A: I receive this question quite often, and unfortunately I don’t, due to the vast size of metro-Atlanta, and I don’t personally have a relationship with any. Plus, I am very much a do-it-’myselfer’.

This past week, I’d like to think I saved a friend from potential disaster, as she mentioned that her lawn care guy put down preemergence herbicide on Monday and that he planned to come back in a week or two to fill in some bare spots with fescue seed. I screamed, “nooooo!” I then explained how the preemergence will inhibit the growth of any grass seed for at least the next 8 -10 weeks. To think she would have just wasted her hard-earned money. And that’s wasted time for him too: time that would have been better spent servicing other customers or actually learning about the services he’s providing people. This made me angry, because he should know better.

The burden is on us, as paying customers, to make sure we feel comfortable with a company’s knowledge and experience, especially when it comes to applying pesticides in the landscape. Interview a number of companies. I’d suggest asking neighbors who they’re happy with as a way to find the first few.

Or go to the Ga Urban Ag Council’s website to find a reputable landscaper near you: https://urbanagcouncil.com/membership-directory/#!directory

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