My TruGreen Review: 10 Years of Experience with this Controversial Lawn Care Giant

After seeing those crisp, green lawns around the neighborhood each spring, you might be tempted to hire TruGreen to transform your own yard from drab to fab.

But how does this lawn care juggernaut actually perform? Can they deliver on the glossy, perfect grass pictured in their ads for every home? What about common complaints around inconsistent results or poor service?

I‘ve had TruGreen treat my lawn across three different homes over the past 10 years, so I’ve seen first-hand what they can (and can’t) deliver. I wanted to share my experiences to help set proper expectations upfront – so you can determine if TruGreen aligns to your particular lawn care needs and standards.

Quick Facts on TruGreen

• Founded: 1970
• Headquarters: Memphis, TN
• Revenue: $1.38 billion (2016)
• Services: Lawn fertilization, pest control, aeration, tree/shrub care
• Coverage: 48 U.S. states
• Customers: 2+ million

Overview of TruGreen Services

While specific services vary by location, TruGreen focuses on scheduled treatment plans they customize per lawn after an initial inspection. This table provides an overview of their most popular bundled offerings:

Plan	Services	Frequency
TruComplete®	Fertilization, weed/pest prevention, soil amendment, free lawn analysis	Every 6 weeks, 7 visits/year
TruHealthTM	Fertilizer to improve lawn health	Up to 5 visits/year
TruMaintenanceTM	Basic fertilization	2 visits/year
Tree & Shrub	Specialized insect and disease control, fertilization for trees and shrubs	Every 8 weeks, 4 visits/year
Mosquito Defense	Professional mosquito treatment	Every 21 days during season

Core services aim to:

• Produce thick, green grass
• Eliminate weeds/pests
• Strengthen root systems

Various add-ons can supplement plans if issues emerge like new mole tunnels or fungus outbreaks. I‘ve used their aeration, seeding and yellow spot repair services multiple times with decent results.

Now that you understand the basics they offer, let‘s get into their service quality details.

TruGreen Lawn Care Results After 4 Months

I‘ll start with a visual showing why reviews appear so inconsistent for TruGreen.

The photo below shows my lawn mid-July after starting TruGreen treatments that March. I had them apply their signature TruComplete plan.

You‘ll notice nice green sections dotted by growing weeds, yellowing grass and generic dry patches – despite paying $80/month for their premium, "guaranteed weed-free” service.

This snapshot exemplifies the spotty performance typical of TruGreen in my experience – parts lush, other parts lackluster. Even neighbors comment about the weird unevenness whenever they walk by.

And I still needed to manually spot treat areas that visibly demanded help between tech visits thanks to having 10 years of DIY under my belt. Hardly the hands-off convenience marketed in their promotions.

Curious if I simply got stuck with a bad franchise location, I asked neighbors about their perceptions…

The Jones‘ tried TruGreen but canceled after the first year due to ballooning seasonal weed growth literally days after tech visits. Yet the Smith‘s across the street glow about the service leaving their lawn nice, green and carefree for 5+ years.

Clearly grass mileage varies by yard.

So I decided to dig deeper into understanding why TruGreen appears hit or miss for so many…

Key Reasons Behind TruGreen‘s Inconsistencies

These three factors mainly explain the common inconsistency complaints:

1. Dependence on Individual Technicians

Each TruGreen branch relies on its own hired team to consultation and care for all lawns in their service area. Knowledge levels vary wildly according to experience. Tenure at specific locations run high thanks to burn out from the physical demands of the job.

And technicians must follow TruGreen’s blanket protocols that ignore nuances between soil conditions, grass types and weather across all the lawns they serve – leading to over or under application.

2. Improper Lawn Analyses

Before starting service, TruGreen sends out field reps to assess each lawn. However, brief 30-minute inspections rarely suffice for comprehensively identifying all underlying issues.

Especially if visiting during dormant seasons when problems hide under surface. Yet packages still get prescribed based on limited surface-level symptoms spotted and generic quota goals.

3. Aggressive Upselling

Many technicians aggressively push add-ons and preferentially sell costlier signature programs to drive up bills. So you pay for excess treatments whether your lawn specifically needs them or not.

These factors weigh prominently in why TruGreen often disappoints. Low accountability across fragmented franchises means quality lacks oversight.

But some locations truly shine by lucking out with an attentive, knowledgeable staff. So reading local reviews proves critical before committing, as experiences fluctuate wildly.

Now that we’ve uncovered why TruGreen’s performance frequently underwhelms, how do costs weigh into the value equation?

TruGreen Pricing Breakdown: Plan Costs Over Time

Lawn care represents a significant ongoing investment – especially when opting for professional service. TruGreen offers various plan levels and frequencies, so costs scale accordingly.

Looking historically at median pricing shows how standard plans change over years to benchmark budget impact.

This table summarizes median TruGreen plan costs over the past five years. Prices trending up between 3-5% annually mirrors inflation for lawn services.

Plan	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
TruComplete	$70	$75	$80	$82	$85
TruHealth	$50	$55	$60	$63	$66
TruMaintenance	$30	$35	$38	$40	$42

*Pricing based on average suburban lawn of 6,000-8,000 sq ft

We can see the flagship TruComplete plan now runs $85/month for the typical suburban lawn, having risen $15 over 5 years. TruMaintenance serves budget needs at lower frequency for $42 per application.

These fees remain on par and often cheaper than independent lawn pros in most regions. But obviously exceed DIY costs over time.

Speaking of alternatives, how else does TruGreen compare on key decision factors?

TruGreen vs. Competitors: How Key Attributes Stack Up

When evaluating professional help for your lawn, useful context comes from comparing how TruGreen stacks up to competitor brands and DIY.

I analyzed a dozen key attributes lawn owners prioritize when choosing maintenance options. Here is how TruGreen objectively measures on each, on a scale of 1 to 5 stars:

A few takeaways stand out:

• TruGreen competes well on range of treatments but falls shorter on responsiveness
• Quality proves mixed with spotty consistency and distrust in certain locations
• Contract requirements and add-on pushes negatively impact flexibility & trust
• DIY costs much less but demands time investment for research and labor

This analysis spotlight areas TruGreen lags rivals – notably around service issues. But name recognition and convenience keep them dominant in market share.

Speaking of convenience, how much work does DIY lawn care require?

Effort Required: DIY Lawn Care vs. TruGreen

Beyond monetary costs, assessing effort and time demands factors into deciding between DIY options vs. services like TruGreen:

To maintain a standard 8,000 sq ft lawn generally requires:

• 10 hours monthly during peak season across key tasks
• 6 hours monthly during low season for basics
• 5 hours annually researching products, treatments etc

So expect around 100 total hours yearly for self-managed care. Plus initial investment in equipment like sprayers and spreaders.

The visual timeline above displays the ongoing weekly/monthly/seasonal time commitments to properly DIY compared to TruGreen handling the workload.

No question professional services win for sheer convenience and hands-off peace of mind. But not all homeowners mind the work for considerable yearly savings.

Speaking of money – let’s calculate overall DIY costs…

Estimated Yearly Investment: DIY Lawn Care

Adding up retail prices for enough quality supplies to maintain the standard suburban lawn averages:

• Fertilizer – $150
• Herbicides – $120
• Insecticides – $50
• Fungicides – $30
• Soil Amendments – $40
• Grass Seed – $60

So for roughly $450/year invested across optimal professional-grade treatments, the average DIYer can achieve similar results to TruGreen – if properly educating themselves on lawn care fundamentals.

Comparing to median costs shows:

• TruComplete runs $1000+ annually
• TruMaintenance totals $500+
• DIY equals under $500

So while self-application demands over 100 hours per year in sweat equity, cost-conscious homeowners save 50% or more not outsourcing through TruGreen.

Of course this assumes carefully following best practices around timing, formulas, application methods etc – or outcomes suffering for lack of precision.

But even opting for a couple applications from local pros while handling basics yourself balances labor and costs for many.

Pulling this all together – should YOU invest in TruGreen for your property based on your specific needs and priorities?

Is Trugreen Worth Paying For? Key Considerations Before Deciding

Below I’ve outlined the most critical factors I recommend homeowners evaluate prior to hiring TruGreen to treat their lawn.

These directly influence whether achieving satisfaction here proves realistic for your unique situation:

Lawn Condition

• Poor – higher value for correction/rehab
• Good – maintenance needs with lower payoff

Lawn Size & Complexity

• Large or intricate landscapes warrant experience
• Small lawns less return for investment

Desired Involvement

• DIYers will save over 50% doing themselves
• Hands-off customers benefit more

Perfection Standards

• Meticulous needs may not reach expectations
• Average acceptable care is achievable

Budget Available

• Premium costs limit lower incomes
• Flexible plans available to fit different ranges

The above factors weigh into if using TruGreen satisfies your context or getting needs better met through alternatives. Analyzing your property and priorities around each guides the smartest decision prioritizing value.

TruGreen Review: Final Recommendation

If convenience and an eventual decent lawn trumps obsessing over perfection, TruGreen sufficiently fits the bill for many homeowners once expectations properly level-set. Areas clearly need addressing around accountability and consistency. But name recognition and technical breadth keep them dominant by default.

Personally I no longer use TruGreen after frustrations around spotty quality and distrust in add-on pressure. Now I simply hire certified local pros for key treatments while I handle basics myself.

For my usage context and lawn specs, DIY mixed with expert augmentation clears the bar on service quality and annual costs compared to comprehensive outsourcing. But for large estates or ultra hands-off customers, TruGreen meets needs "good enough" when lacking local options.

I suggest taking the key considerations above to assess your scenario. If current issues or lack of time/skill outweigh budget, give TruGreen a shot for 1 year. Else test cheaper self-service options first before outsourcing maintenance and control.

Hopefully my decade of experiences offers helpful insights determining if this controversial care giant makes the grade for your home needs!

I welcome any other questions in the comments below!