Just because “Keep Austin Weird” is our city slogan doesn’t mean your lawn has to look weird. Let’s see if TruGreen can green up your Texas lawn before the next neighborhood cornhole tournament.
This TruGreen review covers everything you need to know about the Austin branch’s outdoor services and customer experience. We did the research for you. Though LawnStarter has an affiliate relationship with TruGreen, this TruGreen lawn care review is fair and unbiased.
Tending lawns since 1973, TruGreen uses EPA-registered products to fertilize grass, control weeds, and banish pests. The local Austin branch performs a Healthy Lawn Analysis to provide customized care for your lawn and help you better understand its health. For example, you might learn the reason behind your yellow turf is Austin’s generally poor soil quality.
Is TruGreen the right company to fit your lawn’s needs? Can your turfgrass benefit from regular lawn care treatments? Let’s find out.
Table of Contents:
- Overview
- Treatment Plans
- How it Works
- Other Services
- How to Order
- Customer Reviews
- Benefits of Lawn Care Services
- Highlights
- Final Word on TruGreen Austin
- Buyer’s Guide to Choosing a Lawn Care Company
- FAQ About Lawn Care
- DIY Lawn Care
TruGreen Austin At a Glance
TruGreen offers a variety of lawn care services. Here’s some information on the outdoor services they provide and the ones they don’t.
| Basic Treatments | |
| Fertilization | ✓ |
| Soil amendments | ✓ |
| Weed control | ✓ |
| Aeration | ✓ |
| Overseeding | ✓ |
| Planting grass seed for a new lawn | ✗ |
| Sod installation | ✗ |
| Mulching | ✗ |
| Lawn mowing | ✗ |
| FAQ | |
| Does TruGreen offer eco-friendly options? | ✓ |
| Does TruGreen serve commercial properties? | ✓ |
| Does TruGreen give instant quotes online? | ✓ |
| Does TruGreen have an online portal for scheduling, billing, etc.? | ✓ |
TruGreen Lawn Care Plans
TruGreen has several different lawn care plan options. Each TruGreen plan includes:
- Healthy Lawn Guarantee: A promise to all TruGreen customers with lawn care plans that your lawn will meet your expectations. If at any point it doesn’t, a TruGreen specialist will return to fix the problem.
- Healthy Lawn Analysis: TruGreen determines how environmental factors (such as climate and soil type) affect your lawn’s health.
- TruExpert Certified Specialists: TruGreen-certified specialists receive extensive and continuous training so they can provide scientifically tailored treatment for your lawn.
Keep in mind that the number of applications and services varies between plans (we’ll go over those differences in more detail below).
Love a good discount? TruGreen offers 50% off your first application. Prices vary depending on the lawn’s size and the treatment plan you sign up for. TruGreen lawn care service plans can be paid as a single payment or divided per application. Make payments online at Trugreen.com or through the mobile app.
When we requested lawn care using the company’s online ordering system, TruGreen recommended the following services for Austin homes. We’ve listed them below from most expensive to least expensive:
- TruNatural Lawn Care Plan
- TruComplete Lawn Care Plan
- TruHealth Lawn Care Plan
- TruMaintenance Lawn Care Plan
Call TruGreen Austin for further options if the following treatments aren’t what you’re looking for.
TruNatural Lawn Care Plan
Looking for an eco-friendly option? TruNatural Lawn Care Plan applies 100% natural fertilizer seven times per year. According to the TruGreen website, weed control is available upon request at no additional charge.
The TruNatural Lawn Care Plan was the most expensive treatment plan displayed at checkout.
TruComplete Lawn Care Plan
The TruComplete Lawn Care Plan, the second most expensive plan, provides nine applications per year (every 4-6 weeks). Treatments include:
- Aeration (once per year)
- Fertilization
- Sulfur soil amendment
- Pre-emergent and targeted weed control
During your aeration service, a TruGreen specialist removes thatch and plugs of soil to help relieve soil compaction. Since aeration is the best time to plant new grass seed, the specialist will determine whether your lawn could benefit from overseeding as well.
TruHealth Lawn Care Plan
The TruHealth Lawn Care Plan also offers nine applications per year. But unlike the TruComplete plan, the TruHealth plan does not provide aeration. Services include:
- Fertilization
- Sulfur soil amendment
- Pre-emergent and targeted weed control
TruMaintenance Lawn Care Plan
The TruMaintenance Lawn Care Plan provides eight applications of fertilizer and pre-emergent and targeted weed control per year.
This treatment may be for you if you’re interested in freshening up an already healthy lawn while saving cash on services like aeration and sulfur amendments (which aren’t included in this plan).
The TruMaintenance lawn care plan was the most affordable plan presented at checkout.
Overview
| Service | TruNatural | TruComplete | TruHealth | TruMaintenance |
| Healthy Lawn Guarantee | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Healthy Lawn Analysis | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| TruGreen Certified Specialist | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fertilization | ✓(Organic) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Aeration | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Sulfur Amendments | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Weed Control | ✓(Available upon request) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Day of Lawn Care: What to Expect
It’s ideal if you can be home for your first service. Your lawn treatment can still occur without you home, though. A service summary will be left at your front door or sent via text or email (depending on your preference). You can also check the TruGreen website or app for the service summary anytime after the appointment.
Before a TruGreen technician arrives:
- Confirm the technician will be able to access both your front yard and backyard
- Ensure all your gates are unlocked
- Pets and children will need to stay inside during treatment and for about one to two hours after treatment.
After your lawn has received its treatment, it will benefit from one inch of water within 48 hours of application to help the roots receive the nutrients.
Other TruGreen Services
Has your Austin yard turned into a food court for hungry pests? Are your trees and shrubs suffering from a disease? TruGreen offers additional outdoor services alongside its lawn care plans.
If you don’t find the service you need listed below, call TruGreen Austin for further details.
Grub Control
Grub treatment ensures your lawn isn’t a feeding ground for grubs. Grubs are the larval stage of some adult beetles, and they can damage your lawn by eating away at the roots–– yikes!
A TruGreen specialist will apply an insect control product before the egg-hatching season.
Mosquito Control
Now that you have a beautiful lawn courtesy of TruGreen, you should be able to enjoy it mosquito-free. TruGreen’s science-based treatment effectively controls mosquito populations within 24 hours.
The treatment is pet- and kid-safe; however, you must allow the product to dry in treated areas, which takes about an hour or less in the summer. For effective mosquito control, TruGreen will treat your yard about every 30 days.
Tree and Shrub Care
TruGreen creates customized tree and shrub services involving fertilization, disease treatment, and insect control. It starts with a tree and shrub evaluation so your TruGreen specialist can determine your landscape’s specific needs.
Soil Amendment and Analysis
Your soil heavily impacts your lawn’s health, especially when the pH is too alkaline or acidic. For example, your grass might struggle to respond to fertilizer if the soil pH is too low. A TruGreen expert can support the health of your soil by applying amendments, such as lime or sulfur.
Fire Ant Control
Ouch! Watch out for those dreaded fire ants. A TruGreen expert will control current fire ant hills with a targeted granular bait treatment. They’ll also apply a broadcast treatment of granular bait over the entire yard, offering protection for up to one year.
Perimeter Pest Control
Perimeter Pest Control service will protect your home from various outdoor pests, including ants, cockroaches, and paper wasps. A TruGreen technician will:
- Sweep away wasp combs, cobwebs, spider webs, and other debris.
- Apply a granular treatment five feet from your home.
- Apply a liquid barrier treatment to entry points (such as windows) and one foot away from the protected structure.
Keep in mind that the perimeter pest control treatment does not protect against termites, German cockroaches, bed bugs, and other common household pests.
How to Get an Instant Quote and Order Service Online
TruGreen customers can get an instant quote and order service online by visiting the company’s website. After a few clicks and plugging in your address, you’ll see several services TruGreen offers right here in Bat City.
Step 1: Visit Trugreen.com and select ‘see pricing.’
Step 2: Next, select the problems you want to address.
Step 3: Enter your information, including name, address, phone number, and email.
Step 4: After entering your property details on the previous screen, your quote with pricing information will be displayed along with services. Select the services you would like to sign up for and press continue.
Don’t see the service you’re looking for? Call TruGreen Austin for details.
TruGreen Austin
594 Greenhill Dr
Round Rock, TX 78665
(512) 388-3726
Step 5: Choose your payment plan and confirm the order.
Pro Tip: There are times when TruGreen might need you to utilize its aerial tool for your property to receive a quote. If that’s the case, you’ll receive a screen like this.
Selecting “begin tutorial” will walk you through each step. After drawing your measurements, you’ll click “continue” in the upper right corner of the screen to receive your quotes.
TruGreen Austin Customer Reviews
Want to learn more about the customer experience? We gathered the following reviews for TruGreen’s facility in Austin.
Positive Review: “The lawn care technicians who came to our house were courteous and respectful to us and our property. They did a thorough, professional job. What a relief to hand over some of the lawn care maintenance!” – Gloria K. (Google review)
Negative Review: “For the first year, TruGreen was a 5-star for us. They took out our weeds and made the lawn look perfect. After that, everything went downhill. They wouldn’t come when they said, they would come when they didn’t say anything. I put up with all of this until one month our weeds got very bad. I had them come out multiple times to treat. The first time they didn’t show up. The second time they came and none of the weeds died. The third time I stood and watched them treat the weeds, and after a week I realized this wasn’t going to work anymore.” Sam T. (Google review)
Positive Review: “Excellent, professional service which we started four years ago. Our lawn looks fantastic, and we’re one of few in our neighborhood without weeds!” – John B. (Google review)
Benefits of Lawn Care Services
How can Trugreen’s services benefit your lawn? Can treatments like aeration and fertilization really boost your curb appeal? Let’s find out.
Lawn care is like a puzzle. Without all the right pieces (services), you’ll have an incomplete puzzle (lawn). Each lawn care service benefits from the other–– for instance, a fertilization treatment can provide better results when paired with services like aeration or soil amendments.
Benefits of Fertilization
Fertilization is key to a healthy lawn. When a lawn is fertilized, the turf receives nutrients that help it grow. So why is fertilization important for your lawn? Because, like many soils, your lawn’s soil may be deficient in some nutrients.
Most fertilizers have three key nutrients: Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nitrogen gives your lawn its color and thickness. Phosphorus aids in your lawn’s development of healthy roots and stems. Potassium strengthens the grass so it can resist stressors like heat and drought.
Benefits of Aeration
The soil beneath your lawn will eventually compact (even from normal activities). When that happens, grassroots suffer because they can’t receive enough water, nutrients, and air.
Core aeration helps relieve soil compaction by pulling plugs of soil from the ground. This treatment provides grassroots access to water, nutrients, air, and space to grow into.
Aeration also helps to remove thatch from the lawn. Thatch is a mix of dead and living organic matter sitting atop the soil surface. A thin layer of thatch benefits the lawn, but thick layers of thatch need attention. Removing thatch has many benefits:
- It allows your lawn to receive adequate sunlight.
- It allows water, air, and fertilizer to penetrate the soil.
- It helps prevent pests and diseases from invading the lawn.
Benefits of Soil Amendments
Soil amendments are applied to the lawn to improve the soil’s drainage and correct the pH of the soil. Amended soils allow the absorption of water and nutrients, and the grassroots have a healthier environment to grow in.
Benefits of Weed Control
Weeds attempt to steal the nutrients, sunlight, space, and water intended for your turfgrass. Controlling the weeds allows your lawn to flourish without the greedy competition.
Pro tip: Healthy, dense lawns crowd out weeds. So the better you maintain your lawn, the better it can combat pesky weeds.
Benefits of Overseeding
Overseeding remedies patchy spots on your lawn. By overseeding your patchy spots, your lawn will appear beautiful, carpeted, and full.
Even better, a dense lawn will continue to help with weed control. Overseeding may also help reduce the risks of lawn pests and lawn diseases.
TruGreen Highlights
So why do Austinites turn to TruGreen for their lawn care needs? Well, TruGreen has features that help it stand out against the competition.
Over 40 Years of Experience
TruGreen started as a small company in 1973. Throughout the years, TruGreen has developed customized plans to keep both lawns and customers happy. Veterans in the business know what works and what doesn’t. When a company has continued to grow for that many years, it must mean they’re doing something right.
Professionally Trained Experts
TruGreen-certified specialists understand that lawns can be affected by the climate, soil, and many other factors. They assess and treat with those factors in mind to give your lawn the best possible outcome. Annual recertification is required to ensure each specialist remains up-to-date on the industry standards.
TruGreen Mobile App
With the app, you can manage your lawn care anytime, anywhere. You can manage your services, pay your bill, and see real-time GPS for your service delivery. Pretty handy, right?
Final Word on TruGreen Austin
TruGreen Austin offers many lawn care services to keep your lawn beautiful in the hot summer, including fertilization, aeration, and soil amendments. You might feel sticky from the humidity, but you don’t have to be itchy from mosquitoes or other lawn pests with TruGreen’s pest control services.
And remember, if you find yourself overwhelmed with mowing, LawnStarter can help with that.
Buyer’s Guide to Choosing a Lawn Care Company
Choosing a lawn care company isn’t always easy. There are many factors to consider when choosing a lawn care service company, such as price, location, and services offered.
Price
Lawn care isn’t one size fits all. Yards are different, and each person has a unique budget and wishlist. Choosing a company that offers many plans with varying price points gives you the flexibility to pick what works best for you and your wallet.
Location
It’s convenient to work with a local lawn care company. After all, you’ll be able to receive prompt attention to your concern if the company is nearby. Woke up to fire ants storming the lawn? Call in the nearest pros and set up treatment as soon as possible.
Services Offered
Can you imagine trying to schedule one company for pest control, one company for lawn fertilization, and one company for tree and shrub care? Sounds like a hassle. Some companies only offer single services, while others offer a full menu.
You also want to consider whether the company’s services can cater to your specific needs. For example, if you’re looking for lawn mowing, TruGreen is not for you (the lawn care company doesn’t offer lawn mowing).
FAQ About Lawn Care
It depends on the season and the weather. In Austin, your lawn needs about 1 inch of water per week during the summer. If it hasn’t rained, water once or twice a week so your lawn gets a good soak. It needs less water in the cooler months or when there’s been rain. Usually, in the spring or fall, you only need to water every other week.
There are several reasons for a dead spot on your lawn. It could be as simple as a lack of water, so you might need to adjust your sprinklers. Or it could be something a little more serious like lawn pests or lawn disease. Figuring out the cause of the dead spot is important so you know how to correct it properly.
That mainly depends on your preference. Lawn clippings have nutrients, and allowing them to stay on your lawn lets your lawn receive those healthy nutrients. You’ll also save time by leaving the clippings on your lawn since you won’t have to bag them.
On the other hand, if you notice any signs of lawn disease, you should bag those clippings so the disease doesn’t spread. Or if you just don’t like the look of lawn clippings lying on your lawn, you could bag them.
DIY Lawn Care
Mower? Check. Weed eater and edger? Check. Irrigation system or sprinkler? Check. Lawns require a significant commitment of time and energy. During the active growing season, a lawn will need a weekly mow plus ensuring adequate water. That only touches the basics, though.
You may want to invest in a spreader to evenly distribute fertilizer, new grass seed, or granular weed killer. A tool to aerate your lawn might be a good investment, too. To combat weeds, applying pre-emergent herbicide is recommended early each year.
Remember: Be careful with your DIY lawn care because overfertilizing and overwatering could make your lawn more susceptible to pests and diseases. Oh no!
Is DIY lawn maintenance starting to sound like a big investment? Sometimes, hiring a pro is the best way to go, especially if you want to relax on the weekends. When your grass needs a lawn doctor, hire a TruGreen specialist. When your lawn needs trimming, edging, and mowing, turn to the LawnStarter pros.
