relevant to Lawn Care?

As a general requirement, anyone offering lawn care services costing between $3,000 and $25,000 in Nashville must first obtain a home improvement license from the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors (TBLC). Interested persons can apply for this license online or by submitting a completed home improvement license application form to the TBLC at:

Board for Licensing Contractors

500 James Robertson Parkway

Nashville, TN 37243-1150

Documents necessary to process this license application typically include:

• A valid photo ID
• Proof of surety bond in the amount of $10,000 or an irrevocable letter of credit
• Letter of reference from an employer or previous client
• Proof of general liability and workers' compensation insurance.

These documents and further requirements are contained in the application form. For online license applications, applicants must register a user account on the registration portal or log in with their registered account.

For more inquiries on the application process for home improvement licenses and related matters, interested persons can contact the TBLC at (615) 741-8307 or (800) 544-7693. You can confirm if your lawn care contractor is licensed by checking the License Search and Verification portal the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance maintains.

Besides a home improvement license, professionals who offer herbicide or pesticide application services must also obtain a charter, certification, or specified license from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA), depending on the extent or nature of such service. Interested persons can apply for a charter, certification, or license by filing the appropriate form and submitting it through the channels provided in the form. The requirements necessary for these applications each vary. However, general requirements include paying an application fee and passing the relevant examination. Interested persons can direct queries regarding these applications to the TDA at (615) 837-5148. You can also contact the TDA through the same number to confirm your preferred professional's license or certification status.

Besides these mandatory licensing or certification requirements, lawn care professionals sometimes obtain voluntary certifications from reputable organizations. These certifications involve taking courses that expose enrollees to best lawn care practices, safer approaches to lawn management, and improved expertise in specific areas of lawn care, like pesticide application. Lawn care professionals also improve their professional outlook and knowledge of lawn management by joining reputable lawn care associations.

The benefits of joining these associations are similar to obtaining certification. However, requirements for maintaining membership in these associations typically include a standard of proper behavior. As such, members are less likely to get involved in dishonest conduct and are more reliable ethically and professionally. Popular lawn care associations in Nashville include:

• The National Association of Landscape Professionals
• The Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association
• The Tennessee Native Plant Society
• The American Society of Landscape Architects
• The Tennessee Turfgrass Association
• The Middle Tennessee Nursery Association
• The Tennessee Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects

If your lawn care contractor claims to be certified or belong to an association, ensure to verify these claims from the relevant organization or association.

How Much Do You Charge Compared to Other Lawn Care Companies in the City?

The cost of hiring a lawn care company in Nashville varies, as this largely depends on many factors. These factors include:

• The kind of lawn service a project owner requests
• Labor considerations
• The location of the property
• Weather considerations
• The size of the lawn
• The equipment necessary to perform the requested service
• Other unique preferences of the project owner

In most cases, lawn care companies bill project owners using certain pricing structures. Some of these pricing structures include:

• Per Square Foot: This pricing structure involves charging a flat fee for each square foot area. The total square foot area worked on determines how much a project owner pays after the lawn care project is completed. Fees in this pricing structure typically range between $2 and $10 per square foot.
• Per Hour: Similar to the square foot pricing structure, this involves charging a flat fee for each hour spent working on the lawn care project. Accordingly, the total bill for the project depends on the number of hours it took to complete the job. Lawn care companies in Nashville bill between $25 and $75 per hour.
• Per Visit/Project: This entails charging a lump sum for each visit or project. Under this pricing structure, the project owner and the lawn care company agree on a final fee before the project begins. Estimates under this pricing structure vary widely, as they significantly depend on the service to be rendered. Estimates are between $50 and $1500, or even more.

There is much left to a lawn care company's discretion when charging for their services. This is one reason you should compare estimates from at least three lawn care companies when planning a project. When you compare estimates, you can easily find out:

• If your preferred lawn care company is unnecessarily expensive
• The going rate for your project
• The materials and equipment necessary for the success of your project
• If you are being scammed

Lawn care contractors in Nashville earn an average pay of $33,350 annually. The list below compares the average hourly wages of these contractors against those of lawn care contractors in other parts of Tennessee and other cities across the United States:

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

What Is Included in Your Lawn Care Program?

Lawn care programs are a catalog of lawn care services offered by lawn care companies. The services listed in a lawn care program will vary and depend on the cost of the program and the lawn care company offering the program. Cheap lawn care programs have fewer services than more expensive ones. Nonetheless, the services in a lawn care program may include:

• Weeding and weed control
• Lawn mowing
• Fumigation and pest control
• Lawn fertilization
• Sod installation
• Mulching
• Landscape designing
• Debris cleanup
• Seeding
• Irrigation system installation, repair, and maintenance
• Hedge trimming
• Tree services
• Lawn aeration

Considering lawn care programs usually contain multiple lawn care services, it is a good idea always to confirm what service you will be getting. Crafty lawn care companies sometimes offer cheap lawn care programs with unhelpful or fragmented services, then subsequently charge project owners exorbitant fees to complete the job or put the finishing touches. You can avoid hiring such companies by ensuring you review any offered program, confirm the nature and scope of each service, and whether there may be extra fees.

While their services may vary, lawn care programs can be categorized into two. These are:

• Full-Service Lawn Maintenance: This contains a range of services that ensure the complete maintenance of your lawn. Full-service lawn care maintenance goes beyond cleaning your lawn and keeping it organized. It extends to improving your lawn's health, aesthetic outlook, and pest prevention. This service saves you ample time and stress and reduces your need to do extra work. It sometimes caters to individual preferences, such as planting grass varieties and unique landscape designs.
• Basic Lawn Care Services: This arrangement mostly involves simple and essential lawn care services necessary to keep your lawn in acceptable condition and nothing more. It is best for routine matters, such as lawn mowing and debris removal.

Below is the price range for each service a lawn care program mostly contains:

Do You Provide Organic Lawn Care Services?

Organic lawn care is a range of services that help maintain and improve your lawn's health without using artificial products. It is a chemical-free approach to lawn care, which involves replacing conventional lawn care products like pesticides and chemical-based fertilizers with natural materials. Materials peculiar to organic lawn care include animal manure, leaf mulch, fallen leaves, and bone char. This approach aims to reduce harmful chemicals on lawns and in the environment. This way, you need not worry about health complications your family or pets may have when playing on your lawn, especially after yard work. This is not far-fetched since artificial lawn care products are known to cause health problems, including neurological diseases, skin diseases, and cancers.

Other benefits of organic lawn care services are that they improve your lawn's ecosystem and:

• Have no water or soil pollution risks
• Assist the photosynthesis process
• They are safer
• Give your lawn the essential boost to be more disease and pest-resistant
• Improve grass quality
• Have no significant or life-threatening effect from misapplication
• They are friendly to the environment
• They improve root growth.

However, organic lawn care services require some know-how and expertise, and not all lawn care companies offer them. If you are into organic lawn care, you should confirm with your preferred lawn care company if they offer this service before hiring them or getting their lawn care package.

Also, note that organic lawn care services are typically labor-intensive. This being the case, they are sometimes more expensive. While you confirm if your lawn care company offers organic lawn care services, also confirm the scope of their service and the effect it will have on your lawn. This way, you can determine whether their service is value for money down the line.

Do You Offer a Warranty for Plants Installed?

Plant warranties are mostly relevant to lawn seeding and sod installation services. It is a guarantee that seeds planted on your lawn will flourish and grow, and it is crucial to consider if your preferred lawn care company offers such warranties. The terms and benefits of a warranty vary by lawn care company. However, most warranties stipulate certain conditions that homeowners must observe to keep the warranty valid, and they generally include:

• Watering requirements
• Taking reasonable steps to protect the lawn from damage
• Keeping the lawn tidy
• Periodic fertilization

Likewise, most warranties contain exclusion clauses, which state situations not covered under warranty. Such situations include:

• Damage caused by animals
• Damage caused by extreme weather
• Damage caused by a homeowner's failure to maintain the lawn properly.

Accordingly, you should always review the terms of any warranty presented by your preferred lawn care company. This way, you get to understand your responsibilities to keep the warranty valid and situations that are excluded.

Do You Carry the Necessary Insurance Policy for Lawn Care Companies in the City?

As part of the requirements for obtaining a home improvement license, lawn care contractors and companies must have valid general liability and workers' compensation insurance. The general liability policy must have a minimum coverage of $100,000. They must also have proof of a surety bond in the amount of $10,000 or an irrevocable letter of credit.

Additional bond and insurance requirements apply to pesticide applicators, lawn care companies, and contractors dealing with pesticides. Per these requirements, they must have proof of the following:

• A surety bond of at least $10,000, and
• Liability insurance coverage to the tune of $250,000 per incident and $500,000 on aggregate.

Besides, it is advisable to hire only insured lawn care companies or contractors because of the dangers and health risks associated with lawn care services. More than 230,000 people across the country receive treatments for lawn-related injuries annually, and some of these injuries result in fatalities. You may be held liable if any such injury occurs during your lawn project. However, with an insured lawn care company, you have a financial buffer and may avoid out-of-pocket expenses in such situations.

Therefore, always confirm that your preferred lawn care company has valid general liability and workers' compensation insurance and that the insurance policies are sufficient for the scope of your project. Also, ensure to verify any presented proof of insurance with the relevant insurance provider.