| **Lawn Service        Contracts**
Growing a green lawn takes time and energy. These days, some people prefer    hiring lawn care services to take over a large part of the effort.     Lawn care services perform some of the time-consuming and complicated tasks of lawn    maintenance. These may include analyzing, fertilizing, and seeding the soil; controlling    and killing weeds and pests; and caring for trees and shrubs. These services may be    provided an average of four to five times during the spring through fall. You also may    want these firms to regularly mow and water your lawn.     Sometimes, in order to hire these companies, you must sign expensive and long-term    contracts. It is important, therefore, to know exactly what you want from a lawn care    firm. The following information may help you decide whether to hire a lawn care service    and, if so, how to find the one right for you. **How do you choose a lawn care service?**
If you decide you want to hire a lawn care service, you may want to consider the    following suggestions.     * Talk with others in your neighborhood who have used lawn care services. Find out which    companies have done a good job and why.     * Talk with representatives from several lawn care firms and get estimates. The lowest    estimate may not necessarily provide all the services you need.     * Remember that each lawn is different and that your lawn does not necessarily need the    same treatment as your neighbor's. Some companies may offer a free lawn analysis. Make    sure you are getting "custom" service.     * Even the best lawns have weeds and pests. Ask to see evidence of specific and real    problems before you agree to any treatment.     * Check to see if the company is licensed by your state. Licensing often requires    employees to have special training, especially those who apply pesticides to lawns. Ask    what specific lawn care training the employees have.     * Check with your local consumer affairs office or Better Business Bureau to see if any    complaints have been lodged against the company.     * Find out if the company has liability insurance to cover any accidents that might happen    while work is being performed in your yard or while pesticides are being applied.     * Ask if the company belongs to a professional pest control association. This membership    may help keep members better trained and informed. **What should you look for in your contract?**

If you select a lawn care service, you should put all your agreements with the company    into a written contract. You may want to keep the following information in mind before you    sign any contract.     * Read your contract carefully. Know what specific services and lawn problems are covered    and what are not.     * See if there are extra charges for special services, such as fertilizing, disease    control, or reseeding.     * Find out if the work is guaranteed. If it is, get the guarantee (or warranty) in    writing. Know what the guarantee includes and excludes, and how long it lasts. For    example, if you believe a seeding job produced little improvement, will the company come    back and reseed for free during the same growing season?     * Know how long the services will be performed. Must you renew annually or is service    scheduled indefinitely? What are the costs of renewal and how much might they increase?    Many lawn care service contracts require written notice to cancel. Find out how you can    cancel the contract you are considering. **If pesticide treatment is offered, what should you look for?**

Lawn care companies often provide pest, disease, and weed control services. This    usually means the company will use a pesticide on your lawn.     Pesticides are toxic chemicals used to destroy different kinds of lawn pests. For example,    insecticides are used to kill bugs; herbicides kill weeds.     Lawn care companies generally maintain that the kind and strength of the pesticides they    use are safe. Some organizations, however, including the U.S. Environmental Protection    Agency (EPA), have some health and safety concerns. Before you agree to pesticide    treatment for your lawn, you may want to consider the following information.     * Although pesticides can kill unwanted weeds and bugs, the treatment also may destroy the    organisms that create a healthy soil for your lawn. Some people feel that a lawn that is    overtreated will become dependent on chemicals to thrive.     * If pesticides are going to be used on your lawn, find out what specific lawn problems    are being addressed.     * Get the name of the pesticide in writing. Ask to see the EPA label and read it carefully    before any pesticide is applied to your lawn.     * Find out about the harmful characteristics of the pesticide, especially to those most    vulnerable to its effects: young children, pregnant women, older people, and household    pets.     * Inquire about the availability of less harmful compounds.     * Inquire carefully about the training of anyone who applies the pesticide to your lawn.     * Ask what kind of posting will be done to notify people in your neighborhood that    pesticides are being applied to your lawn. A number of jurisdictions now require this    notice. If your city or county does not require the notice, you still may want to let    neighbors know -- to protect them from any problems that might arise from the pesticide    application.     * Find out what you need to do during the pesticide treatment -- and for how long. Should    you stay indoors, keep your windows closed, bring in your outdoor lawn furniture and    children's toys? How long should you stay off treated areas?     * Make sure pesticides are not applied in windy weather (over 10 miles an hour). This will    prevent their spreading to other lawns.     * Ask for alternatives to pesticide applications. Many companies now offer a more    "organic" and less chemical approach to lawn care.     * Ask about ecological effects, including danger to non-target species and the possibility    of groundwater contamination. **What are alternatives to pesticide controls?**

Good-looking lawns may take a year or more of care to get that way. Although you may    choose to use chemical applications to quickly improve the appearance of your lawn, you    also may want to consider longer-term approaches to lawn care that do not include    pesticides.     One such approach is called "integrated pest management." Basically, this    involves planting several kinds of disease resistant grasses, properly conditioning your    soil, and using new low-toxicity pest control materials. **For More Information**

For more information about integrated pest management, you may want to contact your    local county extension agency. For more information about specific lawn care companies in    your area, contact your local consumer protection agency or Better Business Bureau.     If you need information beyond that given on a pesticide label, you can call the National    Pesticide Telecommunications Network at 1-800-858-7378. If you have problems with the    pesticide application of a lawn care company, contact your state or county environmental    protection agency. 
The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent,    deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to    help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information    on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, **1-877-FTC-HELP**    (1-877-382-4357), or use the online complaint form.    The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints    into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online    database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies U.S. and    abroad.**FEDERAL TRADE        COMMISSION****FOR        THE CONSUMER****1-877-FTC-HELP****www.ftc.gov**
*January    1993* |
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