[SarFred]

We closed on a Patio Villa in the Village of St. Charles and got a letter saying that we need to have our lawn sprayed for pests and fertilized immediately. Does anyone have a recommendation for a gardener who will do this? We plan to arrive there in October (fixing up our house to lease) and are really looking forward to it! We are planning to take care of the lawn ourselves thereafter. Thank for any help anyone can give.

Sarah and Fred
Big Pine, California

[Muncle]

Call me overly suspicious, but from whom did you get the letter?

If it is legit, Chem Lawn would likely be fine and could easily handle it long-distance. http://www.trugreen.com/

Local phone --- 352-787-6962




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[SteveFromNY]

Sarfred - I use a service that I won't name, and the gy across the street uses tru green (as Muncle suggested). His grass always looks better than mine and I think I will be changing.
Although I too would ask where the letter came from saying you need to do anything. Are you renting through TV Property Management? They do have some rules - maybe they require the service.

[SarFred]

Thanks for your replies -- the letter was from Mark O'Sada of McDowell Construction on Villages stationery. But it seems weird to me too that we have to do anything other than make sure the lawn is cut and fertilized so it looks good. It's a brand new Patio Villa that we have bought and closed on 1/2 a month ago. We're puzzled too. Thanks for the referrals! I think we'll talk to our sales rep. maybe he knows something.

[redwitch]

First, congrats on your purchase.

Did you close by mail? If so, there's one thing you need to do immediately: have the sprinklers checked within 30 days of closing to protect the warranty on your lawn. You have to contact your developer (McDowell?) and ask for the name of the landscaper, call and set up an appointment and have someone let the landscaper rep in. The rep will check all sprinklers to see they are watering properly and set the initial sprinkler run times. It takes about 30 minutes but is truly crucial. Nothing like coming down in a few months and discovering that your plants or lawn are dead because a sprinkler head wasn't operating.

For the other issue, I imagine the developer is trying to tell you that your lawn hasn't been treated and it is certainly a wise thing to have it done considering the bugs in Florida. I do know that it is pretty common for to have an outdoor spraying for termites done shortly after a home is closed. I believe this is done with a contract between the homeowner and the pest control company, but it is pretty standard.