What an Annual Lawn Treatment Program Can Include

An annual lawn treatment program is a recurring-visit service plan rather than a single treatment. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension ties the timing of fertilization and weed control visits to soil conditions and grass type rather than a fixed monthly calendar. Beyond fertilization and weed control, what a program includes varies by company: ask whether fire ant control, grub control, tree or shrub feeding, fungicide, and mowing are bundled in, offered as add-ons, or not offered at all. Reading any specific quote gets easier once you know what to ask.

Companies advertise their annual programs in different ways, and a quote can sound comprehensive without spelling out what's actually covered. The sections below walk through what fertilization and weed control cover, what's worth asking about beyond that, and why the schedule lands where it does.

Fertilization and Weed Control: The Starting Point

Fertilization in a North Texas program runs on a recurring basis through the growing season rather than as one application. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension recommends a nutrient plan for a Bermudagrass home lawn that ranges from one to four nitrogen applications a year, at half a pound to a pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet each time. That range, not a single number, is what drives how many visits a season actually needs.

Weed control splits into two passes with different jobs. Pre-emergent herbicide goes down before weeds germinate, aimed mainly at crabgrass and other summer annual weeds. Post-emergent herbicide treats weeds that are already growing. A program built around one pass and not the other misses half the problem, so it's worth asking whether a quote covers both.

For a closer look at how these two pieces work on their own, see Lawn Fertilization in North Texas: Timing and Rates and Weed Control for North Texas Lawns: Pre-Emergent Timing.

Both figures come from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's Bermudagrass home lawn management guidance.

What to Ask About Beyond Fertilization and Weed Control

Beyond fertilization and weed control, programs vary in what else they cover. Ask whether fire ant control, grub control, and tree and shrub feeding are rolled into the base program, offered as paid add-ons, or not offered at all.

Fungicide for lawn fungus is worth asking about directly, since fungal pressure depends heavily on the specific lawn and season and companies handle it differently. Ask about mowing the same way: whether it's part of the plan, billed separately, or not offered at all. For a fuller list of questions to bring into that conversation, see Questions to Ask a Lawn Care Company Before You Hire.

Why the Visit Schedule Follows the Season, Not the Calendar

Program visits aren't spaced out on an arbitrary schedule. Pre-emergent herbicide timing is tied to soil temperature: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension recommends applying pre-emergence herbicide for summer annual weeds once soil temperature reaches about 55°F for four to five consecutive days, which in North and Central Texas typically means an application window ahead of crabgrass germinating in early March.

Nitrogen applications carry their own limits, both per visit and across the year, and those limits shape when a technician can and can't fertilize. There's also a cutoff on the back end: for St. Augustinegrass, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension recommends the last nitrogen application of the year land four to six weeks before the first historic frost. Fire ant bait timing follows a separate cue. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension notes that fire ants forage when soil surface temperatures sit between 70°F and 90°F, with the best bait window running roughly May through September for most of Texas.

"Do not apply nutrients to bermudagrass lawns before full green-up in the spring... or in the late fall and winter when lawns are, or are becoming, dormant." Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

The Specifics Can Shift With Grass Type

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension gives Bermudagrass the same nitrogen range as St. Augustinegrass: one to four applications a year, at half a pound to a pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet each time. What differs is what's published on fall cutoff timing, not the rate. For St. Augustinegrass, AgriLife sets the last nitrogen application four to six weeks before the first historic frost. For Bermudagrass, AgriLife's guidance says to stop fertilizing once lawns go dormant in late fall and winter, without a specific weeks-before-frost number. Ask which grass type a quote was actually built for so the fall timing matches the lawn.

Questions This Helps You Ask

Knowing the general shape of a program makes it easier to read what a specific company is actually offering, and where a quote is vague instead of specific. How to Read a Lawn Care Quote walks through how to check a quote line by line against what's described here. For the broader process of choosing a company, start with Hiring a Lawn Care Company in Little Elm, or go straight to the homepage to compare lawn care companies in Little Elm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can an annual lawn treatment program include?

There's no fixed list every company follows. Ask whether fertilization and weed control are run as recurring visits across the growing season, and whether fire ant control, grub control, tree or shrub feeding, and fungicide are included in the base program, offered as add-ons, or not offered at all, and whether mowing is part of the plan or billed separately.

When does a North Texas program typically start and stop for the year?

Timing follows soil conditions rather than a fixed calendar. Pre-emergent herbicide typically goes down before crabgrass germinates in early March, and nitrogen applications continue through the growing season. The last nitrogen application of the year should land four to six weeks before the first historic frost, based on Texas A&M AgriLife Extension guidance for St. Augustinegrass.

Is fungicide treatment included in an annual program?

It depends on the company. Fungal pressure depends heavily on the specific lawn and the season's weather, so ask directly whether a quote includes fungicide or treats it as an add-on before assuming it's covered.