Category: Lawn Care

Two levels of rules

• Quebec regulates sale and use, bans certain ingredients on lawns and requires permits and certification for applicators.
• Municipalities can add restrictions. Montreal’s bylaw is among the strictest in Canada, and several nearby cities have their own rules.

What it means for you

• Check your city’s rules before any treatment
• Ask for the company’s permit and technicians’ certification
• Ask for the list of products used at each visit
• Expect a notice or sign before certain treatments

Alternatives that work

A dense, high-mowed, well-fed lawn leaves little room for weeds and resists insects. See weed control without pesticides and nematodes for white grubs.

General, non-legal information. Rules change: check with Quebec’s Ministry of the Environment and your municipality.

Chinch bugs, drought or grubs?

• Drought: the whole lawn yellows evenly and greens up after rain.
• Chinch bugs: irregular sunny patches that grow, turf well anchored.
• Grubs: dead patches, turf lifts like a carpet. See white grubs.

The can test

Push a can open at both ends into the soil at the edge of a yellow patch, fill it with water and wait about ten minutes. Small black-and-white insects floating up mean chinch bugs are present.

Protect your lawn

• Water deeply during hot, dry spells, following city rules
• Mow high, around 8 cm
• Reduce thatch with aeration
• Overseed with tolerant grasses such as some fescues: see overseeding

General information. Insecticide treatments are regulated in Quebec and by many municipalities.

The 5-step method

1. Mow short so seed reaches the soil.
2. Prepare the soil: aeration or vigorous raking.
3. Top-dress: about 0.5 to 1 cm of soil or compost.
4. Seed with a mix suited to your sun or shade.
5. Water lightly and often until it sprouts, then more deeply.

Which seed?

• Kentucky bluegrass: dense and attractive, loves sun, slow to sprout
• Fescues: better in shade and drought
• Perennial ryegrass: sprouts fast, great in mixes for high-traffic areas

For large dead areas, compare sod vs seed. Time it with our calendar.

General advice for the Montreal area. Follow your municipality’s watering rules.

Why weeds take hold

• Thin turf leaving bare soil
• Mowing too short, letting light reach the soil
• Compacted or poor soil
• Unsuitable pH: most lawns prefer 6 to 7

Methods that work

• Mow high, around 8 cm, to shade out seedlings.
• Thicken by overseeding in late summer.
• Aerate compacted soil.
• Fertilize on time, following our calendar.
• Pull dandelions with a root tool, ideally in moist soil.
• Accept some clover: it stays green and adds nitrogen.

Rules on products are summarized in lawn pesticides in Montreal.

General information. Check your municipality’s pesticide rules before any treatment.

Comparison

Installing sod successfully

• Prepare the soil well: level, quality soil, light rolling
• Lay rolls the day of delivery, staggered, with no gaps
• Water heavily right away, then daily for the first weeks
• Stay off it until it roots

For a thin lawn, see overseeding combined with aeration.

General advice. Costs vary with area, access and soil preparation: compare written quotes.

The 8 questions

1. Do you hold a pesticide application permit? In Quebec, the company needs a permit and its technicians a certification.
2. Which products do you use, and are they allowed in my city? See Montreal rules.
3. How many visits, and what’s in each? Compare with our calendar.
4. What’s the full-season price, taxes included? See lawn treatment cost.
5. Are aeration and overseeding included or extra?
6. Does the contract auto-renew? How and by when can I cancel?
7. How am I notified before a treatment? Important with kids or pets.
8. What guarantee do you offer?

Red flags

• Refusing to name the products
• No permit or certification to show
• Multi-year contract signed on the spot
• Treatments applied without notice
• Very low first-visit price with no season total

Estimations.pro is a matching service and does not perform the work. Check the company’s permits and insurance.

Signs of an infestation

• Yellow then brown patches that don’t recover after watering
• Turf that lifts easily like a carpet, with no roots
• Lawn torn up by skunks, raccoons or birds
• Lots of beetles around lights in early summer

The simple test

Cut three sides of a 30 cm square of turf, 5 cm deep, and lift it. Several white C-shaped larvae in that square mean a significant infestation. Repeat in a few spots.

Treatment

• Beneficial nematodes: microscopic worms that parasitize the larvae, applied by watering, mid-August to mid-September.
• Approved products: some low-impact insecticides exist, but their use is regulated in Quebec and Montreal. See pesticide rules.
• A healthy lawn: dense, mowed high and well fed, it resists better.

After control, rake dead areas, top-dress and overseed. Don’t confuse with chinch bugs.

General information. Pesticide use is regulated in Quebec and by many municipalities.

Signs of compacted soil

• Water pools or runs off after rain
• A screwdriver is hard to push into moist soil
• Bare or yellow traffic areas
• Moss and annual bluegrass moving in
• Thick thatch at the base of the grass

Right after aeration

• Let the soil plugs break down in place
• Spread a thin layer of top-dressing or compost
• Overseed to use the holes
• Water regularly during germination

Place aeration in your year with our lawn calendar. Redoing a big area? Compare sod vs seed.

General advice for Montreal-area lawns. Ideal timing varies with each year’s weather.

The calendar

All-season habits

• Mow high, around 8 cm, never removing more than a third at once.
• Grasscycling: leave clippings on the lawn as free fertilizer.
• Water deeply and less often, following your city’s watering rules.
• Check pH: most lawns do best between 6 and 7.

Indicative calendar for the Montreal area. Adjust to each year’s weather and your municipality’s rules.

What a typical program includes

See our Quebec lawn care calendar for details.

Comparing offers without getting caught

• First-visit discounts: look at the full-season price.
• Auto-renewal: check how to cancel for next year.
• Products: ask which ones and whether they’re allowed in your city.
• Guarantee: free return visit if weeds come back?

Use our questions for a lawn care company.

Indicative prices before taxes, based on offers seen in the Montreal area. Only written quotes give your real price.