ADDITIONAL SERVICES

Many lawns in St. Louis require more than just fertilizers to keep them lush and green.  Tired of spiders, ticks and chiggers ruining your outdoor fun?  The professionals at Turf Pros STL offer a variety of services that can be custom tailored to meet your turfs needs.

Grub Control

Grub damage is by far the most common type of damage sustained in turf grasses throughout the United States. White grubs and many other subsurface feeding insects usually go unnoticed until the results of their feeding on the root system in your lawn are observed in late August and into early fall. An active population can easily destroy your lawn in a very short period of time. In addition to these subsurface feeding insects causing damage themselves, their presence tends to attract animals, such as moles, voles, birds, mice, gophers, groundhogs, raccoons and skunks, who love to feed on an active grub population; thus, causing further damage to your lawn.Preventative Grub Control Application – Early / Mid Summer

Nutsedge Control

Nutsedge also known as Nutgrass or Watergrass is a grass-like weed which actually belongs to the sedge family. Nutsedge tends to grow quickly and taller than the average turf grasses and is easily identified by its triangular shaped blades that are often described as lime green or bright green. The root system of nutsedge consist of multiple fibers called rhizomes and produces tubulars. Each tuber has the capability to produce a new plant, which is why it is critical the yellow nutsedge is never pulled. Nutsedge is one of the most difficult, if not the most difficult weed to control. Unlike crabgrass, nutsedge cannot be prevented with pre-emergent nor is it effected by previous herbicide (weed control) applications and is only treated once the nutsedge has emerged.

Total Lawn Pest Control

Total Lawn Pest Control targets the insects living within the lawn. Ants, spiders, fleas, ticks, crickets, armyworms & sod webworms, and hundreds of more insects can be controlled allowing you, your family and your pets to fully enjoy a pest free lawn. Many insects also feed on the grass plants and can cause extensive damage in a short period of time if left untreated. This is a must have for anyone that wants to protect their investment they have made into their lawn or who has pets, enjoys the outdoors, entertains outdoors often or who has a pool in their yard which always seem to attract uninvited pests.

Total Lawn Pest Control Package 

Application #1 – Spring

Application #2 – Early Summer

Application #3 – Late Summer

Lawn Aeration and Seeding

Turf grasses growing in the St. Louis area benefit greatly from annual lawn aeration to reduce thatch buildup and more importantly, relieve soil compaction. This service will help improve the recycling flow of air, water, and nutrients to the root system. This, in turn, will help to rejuvenate your grass by allowing the roots to grow deeper, creating healthier grass plants and keeping your lawn thicker and greener.

Seeding Options

St. Louis weather conditions require grasses that can withstand the extreme temperature variations from winter to summer. We use a custom, premium quality blend designed for our local area that contains a variety of fescue grasses that are highly rated for color, drought and disease tolerance, density, and overall turf quality plus are certified weed-free. This optimal combination allows for a rich, thick, healthy lawn all season long and aids in choking out weeds. 

Grass is like any other living plant; it becomes weaker as it ages. To revive your lawn, we will determine and recommend which of the following seeding options would be most beneficial to keep it looking exquisite year after year.

Overseeding: The process of using a broadcast spreader to apply grass seed on the surface of the ground.  To increase seed germination, the combination of a lawn aeration with overseeding is highly recommended. The cores created by aeration allow the seeds to drop below the surface of the ground for successful germination.

Slit Seeding: The process of utilizing a machine with knife blades to create slits in your lawn, which allows grass seed to drop below the surface of the ground, maximizing the percentage of germination. The knife blades are designed to minimize damage to the lawn. Slit seeding is the most effective way to restore an extremely weak lawn and can be used for touch-ups of bare areas or for complete lawn renovations.

Soil Analysis

A soil analysis is used to determine the soil’s pH level, available nutrients and organic matter percentage, all of which need to be properly balanced for optimum turf conditions and prevention of weeds. Soil analysis is also a key tool to use when diagnosing a particular problem such as poor turf color, low seed germination, bare spots and continuous disease susceptibility.

The pH scale is from 0 – 14 with 7.0 being neutral. Below 7.0 is considered acidic and above is considered alkaline conditions. The pH should be slightly acidic between 6.5-6.8 for ideal soil conditions. To raise or lower the pH level, a soil test is required to determine necessary amounts of amendments such as limestone or sulfur. Adding compost will also change the pH level and is recommended for soil conditions when the pH level is highly buffered or if the organic matter % is below 4%.

Turf grasses in our local area require a balanced combination of 16 different nutrients for the optimal growth. Soils with pH issues, deficient amounts of nutrients and low organic matter % will have various turf issues and generally will always have weed issues. We use a local independent testing laboratory for analysis and will send you a copy of the report with our recommendations.

Amendments

The addition of amendments to a lawn is a common practice to correct deficiencies found following a soil test.  After performing a soil test the testing laboratory will provide a detailed report of soil conditions which allows the professionals at Turf Pro’s STL to calculate the correct amount of amendments. If the soil’s pH is outside of the optimum window of 6.5-6.8, amendments of limestone or sulfur are recommended and if the fertility of the soil is low amendments in nutrients should be added as well.  Soils with pH issues, deficient amounts of nutrients and low organic matter % will have various turf issues and generally will always have weed issues.

Compost Topdressing

Many people overlook how important healthy, nutrient rich soil is to the success of a lawn care program. We treat thousands of lawns in our local area and with all things being equal in fertilizer, watering and cultural practices, the difference in appearance from one lawn to the next generally has to do with soil conditions. Compost is the product of controlled decomposition of organic matter that has been stabilized where it is beneficial to plant life.  Compost will improve soil structure, increases the water-holding capacity of soil which is beneficial during summer months and encourages deep-rooting of grass plants. Compost can be added to a lawn at any time during the year, but most homeowners choose to have their lawn top-dressed with compost after an aeration.