TruGreen vs DIY Lawn Care (things to consider)

Yes, doing all your lawn care DIY is a big job. Maybe that’s why you’ve considered hiring a professional service, like TruGreen. But is professional lawncare worth the cost? Like so many other things, it’ll depend on your circumstances and preferences. Keep reading to see my complete TruGreen vs DIY comparison, so you can make the right decision for your lawn.

I’ll go over all the information you need about costs and other aspects of professional service when compared to DIY lawn care. Let’s get started!

The DIY Option

Here are some facts you need to know about taking care of your lawn DIY.

DIY Means You’re In Control

Choosing DIY lawn care means you’re the one making the decisions about which products you use.

If you have pets or kids, this is likely a really important factor for you, because you’ll want to know exactly what is getting applied to your lawn. After all – the health of our families is really important.

And kids and pets spend more time in the grass than anyone else, so what you’re using to treat your lawn matters.

The Satisfaction of a Job Well Done

DIY is a great option if you enjoy doing lawn work and see it as a relaxing hobby. For example, maybe you see lawn care as a fantastic way to exercise and spend time outdoors.

Or you might just take pride in knowing you’re caring for your property yourself.

Getting your family involved is a great way of spending time together while working towards a common goal: a beautiful lawn!

And modeling hard work, follow-through, and discipline for your kids is a great benefit as well that many people don’t consider when deciding between DIY and TruGreen.

Sure, there are other ways to model these traits – but when I was growing up I learned my work ethic from my dad. Watching how he cared for our home and property on his “days off” played a big role in making me who I am today.

Help for Those Who Need It

The good news is that you don’t need to be a lawn care expert to get good results with DIY lawn care. I have a free cheat-sheet you can grab which gives you a game-plan for a full season of lawn care.

And if you aren’t sure exactly what to order, there are terrific lawn care subscription plans that will send you exactly what your lawn needs, with instructions about how to apply these products, and when to do it.

LawnChick.com is reader supported. If you make a purchase after clicking a link, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

This is a great option for homeowners who want to DIY their lawn care, but stress out about what to order, when and how to to apply products, etc.

The Cost of Equipment

If you want to go the DIY route, you’ll need the right DIY lawn care products and equipment. But you need to think about which pieces you’ll rent and which you’ll buy.

Much of this equipment is not only expensive but a hassle to store. That’s why you may want to consider renting some instead of buying, especially if you are a new homeowner or have limited storage space.

Renting lawn equipment is cheaper than buying equipment outright, especially if you’re only using things once or twice per year.

However, it can be a hassle to schedule, pick up, clean, and return rental equipment. It requires careful planning to be done effectively.

Also, you’ve got to ensure you don’t damage rental equipment.

When it comes to purchasing, it’s best to stick with the equipment that you’ll use on a regular basis, such as your lawn mower.

Rent the equipment you only need for specific occasional projects, like a core aerator for your lawn aeration project or slice seeder for overseeding your lawn.

Add tools to your garage over time – don’t buy them all at once. This will help spread the cost of lawn care equipment out over years and make it more manageable.

Comparing DIY to TruGreen’s Lawn Care Services

TruGreen is known all over the country for its professional lawn care services. You can hire TruGreen to do some, most, or all of your lawn care, depending on which package you choose.

What TruGreen Offers

TruGreen offers lawn maintenance services including:

• Fertilizing your lawn
• Disease treatments
• Weed and insect control
• Seeding or overseeding new grass

TruGreen will carry out a Healthy Lawn Analysis on your lawn at the beginning. After that, they provide you with a service summary.

You’ll also be given tips and suggestions for lawn care to do between visits from TruGreen’s specialists.

There is an abundance of reviews of TruGreen and its services available online, so go and take a look.

TruGreen’s TruLawn Packages

TruGreen’s pricing model varies by plan. The main 3 annual programs offered include:

• The TruHealth Lawn Care Plan
• The TruComplete Lawn Care Plan
• TruSignature Lawn Care Plan

The company also provides access to add-on services to provide specific, non-standard care depending on your needs. Add-on services include:

• Grub Control & Prevention
• Soil Amendment & Analysis
• Tick & Flea Control
• Mosquito Control & Defense Treatment

When you have an annual plan from TruGreen, you will have specialists visiting and working on your lawn every 4 to 6 weeks.

Other TruGreen Plans

Here are some other available TruGreen plans for you to consider.

TruMaintenance Lawn Care Plan

You can get a basic annual TruMaintenance Lawn Care Plan. This covers weed control (both pre-emergent and targeted), as well as fertilization.

TruNatural Plan

If you go with the TruNatural plan, your lawn care specialists will use only 100% organic fertilizer on your lawn.

Weed control is offered at no extra charge. You decide whether you want to add weed control or not.

You’ll Need a TruGreen Appointment

TruGreen is a large company. When you call to book an appointment, you will probably be greeted by an automated message.

Many people prefer to schedule appointments through TruGreen’s website. You can also contact the company simply for more information on what’s offered.

TruGreen’s Satisfaction is Guaranteed

One of the best things about TruGreen is their TruGreen’s Healthy Lawn Guarantee. TruGreen’s specialists will come back to your lawn as required between treatments in order to keep your lawn healthy.

TruGreen Technicians are Highly Trained

TruLawn specialists are highly trained, and they are all required to take an intensive course that covers topics such as:

• Agronomics
• Horticulture
• Safety

After completing each course, specialists must also shadow a mentor until they’re prepared to work independently.

You will probably not get the same workers every time. However, you can always be sure they are skilled and dedicated to what they do.

TruGreen Doesn’t Have Regional Knowledge

TruGreen is a large, nationwide company. They likely don’t have specialized knowledge about your region.

While TruGreen guarantees quality lawn maintenance and treatments, there is some quality variation by region. This could be an issue if you’re in an area that has a harsh climate for grasses.

Local companies with regional connections may better understand how to address those issues.

I recommend googling “trugreen near me” and looking at local Google reviews of the service provider in your area to get a sense for how others have viewed the local service before committing to TruGreen.

Comparing Costs Between TruGreen vs DIY Lawn Care

You might find that the cost of buying all your lawn care products for your lawn during the course of the year comes to more than you would spend using a professional lawn care service package.

This is especially true if you don’t currently own any lawn care equipment.

For most people, though, the DIY route saves money.

If you sign up for an annual lawn care plan with Sunday (take 15% off with code LAWNCHICK2024), the cost of a decent self-propelled mower, hose, and your Sunday lawn care plan will probably be cheaper than a single season of TruGreen.

Add Up All the Costs

Write down a list of all the lawn care products you need to use every year to help you figure out the cost of doing DIY lawn care.

If you haven’t been keeping records, you might be surprised by how much you’re spending.

Tak into account how much time you devote to lawn care over the course of a year, you’ll be surprised by what it adds up to.

Calculate Costs Using Lawn Size

When figuring out how much you spend on each product you use for lawn care, you will need to know your lawn size.

There are several different apps you can use to find out this information, and I have a great one right on this website that uses satellite imagery. You can use it for free right here.

But if you’re old school, you can calculate your lawn’s square footage by multiplying its approximate length by its width.

Once you’ve figured out your lawn size, you can look at the coverage of the fertilizer and other products you plan to use, and calculate the cost for a season of lawn care.

How Does this Compare to TruGreen?

TruGreen lawn care plans start as low as $194.25 for an entire year, but most people won’t opt for this base price, so what they pay will be higher.

You may well already be spending more on lawn care products if you take a DIY lawn care approach.

If you do your lawn care yourself, think about all the time you spend doing that every year. If you’re like the average homeowner, you spend about 150 hours on lawn care each and every year.

You must do a lot of research and planning to ensure you’re getting things right the first time around. When you go DIY, you may make mistakes, which will cost you in replacement products and extra time.

Lawn care professionals do this all the time and know what products are necessary.

It’s entirely possible that TruGreen is the more cost effective route compared to DIY lawn care.

Even if you have slightly higher costs with TruGreen vs DIY, the time it frees up for you every weekend may more than make up the difference in cost, and be worth it for you.

It’s Always Important to Do Your Research

Take some time to think about your needs and preferences, so that you can decide whether the DIY or professional service route is best for you.

And remember – nobody is going to care about your lawn and property the way you will. It’s yours, and a professional who shows up to apply fertilizer, or mow your property is probably focused on how many other jobs they have to do that day.

I’m a big believer in DIY lawn care and the pride in ownership and satisfaction that it can bring to homeowners.

And for young families having control over the products you apply to your lawn is important too.

If you’re short on time, that’s why I recommend that you consider a subscription plan that handles the logistics and lets you focus on caring for your lawn without getting bogged down in the boring stuff.

If you haven’t tried DIY lawn care before, give it a go and see how you like it. And if you find that it’s too time-consuming or physically challenging, hiring a professional lawn care service like TruGreen or one of its local competitors can be a good alternative.