Choosing a service
DIY Lawn Care vs. Hiring a Pro in Northern Virginia
By Patrick Klippen, Owner & CEOB.S. Landscape Horticulture · VDACS certified applicator #141054
Published Updated
Short answer
DIY works if your lot is small, the lawn is already healthy, and you'll be home the right week in March and September. Hire out when a lawn needs rebuilding or a mistimed application would cost you a season. What a pro really sells is timing and consistency, because the products are no secret.
Should you do your own lawn care or hire a pro?
Do it yourself if you can hit the right weeks, and hire a pro if you can't. DIY fails on timing far more often than on products.
| Factor | DIY | Professional |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Products plus equipment, and typically $300 to $500 a season in products alone | About $50 per visit for townhome lots and $60 to $90 for most single family lawns, which adds up to several hundred dollars a season, and you pay as you go |
| Time per year | Several weekend mornings, plus a full day for aeration | Mowing and watering only |
| Equipment | Spreader, sprayer, aerator rental | Included and calibrated |
| Products | Retail blends, mostly quick release | Commercial slow release products for clay and fescue |
| Timing | Depends on your weekends and the weather | Scheduled off soil temperature |
| Risk of a costly mistake | Burned turf or a wasted seeding is on you | Fertilization and weed control carry our satisfaction guarantee |
When DIY is the right call.
DIY is the right call when the lot is small, the lawn is already thick, and you like the work. Small townhome and cluster lots, like much of Centreville, make the strongest case.
- Roughly 5,000 sq ft or less, where one bag covers the lawn
- Turf that only needs maintaining
- You'll be home in mid-March and early September
- You'll keep at it year after year
What DIY actually costs.
DIY costs more than the bag of fertilizer, so add equipment, a soil test, and four or five products before you compare it to a quote.
- A broadcast spreader and sprayer run roughly $100 to $250 for decent versions of both
- A soil test through Virginia Cooperative Extension costs $10 for the routine test
- Products for the whole season typically run $300 to $500 for an 8,000 sq ft lawn
- A fall core aerator rental runs around $100 a day, plus a truck or trailer
Why an uncalibrated spreader ruins good intentions.
An uncalibrated spreader is the most common reason DIY fertilizing disappoints. Every spreader throws a different pattern at the same setting, so a setting that's too low gives faint striping and one that's too high burns yellow rows. Calibrating takes only one Saturday morning.
Where DIY usually goes wrong.
DIY usually goes wrong on timing. Crabgrass pre-emergent has to go down before soil at two inches holds near 55°F, typically mid-March here, and if you miss that week you pay for the application without the control. Our Northern Virginia lawn care calendar has the rest of the year.
- Retail products suit an average lawn nationwide and are mostly quick release
- Restricted use products aren't sold to homeowners
- A rented core aerator is heavy, awkward to haul, and takes a full day on a typical lot
- One burned lawn, or pre-emergent applied before a fall seeding, wastes a season
What you are actually paying a professional for.
You're paying a professional for timing, calibrated equipment, and product access, in that order. Our lawn fertilization program uses organic based, slow release fertilizers, so it feeds over weeks instead of dumping color in ten days. On a typical 8,000 square foot lawn we charge $65 a visit and $279 to aerate and overseed. See our lawn care cost guide for what programs run here.
Which one should you pick?
Hire out if you know you won't keep up the timing, and do it yourself if you will. If you hand off one job, make it fall aeration and overseeding, the one that changes a lawn most.
On product alone, usually yes. Add the spreader, sprayer, soil test, and aerator rental and the first year lands closer than most people expect.
Core aeration and overseeding should be the one you hand off. It's the most valuable day of the lawn year on Northern Virginia clay, the rental equipment is unpleasant to run, and a month's delay wastes the seed.
You can, but it's inefficient. Weed and feed spreads herbicide over the whole lawn to deal with weeds in a few spots, and it ties feeding to herbicide timing. Spraying just the weeds and feeding separately uses less product.
No, not for general use products on your own property. Restricted use products require certification, and treating other people's lawns for hire in Virginia requires a certified applicator and a business license.
Related guides
Keep reading.
Choosing a service
How Much Does Lawn Care Cost in Northern Virginia?
Typical 8,000 sq ft lawns run about $65 a visit and $279 to aerate, plus how to compare quotes.
Lawn care fundamentals
The Northern Virginia Lawn Care Calendar
What to do to a Northern Virginia lawn in every month of the year, and why fall matters more than spring.
Choosing a service
How to Choose a Lawn Care Company in Northern Virginia
The checklist for vetting a Northern Virginia lawn care company before you hand over your lawn.
