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TruGreen Killed my Lawn - now what?

18K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  topsites 
#1 ·
This is my first post, but have read several posts about TruGreen from members here, 99% of which are negative. Most of the folks here seem to be professionals, but I'm a homeowner, so I'm asking for advice.

Firstly, TGCL nearly completely ruined my lawn. I have severe grub damage, and want to get the lawn back in shape. At this point this year, I've:

- Weed and feed (applied before I realized I had grub damage)
- dethatched (which basically ripped up all of the grub damage)
- spike aerated
- applied Grub-Ex (from what I read, it's too early, but I HAD to do something. after the dethatch, the grubs were right there on the suface)

but the 1.3 acre lawn is in bad shape. I'm considering hiring a local lawn pro, but how do I go about finding someone more than just a "lawn mower"?
 
#2 ·
I am not a pro but I do my lawn nicely. I like nice curb appeal :dancing:

Not sure I understand your post. Grub is a BUG and you typically want to kill these grub because they eat the grass roots thus killing off the grass. Applying grub killer (there are different brands at Home Depot or Lowes) will kill grubs but best to apply when they are active and growing...thus eating the roots of grass. How can you have grub damage...that is what you want to do damage the grub.

You applied weed and feed. I would have applied turfgrass with crabgrass preventer FIRST. Wait 5 or 6 weeks and do the weed and feed. But since we have had so much rain in my area it has about dissolved the grabgrass preventer and the weeds are ACTIVE now...so I may do the weed and feed in a week or two.

Your detaching is okay to me. If you have alot of thatch, then that is the thing to do. I normally get a thatching rake and only do the areas that have visible heavy thatching. I bag my grass so not al,ot of thatching on my yard. Not sure how dethatching can "rip up thr grub damage" because the grub should be dead anyways so if thatching brings it up to the top of the grass that is fine its dead :clapping:

If you applied Grub-Ex that is fine. Its supposed to be applied when the grubs are there and actively moving/eating etc. So you did it right. If they were brought to the top...they will bore back down the ground because that is where their food are...the grass roots. Typically grub control like Grub-Ex can be applied anytime of the year and I apply them at the end of May or first week of June to ensure the widest kill of grub. You should be fine and you can find out if you have grubs alove. When I dig up the irrigation rotors to replace them or plant stuff...I usually can tell if I have grub or not. If your grass becomes brown/tan then that usually means grub damage but not always if you have grass fungus.

BTW...I hope you applied the weed and feed stuff when the grass was wet so the granules attach to the weed and after a couple days kill the weed.

Relax and see how it turns out. TruGreen prolly did not kill your lawn but you can apply Grub-EX yourself and save some $$$.
 
#4 ·
Not sure I understand your post. Grub is a BUG and you typically want to kill these grub because they eat the grass roots thus killing off the grass. Applying grub killer (there are different brands at Home Depot or Lowes) will kill grubs but best to apply when they are active and growing...thus eating the roots of grass. How can you have grub damage...that is what you want to do damage the grub.
Ummm, "grub damage" is what happens when the grubs have already eaten the roots, and the grass is DEAD - dethatching ripped up the dead grass from the grub damage, and left bare dirt.

You applied weed and feed. I would have applied turfgrass with crabgrass preventer FIRST. Wait 5 or 6 weeks and do the weed and feed. But since we have had so much rain in my area it has about dissolved the grabgrass preventer and the weeds are ACTIVE now...so I may do the weed and feed in a week or two.
This was to prevent dandelions from coming up - it worked. My lawn is a DEEP green (compared to the neighbors), with just a very few dandelions along the edge and in random spots in the yard.

Your detaching is okay to me. If you have alot of thatch, then that is the thing to do. I normally get a thatching rake and only do the areas that have visible heavy thatching. I bag my grass so not al,ot of thatching on my yard. Not sure how dethatching can "rip up thr grub damage" because the grub should be dead anyways so if thatching brings it up to the top of the grass that is fine its dead :clapping:
I have 1.2 acres to take care of on my lot, so I'm not about to do it by hand. I pulled a dethatcher behind my tractor. I don't bag (and besides, thatch is not from the clippings) but do cut it tall.

If you applied Grub-Ex that is fine. Its supposed to be applied when the grubs are there and actively moving/eating etc. So you did it right. If they were brought to the top...they will bore back down the ground because that is where their food are...the grass roots. Typically grub control like Grub-Ex can be applied anytime of the year and I apply them at the end of May or first week of June to ensure the widest kill of grub. You should be fine and you can find out if you have grubs alove. When I dig up the irrigation rotors to replace them or plant stuff...I usually can tell if I have grub or not. If your grass becomes brown/tan then that usually means grub damage but not always if you have grass fungus.
AKA "Grub Damage" :). I sure hope the Grub-Ex works, because in some of the other posts in this forum, they say that it might be too late in the lifecycle of the grub/beetle to do much good.[/quote]

BTW...I hope you applied the weed and feed stuff when the grass was wet so the granules attach to the weed and after a couple days kill the weed.
Yep - think it worked out fine.

Relax and see how it turns out. TruGreen prolly did not kill your lawn but you can apply Grub-EX yourself and save some $$$.
I look on here and also googled "TruGreen Complaint" and was overwhelmed with the number of negative comments on them. I did apply the grub-ex myself, to the tune of eight 5k sq/ft bags at $20/bag.
 
#5 ·
A spike aerator will often do more harm than good by further compacting the soil. It basically just pushes the soil down further. A core aerator is the preferred way to aerate as it pull plugs of soil and grass out of the lawn allowing air, water and nutrients to better reach to roots of the grass plants.
 
#6 ·
A spike aerator will often do more harm than good by further compacting the soil. It basically just pushes the soil down further. A core aerator is the preferred way to aerate as it pull plugs of soil and grass out of the lawn allowing air, water and nutrients to better reach to roots of the grass plants.
Hmm - thanks for the info.

The one I used I borrowed from a friend. I've been to Lowes, and they have a core aerator, similar to the spike model they sell (uses bricks as weight for the core tines). I'm skeptical on how well these work, and figured I'd just borrow the spike model and see how it helped.

Anyone with experience on the weighted core aerator or other suggestions on aeroators on a limited budget (I'm not going to go out and buy a powered aerator like they use on golf course greens :)?
 
#7 ·
I just rent one once (sometimes twice) a year. It costs about $80 per day, but my yard is about half your size so I just get one to push around (actually it pulls me around pretty well). I imagine you could find a rental that you can pull. Also, if you do this do not pick up the plugs. With one or two rains they will fall apart and will fall back into the holes or you can drag something like chain link behind and that will break them up, too. Your yard will look like crap for a very short period of time but it will be very much worth it. I believe the standard is 12 plugs per square foot, but I'm sure a pro will be around to verify.
 
#8 ·
Anyone with experience on the weighted core aerator or other suggestions on aeroators on a limited budget (I'm not going to go out and buy a powered aerator like they use on golf course greens :)?
GO with a core aerator. If your lawn is really thin, you may want to rent one in the fall. Never forget the adage "nature re-seeds itself in the fall". The rented units are great for getting into tight areas, and I used one the first 2 years in this house. Be sure to use whichever one in 2 or 3 directions.

I pretty much have the lawn thriving and weeds and grubs at bay now, so the pull-behind unit from Lowes with some weight on top, does a great job for me. I use it in the early spring and again in mid-fall, followed by an over-seed each time.
 
#9 ·
GO with a core aerator. If your lawn is really thin, you may want to rent one in the fall. Never forget the adage "nature re-seeds itself in the fall". The rented units are great for getting into tight areas, and I used one the first 2 years in this house. Be sure to use whichever one in 2 or 3 directions.
Don't forget soil amendments after core aeration, where necessary.

Around here in SW Ohio, heavy compacted clay is the norm.
So, a really wise thing to do in this particular situation is to broadcast liberal amounts of coarse sand immediately after the cores 'dry down' on the lawn a little, so that the soil doesn't tend to stick to the spreader tires.
Post-aeration is also the ideal time for finished compost application, but that's another forum altogether...:)
 
#10 ·
First mistake you hired TrueGreen. You pay for what you get, True Green is usually hired on price point alone. Lesson learned don't go cheap, get several quotes hire the best guy for the job, not the cheapest. Real Yellow pages AKA phone book, ask your neighbors whom they use.
 
#11 ·
Gt350rc - so im not understanding what trugreen did to kill your lawn. Is the damage from last fall and if so did TG do a grub control for you last spring?The only thing you said was wrong with the lawn was grub damage. Grubs are not actively feeding on the roots until your summer to fall months. Now is the time to apply a grub control. I'm not sure if you put a crabgrass pre emergant down, if you did you should not have done a de-thatching. That will break up your pre-M barrier and alow broadleaf weeds/crabgrass to germinate. Wait until the fall then do a core aeration and overseeding to fill in bare spots. Good luck!

Nosparkplugs- Around here TG is more expensive than most of the other spray companies.
 
#12 ·
Of course it's all suspicion, but I suspect they had something to do with the grubs being there in the first place (planting /dropping /whatever). None of my neighbors use a lawncare service, and it's funny how they don't have grubs - the skunks are not tearing up their lawn - just mine. The grub line is as clear as the property line.
 
#13 ·
gt, for what it is worth, i bought the core areator from lowes a month or so back and had good luck with it. it is very heavily coated with a paint or powder coating to prevent rust. i had 4 big retaining wall blocks on it and was able to get 2-2.5" plugs out of the yard. it seemed to help alot with the yard as it looks the best it has ever looked. it still needs help but much better. this fall i will do it again and over seed. i forget the brand though, i know it was not the brinley one.
 
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