Natural Weed Control Services in Norfolk County & Waterloo Region

Weeds can be the bane of a lawn’s existence. We know that often the goal is to have your lawn mimic those that are featured in Canadian Living magazine, and we at Jody’s Lawn Care (JLC) are here to help you achieve that dream! Those lawns look immaculate and have nary a blade of grass out of place; and they certainly do not contain Dandelions or Crab Grass! These pesky invaders are inherent to our coverage areas, along with their pals Plantain and Creeping Charlie, resulting in the whole gang being on our top ten pest list. This has led to a lot of exploration, research, and experimentation by our team at JLC so we can give you the picture-perfect lawn you deserve! 

Since we cover Norfolk County (including Port Dover, Simcoe, Delhi and Waterford) and have a branch in Cambridge, we are aware that, in Ontario, lawn companies are not allowed to apply chemicals to residential properties. As such, we are constantly searching for new, natural, products that can help encourage grass growth while neutralizing the unwanted weeds. Thankfully, there has been a lot of development in this area of horticulture. Products used in the past are no longer available or legal, and with good reason; carcinogenic and corrosive compounds are shelved, encouraging investigation of products utilizing natural reactions and relationships already innately present. 

We have partnered with Canadian producers to acquire broadleaf weed control products such as Fiesta (an Iron based, post-emergent, mixture), which do not affect your grasses, but work on a natural weakness through the absorption of Iron to cause oxidative stress, resulting in quick plant death. Fiesta is a topical weed pesticide, which means it works through visible growth/leaf absorption. Although weeds may recur with new growth/seed development in 4-6 weeks, further applications of Fiesta will knock back the weeds again, removing possibility of reproduction and allow desired turf to thicken and grow.  

We also use a pre-emergent compound, corn gluten, to address Crab Grass control – and although there is currently no product available to safely eradicate Crab Grasses, we are ever on the high alert for when researchers develop one – we have been in contact with the University of Guelph in particular, as they are often at the forefront of Canadian crop/horticulture research. Finally, there is the acknowledgement of the predatory relationship between grubs and nematodes; this enables us to use the application of nematodes (living microbes) to reduce and prevent grub infestations. All these services are as good for the environment as they are for your lawn. 

We offer several weed control packages and combinations suited to address many of the recurring weed species common in Southwestern Ontario. We know that fighting weed growth is an ongoing battle, and there are no quick solutions; we have built schedules to make sure we stay on top of the weed populations and attack them in the most effective manner, reducing their ability to re-seed and thereby reducing their populations. When the population is reduced it removes self-seeding and leaves us to contend only with seeds that blow in from neighbouring properties. The best lawns have a great history of recurring weed prevention. You can tell neighbourhoods where weeds are taken seriously, as the collective control reduces seed availability.  

Our teams have also studied and acquired their pesticide licenses to ensure they understand the mechanics of how to apply, when to apply, and what methodology works best under which conditions. This also included learning what chemicals are best suited for which type of weed, along with the health and safety requirements for those chemicals. For the natural products we use this is not necessary (nor is personal protective equipment), but Jody felt it important we knew the ins and outs of these more complex compounds as well, for knowledge and safety. If nothing else, these lessons drove home the benefits of the safe products we do use; it is reassuring to use products safe for use around children and pets, that often qualify as organic and are beneficial for the surrounding environment. 

We recognize that some of these weeds in particular are resilient and need some extra handling in order to be removed and prevented properly. Creeping Charlie, for example, is a particularly tough customer. We have learned, through trial and error, that a specific protocol of weed spray and custom fertilizer application is required to be able to knock out this crafty character. Our team are trained to recognize when this interloper is present, notify our manager, and ensure that the homeowner is alerted and our Creeping Charlie protocol is put in place. Creeping Charlie and Clover are weeds that take some time to be cleared, but it can be done with persistence and knowledge. 

So, is your lawn weedy? Should you have questions about whether the weeds you see are susceptible to our available applicant products, feel free to reach out! Our team are happy to visit and discuss your lawn with you; our experienced estimators can provide insights and suggestions to help your lawn thrive. All our quotes are done based on in-person visits to your particular property, ensuring the quotes are custom and accurate. We have several packages we may suggest that are designed to schedule weed spraying throughout the season at key times of growth, as well as packages that combine both fertilizer and weed spraying to make sure your lawn gets the both the nutrition and the defense it needs for a healthy year. Let us put our experience, knowledge and skills to work for you; together we can create a greener, weed-free, property.