Maybe lawn care doesn’t seem like the most exciting thing to read about, and you want to get back to your spy novel.

Just wait. Your lawn is full of mystery and danger.

Squishy, slimy grubs can devour your lawn from underground, destroying the tender roots. Invasive weeds bully their way in and steal the nutrients from your unsuspecting lawn. Fungus can sneak in under the cover of darkness, leaving mysterious circles of dead grass.

You won’t be able to put this lawn care guide down.

Table of Contents

• Idaho Lawn Care Basics
• Seasonal Lawn Care Calendar for Idaho Homeowners
• Common Lawn Problems in Idaho and How to Solve Them
• Are Do-It-Yourself Lawn Care Programs Worth It?
• Hiring Professional Lawn Care Services in Idaho
• Why Partner with Lawn Buddies?

How can you protect and nurture your lawn so it thrives and makes you proud? Idaho lawn care is a significant endeavor that occurs almost year-round.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get to it. Your lawn needs you.

Idaho Lawn Care Basics

Idaho lawn care can get scientific and detailed, from pH testing to selecting the right fertilizer formulas. If you want to get all science-y, you absolutely can.

But at its most basic, your lawn needs healthy aerated soil, good food, proper watering, and a strategy to keep weeds, bugs, and diseases from ruining it.

What’s the difference between lawn care and landscape maintenance?

While lawn care focuses on the health and appearance of just your grass, landscape maintenance involves caring for your total landscaping, including plants, shrubs, trees, flower beds, patios and walkways.

Today, it’s all about your lawn.

What lawn care facts do you need to know? Let’s take a look.

First, What Type of Grass Do You Have?

Hopefully, it’s green. If not, stick with us. We’ll get you there.

The Idaho Falls climate zone means that your grass is a cool-season grass. This type of grass is winter hardy but still holds up well in the summer heat.

There’s a good chance you have Kentucky Bluegrass, an Idaho favorite.

Kentucky bluegrass is durable with a beautiful, rich green color. It’s slow to get started when planted, but it has good drought tolerance, and once established, it can easily recover from damage.

Or you might have perennial ryegrass, another cool-season grass that’s popular here in Idaho. It germinates quickly, making it great for new lawns.

You might have a blend of Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Rye. That’s a good thing. Unlike a single-variety grass seed, blends give you the benefits of more than one variety or species.

Now that you’ve met your grass, get to know your soil.

Why? It’s just dirt, right? Stop right there, before you offend it.

Think of your lawn’s soil as a superhero. It’s invisible, hiding beneath the green blades of grass. But it’s key to a healthy, thriving lawn.

The thing is, a lot of Idaho turf is growing on a thin layer of poor soil that could use a boost.

How do you improve your lawn soil quality?

• First, get it tested to see exactly what it needs.
• Add topdressing. Use mulch. It might need lime.  

Whatever the case, don’t ignore your soil’s health. Your lawn depends on it.

No matter what type of grass you have, it has a few basic needs:

Lawn Fertilization to Feed Your Hungry Lawn

There are two basic strategies for fertilizing your lawn: quick-release vs. slow-release.

The “release” part mostly refers to the nitrogen in the fertilizer.

Quick-release fertilizer does exactly what it says it will: it quickly releases nitrogen and other nutrients to the turf.

Slow-release fertilizer releases all of its nutrients over time, so that nitrogen is always available.

Which one do you want? Ideally, a blend.

Here at Lawn Buddies, we use blends of slow-release and quick-release fertilizers to provide the best of both types, since they deliver both immediate and long-term results.

More about fertilizer in a bit.

Lawn Care Basics: The Right Amount of Water

Every time you take a long, refreshing drink from your chilled water bottle on a sizzling summer day, you might feel kind of guilty. Isn’t your lawn thirsty, too?

It is. But don’t give in to temptation and water it too much.

Be strategic about watering, so your grass gets the water it needs without overwatering.

Don’t water every day. Seriously.

If you water too often, even in summer, it encourages shallow, needy roots. That’s bad for your grass.

Your Idaho lawn care goal: water less often but deeply, and roots will grow deeper, for a healthier, thriving lawn.

Consider installing a smart irrigation system. Your sprinkler system will keep watering under control, watering just the right amount at the right times, without water waste.

Lawn Care in Idaho Means Weed Control

We’ll take a deeper dive into lawn weed control in a bit, but for now know this: weeds aren’t just ugly. They’re stealing health from your lawn.

Weeds, from crabgrass to dandelions, compete with your grass for essential nutrients like water and sunlight, stealing them from your lawn. That weakens your grass, making it more susceptible to diseases and insects and leading to an unappealing, patchy lawn.

What to do about villainous weeds? Keep reading.

Always Add Aeration to Routine Lawn Services

If you’re doing all the usual good stuff to help your lawn thrive, but it’s still sort of patchy, thin, and not exactly making any magazine covers, say 'hello' to aeration.

Lawn aeration uses a machine to pull out small cores of soil from your lawn, allowing water and oxygen to reach the roots. Suddenly, it can breathe again.

Maybe your lawn started with loose, fluffy soil, but over time, it gets packed down and compacted. Or maybe your soil has been compacted all along, if it contains a lot of clay.

When your soil is compacted, your lawn’s roots can’t absorb water or nutrients, and it struggles to thrive, becoming susceptible to weeds and diseases.

Aeration fixes that. That’s why it’s a popular offering from lawn care services in Idaho Falls and Boise.

Pair it with seeding, as people often do, and you get the bonus of new grass to help rejuvenate your lawn.

Bye, bare spots.

Seasonal Lawn Care Calendar for Idaho Homeowners

There's a ton of Idaho lawn care that needs to happen over a year, so let’s get to it, season by season:

Spring Lawn Care in Idaho: Clean Up, Start Feeding, Say No to Weeds

Winter leaves all kinds of slimy, suffocating debris on your lawn. Time to clean up stray litter, gross decaying leaves, and branches that toppled during the winter.

Let the sun in so your lawn can thrive.

Spring means it’s time for pre-emergent herbicide to prevent pesky spring weeds from sprouting.

Pre-emergent lawn weed control has to be applied early in the season when soil temperatures are still below 50 degrees. So, spring landscape cleanup is the perfect time to zap weeds before they sprout.

Feed Your Hungry Lawn

Lawn fertilization kicks off here in Idaho in early spring, adding crucial nutrients to your hungry soil and giving your grass that nice pop of green, fast.

Plan on mid-to-late April, once the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees.

Idaho Lawn Care Calendar: It’s a Busy Summer

You might be looking forward to a relaxing summer vacation, but your poor lawn doesn’t get one.

Hot sun dries out its soil and roots. Bugs move in for a summer buffet. Weeds are having a real party out there.

And it might seem like you just fed your lawn in the spring, but it’s still hungry.

Plan to fertilize your lawn three times each summer — mid-May, around the end of June, and in early to mid-August.

Lawn Weed Control

Weeds love summer. It brings out their superpowers.

You’ll need a multi-step process to battle them all, following up on the spring pre-emergent we told you about with broadleaf applications to target dandelions and clover, and spot treatments when pesky intruders sneak in.

Lawn Pest Control Targets Surface-Feeding Insects

A whole army of summer insect pests can invade your lawn while it’s trying to enjoy summer, munching it down to the roots.

Billbugs. Grubs. Sod webworms. It’s a terrible trio of common lawn pests in Idaho.

Unfortunately, there is no single treatment for all summer lawn pests, as they each have different life cycles. Some need a control that targets them underground. Others need surface control that zaps them in the grass.

A skilled lawn care technician can diagnose your bug problem and recommend the right solution.

Your Lawn Care Schedule for Fall

It’s easy to start neglecting your lawn once fall rolls around. Caramel apples are pretty distracting.

But a few fall lawn tasks are crucial:

Fall Fertilization is As Important As Spring

What the heck — your lawn is still hungry? Yup. And please don’t skip it because you’re too busy picking the perfect pumpkin. Fall lawn fertilizing is the most important feeding of the year.

This fertilizer burst, which should happen around Halloween, is all about feeding your lawn’s roots.

The final fertilizer treatment in the fall includes a slow-release granular fertilizer that feeds your hungry lawn for the winter and helps it come back, ready to impress, in the spring.

It’s a Great Time for Lawn Aeration

Fall is a great time to aerate your lawn. Take advantage of it. The tiny cores of soil that are removed to allow better air circulation and moisture break down nicely during the winter, and will help feed your lawn and soil.

Then, plant grass seed. You already have all those perfect little holes from aeration. And your new grass will have time to take hold before winter.

Plus, the ground is still warm, moisture is more plentiful, nights are cool, and the sun isn’t as hot. Grass seed loves all this stuff.

One More Chance to Blast Weeds

Make time to apply lawn weed control in the fall.

This important task will eliminate many of the perennial broadleaf weeds you hate the most, including dandelions, plantain, clover, black medic, Canada thistle, and field bindweed. All bad dudes.

Do a Quick Cleanup

As you prepare your lawn for winter, collect all that lawn debris. Otherwise, all the leaf litter, grass clippings, and debris are an open invitation for pests, like voles and mice.

Plus, grass needs sunlight to thrive. Leave that mess on your lawn, and it will weaken, attract weeds, and maybe even die.

Common Lawn Problems in Idaho and How to Solve Them

If you’re frustrated with your less-than-perfect lawn lately, don’t feel bad. Everybody battles the big three lawn problems: weeds, bugs and fungus.

How to win the war? Let’s take a look:

Lawn Weed Control: It’s All About Timing

Crabgrass is the king of weeds around here, and tricky to control, but there’s a whole gang of weed villains that want to call your turf their turf.

Meet the Sinister Seven:

1. Crabgrass 
2. White Clover 
3. Canada Thistle
4. Dandelions
5. Black Medic
6. Field Bindweed
7. Common Mallow

The trick to keeping these bad guys from popping up throughout your lawn is well-timed treatments.

By applying pre-emergent herbicides in early spring before they’ve sprouted, you can prevent weeds from growing.

Once weeds have broken ground, you can use post-emergent herbicides to control them.

But there’s a trick to this — you need to know what you’re up against.

Common lawn weeds in Idaho can be either grassy or broadleaf, and each type requires a specific treatment plan. Once you know what type of weed is in your lawn, you can take action with a weed killer that targets the type of weed you have.

Or, better yet, kick pesky weeds to the curb with professional weed control that includes pre-emergent weed treatment in the spring, to battle weeds before they sprout; broadleaf applications to hit dandelions and clover; and spot treatments when pesky intruders sneak in.

Lawn Pest Control: Get Rid of Grubs

A word about grubs. They’re gross. OK, two words about grubs. When it comes to grubs, prevention is key.

The trick is to kill these summer lawn pests before they hatch and start to chow down, so you need to apply preventive lawn grub control in the spring to nip them in the bud.

Partner with lawn care services in Idaho Falls and Boise that include grub prevention in their program.

Lawn Disease Control: There’s Nothing Fun About Fungus

Lawn fungus strikes fast and looks ugly. You can wake up one morning, thinking it’s about to be a perfectly nice day, then look out at your lawn to see entire areas have turned yellow or brown. Not even a bowl of Captain Crunch can fix your foul mood now.

Lawn damaged by fungus will often have a brown dead spot where the grass has died, but a lighter yellow-ish brown ring around that where the fungus is spreading.

Here’s a tricky complication: common lawn diseases in Idaho can often look similar to insect damage. How to tell the difference?

The type of lawn disease will determine the treatment course. Sometimes a lawn disease will go away on its own. At other times, lawn care professionals can treat it with a fungicide.

Are Do-It-Yourself Lawn Care Programs Worth It?

You’d kind of like to show off to your neighbor by doing your lawn care. The guy’s always bragging about his new tool belt.

Before you head to the home and garden store, all excited about your new project, take a minute to consider what’s involved in Idaho lawn care.

Taking care of all your lawn’s many needs is no small thing. It’s kind of a big thing.

A healthy lawn takes a lot of work. There’s a whole lawn care schedule with specific treatments for the lawn throughout the year. It needs proper mowing and fertilizing. Then there’s aeration, de-thatching, weed control, pest control, and soil analysis.

There’s a lot of room for mistakes.

Many homeowners either apply too much fertilizer or apply it at the wrong time of the year.

Over-fertilizing, especially with high levels of nitrogen, will cause lots of pretty green blades of grass, but not enough root growth. Too much lawn fertilization will burn the lawn. Nobody will be envious of your dead brown lawn.

Can you, as a homeowner, even buy the best stuff? Nope.

Professionals have access to fertilizers and weed control that you can’t buy without a license.

And hiring lawn care services means you don’t have to worry about buying and storing chemicals in your garage. Isn’t it cluttered enough out there?

When pondering DIY lawn care vs professional, don't forget the value of expert knowledge. Pros are experts in all the things your lawn craves, from fertilizer to weed control to lawn aeration.

They know exactly what products your lawn needs, when to apply them, and how to apply them.

We’re not saying you can’t handle DIY lawn care. Knock yourself out. Go load up your cart with fertilizer, grass seed, weed control, sprayers and spreaders. Head home and spend time puzzling over the product directions, warnings, and environmental precautions. Apply everything. Clean up. Clean out your garage to make room to store what’s left.

Or, have the weekend — and lots of other weekends — to yourself.

Don’t worry about lawn care mistakes. Know that your lawn will be healthy and green. That’s what happens when you turn your Idaho lawn care over to the pros.

Is your lawn never as green as you’d like? Are weeds driving you crazy? Do you have more bare spots than actual grass?

All reasons to hire lawn care services in Idaho Falls and Boise to get you that healthy, thriving lawn that will make your tool belt-wearing neighbor jealous.

Hiring Professional Lawn Care Services in Idaho

Now that you know how important it is to fertilize your lawn, prevent weeds, battle bugs, and aerate once in a while, you probably have a few questions:

• How many lawn treatments do I need?
• How much do most lawn care companies charge?
• Are lawn treatment companies worth it?
• How do I find the right one?

We won’t leave you hanging.

The Cost of Lawn Care in Idaho

Prices for lawn care services in Idaho Falls and Boise start at $300 for a yard up to 5,000 square feet for a year of treatment, and can vary depending on several factors, from the size of your yard to the condition your lawn is currently in to the type of weeds that you have out there.

At Lawn Buddies, that breaks down to $50 for each of six lawn treatments, which include the big three: fertilizer, weed control, and grub control.

This premium six-visit lawn care program includes everything your lawn needs to grow healthy and green. And the visits are perfectly timed throughout the season, so your grass stays green, strong, and resistant to weeds.

Are Lawn Treatment Companies Worth It?

Not to be annoying, but let’s answer that question with a few more questions:

• How important is a healthy, green, pretty lawn to you? Would it make you happy every time you pull in the driveway?
• How frustrated are you now with your patchy, weedy lawn?
• Do you want hungry, slimy grubs devouring your lawn from the roots up?
• Do you want the hassle of year-round DIY lawn care?
• How much is your time worth?

Only you can decide if hiring Idaho lawn care services is worth it. But when you factor in the cost, time, and hassle of doing it yourself, it suddenly seems like a pretty good deal.

Also, consider the value a healthy green lawn adds to your home.

While impressive curb appeal involves many different elements, a healthy green lawn plays a significant part.

How to Find the Best Lawn Care Services in Idaho Falls and Boise?

Ask some questions. Some are obvious: how much will my service cost? When can you start?

Do a deeper dive. How well will they communicate?

When you call prospective lawn care services in Idaho Falls and Boise with questions, you should get a prompt reply. If they don’t get back to you quickly, what happens if you try to contact them later about a problem?

Ask about their plan to keep you updated about their work on your property. You should always know when they’ll be on your site and what they’re accomplishing.

Ask about their crew training. Do they invest time and resources in training their team? The best Idaho lawn care companies do.

Why Partner with Lawn Buddies?

Lawn Buddies pros are experts in all types of turf and its needs, from weed control to lawn fertilizing to aeration.

We know exactly what products your lawn needs, when to apply them, and how to use them. That means no guesswork — and potential mistakes — for you.

Lawn Buddies keeps lawn care simple, with a streamlined emphasis on healthy, green lawns and a dedication to making things easy for customers.

Choosing a lawn care plan is easy. Payment is easy. Follow-up videos sent right after your lawn care service explain exactly what just happened out there. Engaging and educational blog articles on the Lawn Buddies website provide lawn care tips to help you understand your lawn’s needs.

Simple. Great, dependable results. No hassles.

Fertilizer, weed treatments, and grub control, all wrapped up in six visits, each perfectly timed throughout the season, so your grass is green and strong and resists weeds.

Wouldn't it be great to have a green, thriving lawn?

Make it easy on yourself. Choose skilled, professional lawn care services in Idaho Falls and Boise that bundle your yard’s most-needed treatments into one convenient, no-fuss plan.

We’ve got your back.

Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started. Just fill out the form on this page, call us at (208) 656-9131 or read more about our services. Then, you can kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.