Here Comes Summer!

We hope you’re ready for a fun-filled Memorial Day to kick off the summer!  This post covers a few common mowing and mosquito control tips to help you better enjoy your outdoor time.

Mowing Practices

To maintain a healthy lawn, it’s important to pay attention to cutting height. Don’t go too short!  Taller grass equals deeper roots.  The higher you mow a grass plant, the deeper the roots will grow.  This provides a larger reservoir from which to draw water.  Short grass leaves more open space, leading to more opportunity for weeds and moss.

Mowing Tips:

• Mowing target height should be approximately 3 inches for cool season grasses.
• It’s best not to remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade height in a single mowing.
• Don’t let grass clippings lie in clumps or as a blanket on top of the grass. During heavy growth times, either bag or rake to distribute the clippings.

Mosquito Control

 With warmer weather comes a pesky party crasher – mosquitos!  These irritating insects can easily ruin your outdoor activities.

Here are a few mosquito facts:

• Only female mosquitos bite because they need blood as a protein source for laying eggs.
• Both male and female mosquitos feed on nectar and other plant sugars.
• Mosquitos target their victims (most commonly animals) by sensing exhaled carbon dioxide, body odors, and temperature.

Removing standing water is one important step you can take to reduce mosquitos in your yard (this is where several common species of mosquito lay their eggs).

If you need assistance, we offer a mosquito control service.   We use a natural, botanical insecticide that complies with the National Organics Program. Our technicians deliver this treatment using a backpack sprayer (mister) to cover landscape foliage, reach into the low parts of larger trees, and spray grassy areas where people are most likely to gather.   These treatments allow for a fast knockdown and kill of mosquitos and other insects.  Because the product is a botanical, it is also safe to apply near or over open water.

Our typical mosquito control program is 5 applications throughout the season.  However, we can do more or fewer applications as needed.  Customers often use this service prior to outdoor events (ideally several days ahead of time).

If you have any questions about mosquito control or would like a quote, call us at 260-489-2500, contact us via email at customerservice@crownandblade.com, or simply reply to this post.