Lawn fertilizing companies like TruGreen ChemLawn, Scott’s Lawn Service, Spring Green and Lawn Doctor all have large operations in metro-Detroit, so it would seem logical that they are putting down tons of pesticides in home lawns everyday. But have you considered what homeowners are doing when they attempt to apply these products themselves?

Problems with Weed-n-Feed bags for Do It Yourselfers

• Bags of Weed-n-Feed sold to homeowners contain an over-abundance of nitrogenwhich detroys the soil and pushes too much top growth. They most normally contain “quick release” fertilizers that create fast greening, but no sustainable long term benefit to the turf. Feeding your lawn too much nitrogen from over-the-counter fertilizer bags like Scott’s and K-Grow is like feeding your kids candy all the time for every meal!
  
• Many experts will tell you that phosphorous leaching into groundwateris the big problem with these bagged products. And while I am not a fan of dumping mass amounts of anything on the lawn, I believe if homeowners and pros alike would follow labeling instructions, they are not endangering our groundwater or lakes. The key is FOLLOWING the DIRECTIONS on the bag! And most DIY homeowners do not understand fertilizer rates and proper application technique!
• A granular weed-n-feed product like the Scott’s Plus 2 product contains herbicide and fertilizer in one convenient bag: just dump in your spreader, set the release rate, and lay it down…easy! The problem is that you are hurling massive amounts of granular weed killers everywhere weather there are weeds there or not.
  It doesn’t make sense to throw weed killer in areas of the lawn where there are no weeds! Whats more, while the weed control does not selectively kill the grass plants, it still puts heavy stress and pressure on them and can weaken them over time.

The best alternative to Weed-n-Feed products
I recommend a balanced approach that utilizes target weed control as needed with the eventual goal of eliminating it completely. This is what your professional lawn spraying company will do as a part of their everyday practices! They do not want to put down pesticides if they are not needed because that will cost them too much money! They use less because of environmental issues, and because it is better for their profit margins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is accomplished by spot-spraying weeds using a back pack pump sprayer with liquid weed control. In some cases, a blanket application of liquid weed killer may be needed, but over time, this will be reduced until the weed problem is manageable by good old fashioned “pulling” by hand. Some companies also have proprietary means to deliver weed killers only where needed, like Detroit TruGreen’s dual line spray system, for example.

In addition to spot-spraying of weeds, I recommend slow-release organic or semi-organic (called ‘bridge’ products or ‘hybrid’) lawn fertilizers. These products will add nutrients to the soil without destroying it in the process. They also support healthy soil biotics which are the foundation of healthy turf. Ask your lawn care provider is they have a line of natural-based fertilizers.

On a final note: it’s not a good idea to completely “refuse to use pesticides” in your lawn if you indeed do have a major weed problem.

Think about this: if your weeds go to seed every year and spread out to all the neighbors on your block, and they do not share the same environmental devotion as you, won’t you be indirectly causing them to put down greater amounts of pesticides every year? Your weeds will continue breeding in their lawns, and they will soak them with more weed killer; year after year! Think about that.