We hired a lawn care service about seven weeks ago to revive our yard, which is mainly crabgrass and weeds. They initially came out and applied an herbicide but didn't communicate with us and skipped an area fenced off for our dogs. Two weeks later, a different tech arrived to seed the lawn. He seemed worried and mentioned that the herbicide shouldn't have been applied before seeding, as it could prevent the new seeds from taking root. Despite this, he aerated the lawn and seeded anyway. I later got in touch with the salesperson, who insisted that the process was correct and even came over to spray something else, assuring us everything was fine. Fast forward three weeks (so five weeks after seeding), and we're only seeing growth in the area that was untouched by the herbicide. I'm confused: was the seeding tech right about the herbicide being an issue, or could it be something else? Should we just give it more time?
6 Answers
I think it's pretty clear they messed up by spraying too early. If they charged you for something that isn't working, you may want to explore your options for getting them to fix this. They should be accountable if their mistakes affected your lawn.
Honestly, it sounds like you might be stuck for a while. If the herbicide was strong, it could take weeks to wear off. Once that's done, it might be worth getting them to re-seed and aerate the lawn to try again.
The growth timing does sound off. Seeds should start sprouting around three weeks in ideal conditions, so something isn't adding up. Hopefully, you can get in touch with a tech who really knows their stuff to help pinpoint the problem.
Make sure to find out exactly what they sprayed—if it was a pre-emergent, that could explain the slow growth. Depending on your area, soil temperatures and other factors can also affect seed germination, so it's not just the herbicide.
It's tough to say right now, but you should definitely ask for a detailed invoice showing the chemicals they used. Most places have regulations that require them to provide that info if you ask. If they refuse, contacting your local pesticide regulatory agency is a good next step.
The seeding tech was likely spot on. Herbicides can really mess with seed germination. I had a similar situation where a company applied chemicals that killed the seeds I had planted. It's definitely something you should look into.
Thanks! I’m definitely considering asking them to sort it out once the herbicide wears off.