Organic lawn treatments

 
Are you considering some lawn treatments but you are concerned about the kids, pets, the environment, and general safety of what is going down around your house?  All of these concerns are valid with plenty of solutions available.  There are organic options to control lawn insects, diseases, and even reduce fertilizer demand.  Does choosing an organic pest control option give companies a free pass from obtaining the proper state licensing, insurance, and company certification?  Let’s find out!  I will not address education or background experience in this blog post- even though it is a very significant factor in choosing a lawn company (see prior blog posts for more information).
Let’s explore one scenario and see if you know the answer.  This fictitious company is based in NH only- however- VT has similar statues.
Doug hires Organic Landscapes (fictitious name) and assumes they have all the proper credentials’, after all; their pickup truck has a nice logo.  Doug hires Organic Landscapes to improve his lawn and still control some insects like grubs which he has had a problem with for years.  Doug agrees to a few basic fertilizer treatments, lime, and a grub control treatment- all organic.  Does Organic Landscapes need a NH Supervisory and perhaps an Operational pesticide license?
Yes.
What Doug does not realize is any claim made to control a pest requires significant state licensing, insurance, and certification.  An easy way to determine if a company is certified in NH is to look at the truck itself.  Any state certified company will have 2” black letters on the service vehicles showing “NHPC” followed by a registration number unique to that business.  If the truck(s) lack this, they either are not licensed, perhaps are pretending to be- or forgot.  In this case, there is no NHPC number on the trucks because Organic Landscapes does not realize they even need this certification.
While you may not need a license or any of the aforementioned qualifications to treat your own lawn, if you are doing it “for hire” – money, the business must hold the proper credentials when controlling pests- organic or not in NH.  This goes for spraying weeds with vinegar, applying oils to control surface insects like chinch bugs, or botanical extracts to knock back red thread disease.
Before you consider any lawn care program change, be sure to inquire about how long the company has been in business, its reputation, its insurance, its certifications and so forth.  If this article has your juices flowing for more- check out my earlier BBB blog post and why a good rating and accreditation is vital.  I have several more blog posts on just how to select a lawn company and why you should consider these factors in your final decision.  Thanks for visiting!