In a survey of homeowners with yards, weeds were the most common part of yard work that people hated to do. When you really think about it, is it that surprising that this was the main result? Weeds sprout up randomly throughout our yard in the middle of the summer, which requires us to spend hours in the sun, pulling prickly weeds through gloves that always feel too thin, and then a couple of weeks later they’re back.

There are so many strange things that show up and tell us that there’s some new product, spray or tool that you can use to help you gain control of the weeds in your yard, but the team at Total Lawn Care have a different route in mind. Rather than cover these various topics and products that are said to get rid of weeds, we are going to go through a few of the reasons that weeds might be sprouting in the first place.

Low Set Blade

While mowing your lawn, you have the ability to choose how low you’d like for your lawn mower to cut. It always seems so tempting to put the blade as low as we can, because we think that in doing so we are cutting as much grass as possible, meaning that we’ll have less work down the road. While that does feel like there’s a touch of logic to it, the truth is that cutting grass too low to the ground can actually promote the growth of weeds.

Think of it the way that hair is said to grow faster when it’s cut often. When weeds are cut often, they grow faster and are able to thrive, rather than die. This is an easy thing to take care of; set the settings just a little bit higher, maybe an inch higher. It may look like you have long grass or more work to do, but this will actually keep your grass at a healthier length to thrive, minimize a number of weeds that you have, and create an overall lush feel in your yard.

Exposure to Light

Grass requires light to grow, and we know that as you read this you’re thinking to yourself that there isn’t any other way that you’re providing light to your lawn other than the sun. So what in the world does exposure to light has to do with the weeds in your yard? Well, we just touched on how the height of your grass can affect the growth of weeds, and this is how they come together.

When your yard has grass that is cut close to the ground, it is exposed to more light. This means that sunlight is able to make it deeper into the soil than it would if the grass was taller. If you’re wondering whether or not grass thrives from this, it doesn’t. This amount of sunlight on the roots of your grass is overkill, and can actually lead to a dead yard. However, the amount of sun is able to make it further down into the soil, to the roots of your weeds, and allow for them to thrive. If you’re noticing more weeds in areas of your yard that are exposed to the sun, more than other areas, consider adding another inch to the grass in this area.

Compacted Soil

A service that we provide at Total Lawn Care is aeration. Not only is this beneficial in ensuring that your yard is healthy, but it’s entirely necessary to move around the soil below the surface. In doing so you shift the soil so that it lives a full life, move seeds and eliminate the chances of weeds growing. This is also how we create the holes necessary to get the sunlight to the roots that we want to see grow.

If you don’t remember the last time that you had your yard aerated, try and get this service schedule immediately. Your yard could be falling short of its potential all because you’ve skipped out on this service.

If you’re having a serious issue with weeds you need professionals to take care of them. Call Total Lawn Care today and we’ll schedule your services with you so that you can feel confident that results will be provided. Reach out to our weed control professionals in Lawrenceville today for a quote on your services.