FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS

If you have unsubscribed from our marketing e-mails, there is a chance that you may not receive our important account and scheduling update e-mails. Learn more here.

Issues? Please let us know.

Our crews may be routed for several projects or services in a single day. Unlike our office hours, crews may work (or arrive) at a job site past 4pm CST.

Although your scheduling update e-mail provides a specific day for you to expect our team, it may be later in the day before they arrive at your property.

All of our estimates are free.

So why should you pay a written proposal fee after a consultation with a project expert?

When you reach out about a potential project, we will quickly respond and schedule a free consultation where we meet with you to learn about your needs.

For most large projects, we are able to provide a verbal estimate while on-site with you. This is a rough calculation based on the goals you’ve expressed to us, but it may vary. (Read further to learn about the variables.)

If after our free consultation the estimated cost sounds agreeable, we have implemented a written proposal fee, which is optional if you choose to proceed with us and will be taken off the total project cost once accepted.

If you are shopping several companies for project quotes, you may choose to accept our verbal estimate and not move forward with a written proposal fee at this point.

If you do request a formal written proposal for your project, our Project Specialist will spend an additional 1-2+ hours meeting with our project foremen to confirm the estimated budgeted time, contact our material suppliers, and tentatively structure deliveries. Since the price calculated during a free consultation is an estimated cost only, an $100* written proposal fee compensates for our team’s time spent solidifying the final price of your project and creating a formal written agreement for your signature of acceptance.

At Scooter’s Lawn Care, we are a small business committed to serving our clients well and keeping our team at full-staff (especially now, amidst uncertain times), and our written proposal fee has become a successful way for us to compensate for the hours our experts spend compiling thorough project quotes (after a free on-site consultation, free verbal estimate, and the “green light” to proceed with a written proposal under the mutual assumption that the client will be choosing us for the project).

*Subject to change

Cutting off more than ⅓ of the grass blade can harm the grass and promote weed growth throughout the lawn.

We do our very best to provide quality mowing services that you can be proud of, while actively working to maintain a happy and healthy lawn.

Watch our short video to learn more.

Sod requires heavy watering. The goal is water frequently and heavily enough to ensure water reaches the roots of the new sod. Generally, you can water your newly sodded lawn 20 minutes per day, ideally in the morning or early afternoon, until your sod has firmly taken root.

Successful rooting can be checked by lifting the sod and seeing if it has rooted (attached) to the ground.

Newly seeded lawns require consistent watering. It is extremely important that the area stays moist until germination.

To achieve consistent moisture, you may need to water your newly seeded area with light pressure (to ensure seeds don’t wash away) morning and night – and up to three times per day if mid-day temperatures are high and/or in direct sunlight.

Applying too much seed can actually cause the grass seedlings to compete with themselves and grow weaker.

The correct application on a new seeding will result in a thin, even spread of seed that is lightly raked into the soil.

Seeding correctly can be very hard to see but will give the best results.

Watch our short video to learn more.

Generally speaking, it will take your lawn the same amount of time to recover and get in great condition as it took to get in its current condition.

That means that one application (and sometimes even one full year of service) may not turn your lawn into a golf course, BUT each application serves a purpose and provides healing treatment to your soil and grass.

It may be normal to see some weeds pop up in your yard throughout the seasons, especially depending on the package you receive.

We offer four, five, and six application packages; the more frequently our applicator visits your lawn, the more they would spot-treat pesky weeds (and thus, the less frequently they visit, the less they would spot-treat).

Generally speaking, some weeds are more difficult to prevent or maintain. Please let us know if you have any concerns, or send a photo of the weeds you’re seeing to our office by text or e-mail so we can quickly assess and solve.

If you edge your hard surfaces with an edger tool or trimmer, that can stir up the earth and germinate new weed growth.

Once Round Up has touched the weeds, they will wilt and die, but it will not prevent future weeds from germinating.

If landscape fabric is installed, its sole purpose is to separate the landscape material from the earth to prevent the landscape material from sinking into the ground.

Landscape fabric can help prevent weeds but will not 100% keep them out.

Additionally, we may work together to create a “low-maintenance” landscape for you, but no landscape is zero maintenance. That means you may choose to pull or spray weeds as you see them pop up, or sign up for our Bed Maintenance Program (designed especially to maintain landscape beds throughout the seasons).

We offer a landscape bed weed maintenance program (“Bed Maintenance”), which spans the seasons with preventative weed control and weed treatments.

This is a very effective program – so effective that sometimes a client may notice that a technician is on-site to treat weeds, but they do not actively have weeds growing in their landscape bed.

Each visit (and treatment) is scheduled appropriately throughout the seasons to prevent, spot, and stop weeds in their tracks.

Site visits are still important even when there is a lack of weeds in your landscape bed at the time of a visit.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reply to the service email reminder prior to our visit (when possible).

You can try to rake thoroughly, water heavily, and re-seed.

Some people recommend gypsum to help absorb it.

Core aeration loosens the soil to help with the flow of air, water and fertilizers.

It helps control thatch build up, stimulates root development, and creates a more healthy, lush lawn.

We recommend it once a year for every lawn.

It’s important to blow off your pavers, whether on your patio or around your landscape beds, every time after mowing to prevent joint build-up and the growth of weeds.

Watch our short video to learn more.

Sealing is not necessary but will brighten the color and keep them looking vibrant longer.

It’s truly your preference, but we recommend touching up mulch beds at least twice a year.

If you’re removing existing materials (weeds, trees, rocks, etc.), then it can helpful to separate that from the new mulch.

If you have flat dirt to install mulch on, it’s not necessary to have the matting due to the mulch eventually disintegrating into the earth and turning into dirt.

If you have the matting, you’ll have to scrape off the old mulch/dirt to prevent it all piling up onto the matting.

Whenever YOU want.

There are many variables with Fall Clean Ups, and no two yards are the same.

If you have a specific event or deadline for your clean up, we recommend letting us know when you request your quote.

For the most precise cost estimation (as clean ups are notoriously difficult to accurately estimate), we recommend one large clean up at the end of the season.

However, many clients prefer two or three smaller clean ups, and we are happy to accommodate!

Please let us know what you prefer, and we will make it happen.

Our lawn care crews typically mow until the end of November – not always because the grass is still growing, but because mulching leaves weekly is an incredibly effective way to eliminate leaves in your lawn and add nutrients back into your soil.

If you chose to end your mowing season early, that’s absolutely fine.

When it’s time, we may plan on spending extra time on your clean up.

We have developed three tiers of service to accommodate all needs and budgets:

• Option A, our most budget-friendly option, consists of mulching all leaves with a mower (and no haul away)
• Option B is our most popular option, which consists of a general leaf clean up, blowing out all landscape beds, and hauling away leaves and debris
• Option C is the most meticulous option, where no leaf is left behind. Our team members work until your lawn looks perfect, snap an “after” photo for your client file, and haul everything away.

You can also choose a maximum price you want to spend on your clean up (for example, $400), and we will charge our man hour rate until the cap is reached.

Because of the large volume of clients we serve, we do our best to keep our crews’ days full during all types of weather.

If our crew performs a Fall Clean Up at your property on a windy day, please rest assured that we will take the following precautions:

• Our team will work with the gusts to effectively move leaves as best as they can.
• We will utilize our mowers to mulch and/or move leaves, as well as our leaf vacuum to suck them up as efficiently as possible.
• We will over-communicate any uncertainties we have about our ability to properly perform your service and present options for rescheduling or continuing to perform to our best.
• We will stand by our 100% satisfaction guarantee at all times.

When our team finishes a clean up, they take a picture of your property and attach it to your client file for administrative reference.

On a windy day, our crew may leave satisfied with the work they’ve accomplished, just for the wind to blow some of your neighbor’s leaves straight back into your lawn a few hours later.

If that occurs, we are happy to come back to your property at our earliest availability and bill hourly until your lawn is leaf-free again.

If you are scheduled for a Fall Clean Up on a windy day and would prefer to reschedule, we ask that you please contact our office at your earliest convenience so we can re-route our crews.

We will place your Fall Clean Up back on our waiting list and would accommodate your service as quickly as we can (however, that could possibly be weeks).

“Do you plow snow?” 

It’s a question we are frequently asked this time of year.

The short answer is: no, we do not – but we have great recommendations!

We trust the following snow plowing professionals to serve you well:

Patterson’s Lawn Care: (217) 381-8760

MCR Lawn Care & More: (217) 331-2331

But back to why we do not offer this service:

We offered snow plowing during our first few seasons in business. At the same time, we were working hard to build a company that offered full-time, year-round, predictable and opportunity-filled careers.

We found that asking our team members to live on-call for a portion of the year – and then potentially clock in for long hours that may occur day, night, weekends, or on holidays – just didn’t align with our mission and values.

In 2018, we stopped offering snow plowing and launched an interior service division.

These services (interior painting, flooring, junk removal, and more) provide our team with the same consistent hours of work throughout the winter – and allow them to spend evenings, holidays, and weekends with their families, while serving our clientele in a unique way.

After all, we’ve probably worked outside your home all year!

Your account is probably already set up in our system, and our office team knows you by name.

We’ve most likely talked to you regularly and built a strong relationship.

Whether once or weekly, our crews LOVE serving you!

So if you find yourself seeking a contractor during the off-season, we are here.

In turn, you are helping a local business provide year-round careers in an otherwise seasonal industry – and for that, we truly cannot thank you enough.