How much does lawn weed control cost?

We love the idea of a beautiful, healthy green lawn, but there's no denying it takes work to get there. And all the watering and mowing won't help if you have a weed control problem. Weed problems can take over your healthy lawn and sometimes only a pro lawn care service can help you stay on top of it. While some yard care projects are fairly easy maintenance jobs, dealing with chemicals and weed problems can get tricky. What if you use too much of a certain chemical? You can damage your lawn. Save your energy for pushing a lawnmower, and hire a pro to help with the weed problems.

• What does a weed control or lawn care company do?
• Pre-Emergence Weed Treatment Costs
• Weed and Feed Treatment Costs
• Hand Weeding Costs
• How to Save Money on Weed Control
• Benefits of Hiring a Weed Control Professional

Professional weeders are available for residential and commercial properties as a one-time or ongoing service. The area to be weeded may be a small lawn under 1,000 square feet or well over 10,000 square feet. Weeding services provide treatment and control just for front yards, backyards, side yards, walkways or all areas on a property at the same time. Several factors affect the cost of weed control services.

According to Magnificent Services in San Jose, California, a key element to weed control is prevention. Pre-emergence is the stage before the weeds actually appear on your property, and Magnificent Services charges $65 per application of pre-emergent on a 1,000- to 5,000-square-foot lawn and $90 per application on an approximately 10,000-square-foot lawn.

A professional lawn care company treat lawns and properties with "pre-emergent" herbicides that effectively prevent different weed varietals from ever growing. Pros usually apply pre-emergents in early summer and again in the fall (every six months) to all areas of the property (lawn, flower beds, cracks in concrete walkways, etc.).

Costs are typically based on the square footage of the area to be treated. More area requires more labor for the application and more product. Organic pre-emergent also increases the total cost.

Weed and feed is a combination herbicide (broadleaf weed killer) and fertilizer applied topically to lawns. Treatment price for organic weed and feed applications is $75–$80 for a 1,000- to 5,000-square-foot lawn and $100–$105 for an approximately 10,000-square-foot lawn.

According to Magnificent Services, this treatment helps when weeds have already taken over a lawn and is generally applied in winter or spring. Magnificent Services charges the same for weed and feed as it does for pre-emergent.

Expect to pay roughly $45 per hour for hand weeding and other gardening tasks on average nationwide. Professional hand weed pulling is not as common as topical and preventative treatments. It is more efficient to deal with weed control before the weeds appear, which is why pre-emergence treatments are so popular. However, post-emergence weeds can be an existing problem that still need to be handled. Individuals and companies that do provide the service typically charge by the hour to cover the time and labor of the person doing the work. Hourly rates often apply to similar gardening tasks such as raking and trimming plants.

Consistent customers often get a lower rate because of their ongoing loyalty. Bundling weed control with other lawn care services as well as committing to a weed control contract generally costs less than paying for a one-time lawn service. Magnificent Services offers a 20 percent discount per service when customers sign a year contract, which includes quarterly treatments with pre-emergent, fertilizer, mold control and crabgrass prevention before summer.