It's Hot and I Am Thirsty

The heat is on! It is extremely important that you water your lawn and shrubs. Lack of proper watering leads to problems. In lawns, drought stress increases the possibility of diseases attacking the stressed grass plant and also die back of the root system.

In shrubs and other plant material, lack of water causes stress which causes plants to drop leaves vital to survival. Weakened plants also attract more insects and in a weakened state, insect feeding places even more stress on your shrubs and plants and possible death can occur.

Remember, you don’t have to have an irrigation system to have a nice lawn. THE
GOAL IS TO SUPPLY WATER. If you have limited time, make sure that at least the sunny areas receive water. Please remember to always remove the hose from the lawn as the sun will heat the water in the hose to a high temperature and cause the lawn under the hose to die.

I recommend EARLY MORNING watering only, Do Not water in the afternoon or evening. This has the potential to create problems and increase the possibility of disease organisms attacking your lawn and shrubs. Hydrated lawns and shrubs are the best way for you to help keep your property looking nice and healthy.

For more information about our Landscape Maintenance   and Tree Care and Shrub Care services please see our pages or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation. 

Mosquitoes and Gnats and Ticks, Oh My!!!

We all remember Dorothy walking through the forest in Oz. Fear overcame her when she realized the dark woods might contain lions, tigers, and bears. She skipped and chanted lions and tigers and bears, oh my, becoming more and more fearful. Don't let your fear of mosquitoes, gnats, and ticks ruin your summer fun. Mosquitoes and ticks transmit diseases and gnats are just just a royal nuisance.

Here are some helpful tips. Mow your lawn weekly. I suggest a mowing height of three inches. If your lawn is overgrown it will make a better hiding spot for mosquitoes. Dethatching your lawn periodically will help with the gnats. Boarder areas between lawns and woods are zones where ticks can easily be found. So try to stay out of these area.

Remember, at Keep It Green Landscaping, our spray programs  provide you protection from mosquitoes, gnats, and ticks. Your summer should be filled with fun and memories. Our organic mosquito, gnat, and tick controls are a safe and effective way to keep your backyard from becoming the dark forest.

For more information about our Deer Control and Tick Control  and Mosquito Control and Gnat Control services please see our pages or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation. 

Oh Deer - Stories from the Field

The other day we were spraying deer control in Montvale on one of our customer's properties and upon finishing the treatment and loading up to leave, I happened to look at the neighbor's front yard. So what did I see? Two deer laying quietly in the front foundation bed about four feet from the front door. I think the neighbor probably needs our Deer Spraying Program too. 

Ok, that's a nice story, but let's think about it a little bit more seriously. Deer are known to carry ticks and ticks are known to carry and transmit diseases like Lyme disease. Lyme disease is a very serious problem for many people have contracted it. Deer and deer ticks, YIKES! Those deer on your lawn and in your garden may not really look quite  so cute the next time your see them. 

For more information about our Deer Control and Tick Control services please see our page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation. Our deer control and tick spraying programs are helping to keep homeowner's plants and flowers intact and their yards a safer environment in which to live and for their children to play.

There's A New Tick in Town

Well maybe not your town yet, the Longhorned tick has been found in New Jersey. The Longhorned tick was first found on sheep in Hunterdon county, and more recently in Union country. The Longhorned tick is native to Asia. But has become an major invasive pest problem for Australia and New Zealand, and now it is here, in the United States.

Good news is that no Longhorned tick have been found in Bergen county yet. Bad news is these ticks do spread disease. But is has not been determined if the Longhorned tick will spread Lyme disease like the common Deer tick found in Bergen county. More bad news, like the Deer tick, they are very small and hard to find on pets. Sadly, these ticks have the ability to overwinter (survive through the cold of winter). Maybe the best news is our tick spraying program at Keep It Green Landscaping is an all natural organic tick control measure that can help you manage your tick problems. 

For more information about our Deer Control and Tick Control services please see our page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.

Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes, Mosquitoes

Bergen county received a lot of rainfall this spring. A little more than fourteen inches or about two inches more than normal. Cool and wet has turned into warm and wet. Now that summer is here, so are the mosquitoes. Lots and lots of puddles and places for the buzzing pest, the mosquito, to breed and multiply.

In 2017, we all heard a lot about the dangers of mosquitoes and the Zika virus and the problems associated with it. However, a greater problem for us in Bergen county and New Jersey, as a whole, is the West Nile virus, which is also carried by the mosquito. There were eight reported cases in New Jersey in 2017 which sadly resulted in two deaths, as reported by the Center for Disease Control. 

The good news is mosquitoes can be managed and the state of New Jersey does a great job. You have to do your part too. Check your home for sources of standing water to help reduce the mosquito threat in your own backyard.  Go to our Mosquito Control and Gnat Control page to see some of the common sources of mosquitoes around the home. 

Do your best and remember that Keep It Green Landscaping is here to help you too. With our 100% organic mosquito and organic gnat control programs, we kill mosquitoes and gnats and leave a pleasant scent behind. At Keep It Green Landscaping, we are waging war on your behalf. We have helped lots of people, since 1981, and we would like to help you too.

Mosquito season is here but itchy bites and bug filled nights don't have to be.  A simple call can help you rediscover how much fun you can have in your own backyard this summer.  For more information about our Mosquito Control and Gnat Control services please see our page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.

Gnats Got You Biting Mad?

Well  if you have a gnat problem there are some things you can do to reduce gnats. First you need to know that gnats are looking for something that is decomposing. So, to start, look for those areas and clean them up, Excessive thatch build up in lawns should be removed, dirty garbage cans should be cleaned and rotting wood should be removed. A huge problem is leaving dog piles on your lawn. removing dog piles daily is removing a problem daily. 

So do your best to reduce the places where gnats live and breed. However gnat problems can go beyond your ability to control them yourself by reducing attractants. At Keep It Green Landscaping, we receive a lot of calls requesting gnat control in the Ridgewood, Midland Park, and Wyckoff area, but fungus gnats and wood gnats are common to all of Bergen county. 

If you are experiencing a gnat problem, we can help. We employ gnat control strategies using 100% organic gnat controls that will allow you to enjoy your outdoor parties and backyards. At Keep It Green Landscaping, our safe and effective gnat control programs will have the kids  and adults alike, outside, playing and having fun.

Mosquito control and gnat control would make a great Father's Day or birthday gift too!

 For more information about our Mosquito Control and Gnat Control services please see our page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.

Mosquitoes Bugging You?

Mosquito season has started.  The 2018 mosquito season is shaping up to be a bad one. The frequency of rain this spring has created an abundance of breeding sites for mosquitoes this year.  So the question is, will mosquitoes be bugging you?

With mosquito season comes those nasty itchy mosquito bites. There is no reason to bring the backyard party inside early. Our organic mosquito spraying is extremely effectively in controlling those nasty biting bugs. Our technicians are professionals. Our technicians find and target the places where mosquitoes go to hide in your yard. We offer affordable season long protection against mosquitoes. Let the kids out to play, sit down and read a book, and barbecue all day long.

So you don't have to pack up and run, you can call Keep It Green Landscaping.  We offer season long mosquito protection programs.  For more information about our Mosquito Control and Gnat Control services please see our page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.

Lawn Mowing- Are All Contractors the Same?

As it is spring and the grass is growing,  we are receiving a lot of phone calls for lawn mowing service. With some people asking " Do you cut lawns every other week," as opposed to weekly,. Our answer to that is no.  While lawn mowing is not the most complex service that we provide in our landscape business, there certainly are best practices that are followed by professionals. 

I suggest, when searching for a landscape maintenance contractor that provides mowing service, you shop for value, not price. In my opinion, the best contractors do not mow lawns on an every other week basis. Lawns are made up of many individual grass plants. Each grass plant is made up of a root, stem and leaf (blade). When lawns are mowed every other week or infrequently The grass gets taller and in doing so the stem elongates, which means that when you do the next mowing, you are actually cutting off more of the leaf surface and leaving behind a plant that has more stem than leaf.

This is the opposite of what you should be doing which is removing the smallest amount of leaf surface so that the blade of the grass plant is available to take in the sun. Your lawn will respond positively and be healthier when mowed weekly because of this and not as well, when mowed every other week. True professionals also use edgers to provide straight edges on walkways and curbs. not a string trimmer (weed whacker), turned sideways, which can create a wide groove next to the walkway which is unsightly. 

So when searching for your lawn mowing contractor, you may want to ask a couple of questions that relate to value and not just price.
Questions such as
Do you carry liability insurance?
Are your employees covered by Worker's Compensation?
Do you have a NJ Home Improvement Contractor's License?
Because it really is true, you get what you pay for.

For more information about our Landscape Maintenance services please see our page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.

Want Less Mosquitoes This Summer?

Mosquito season is upon us. With all the recent rain there will be plenty of places for mosquitoes to breed. One of the best ways to keep mosquitoes under control is to be diligent about not having standing water around your home. Policing your home regularly to make sure there are no vessels that will retain water will go a long way toward reducing the mosquito population.

Please see our Mosquito Control and Gnat Control page for additional information about mosquitoes. There is no reason why mosquitoes should ruin your summer fun. Please give call us at 201-445-4646 for a free consultation.

Deer - How do we all get along? Prevention is the Key.

Spring is here and with the emergence of spring perennial flowers and new soft foliage on shrubs and plant material, deer can't help themselves.  After a long winter, with reduced food sources, flowers and new plants are their favorite food. It is easy to digest and it's tasty too.

As the deer population grows in Bergen county each year, we gain more and more customers, all the time.  At Keep It Green Landscaping, we're helping our clients enjoy their home's landscaping and flowers by employing our 100% organic deer control solutions. Deer prevention is the key.

For more information about our Deer Control and Tick Control services please see our page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.

We have been working hard to save damaged shrubs.

Recent nor'easters have dropped a lot of wet heavy snow on shrubs and plant material. If you have any damaged plants, it is best to correct the situation right away.  You do not always need to replace uprooted or damaged plants,  often times,  we can save your damaged shrubs for less than the cost to replace them. 

We have been working diligently to correct the problems caused to shrubs in our Bergen County service area. We can help you too,  please call if you have any concerns about your shrubs damaged by the storms or if you would like to have Keep It Green Landscaping provide your pruning service this year.

Heavy Snow Can Damage Plants

This most recent nor'easter on March 7th, produced a lot of wet heavy snow. Snow is generally beneficial to shrubs and other plant material by providing moisture and insulation from the cold.

Something to look for when we have wet heavy snow falls is snow that lays on shrub branches and bends them. If this heavy snow persists long enough, it can break a branch or bend a branch(es). If the snow remains long enough and a branch is bent great enough sometimes it gains a memory, similar to a hose that is always wound in the same direction. This is a common occurrence with multi stemmed or trunked plants such as arborvitae or birch.

If you experience this, it is best to remove the snow so that the plant does not gain a memory and become misshapen or break from the weight of the snow. It is not necessary to remove all the snow, as moisture is beneficial for plants, just to remove the weight from the situation. This can easily be done with a broom or a piece of wood and a gentle tapping to allow the snow to fall off. Shovels and rakes can have sharp edges that could cut or damage plant material but you can turn them around and use the handle end to again gracefully remove the weight of the snow.

Proper care and pruning can help reduce winter damage. If you do experience any damage or misshaped plants, please give us a call, we can help.

For more information about our Tree Care and Shrub Care services please see our page or give us a call at 201-445-4646 to set up a free consultation.