FAQs
How Double Take Lawn Services takes care of your lawn from grass cutting to snow removal and more.
Here are a few common questions we get asked by our lawn care customers.
Mowing FAQs
How much does lawn care services cost?
It depends - if you’re looking for a basic weekly mow and trim, an average size lawn in Des Moines, Pleasant Hill, or Altoona, IA typically ranges from $50-$75 per week. Other lawn services like bush trimming, landscape maintenance, and yard clean-ups depend on the scope of the work; we’ll need to make an on-site visit to give an accurate price for most lawn care projects like these. We do our best to offer affordable lawn care services competitively.
How often do you cut my grass?
Your weekly lawn mowing service is scheduled on a day of the week depending on where you’re located in our service area, but with dry spells and wet weeks, we try to cut your grass every 5-10 days depending on Iowa’s weather (ex: during the heat of the summer). This helps keep your lawn looking uniform and healthy.
What length will you cut my grass?
We keep it cut between 3-4 inches to help ensure you have a soft, healthy lawn year-round.
How early in the day do you start mowing?
We don’t start before 7:30AM.
How often do you trim my lawn?
After each weekly mow, we trim the grass around hard surfaces, fences, and trees.
How often do you edge my yard?
Edging happens around sidewalks, driveways, and concrete patios once or twice a month as needed and by request.
Do you mow anywhere in Des Moines, IA?
No - to provide the best and most efficient service, we only serve customers in Eastern Des Moines (50317, 50316, and 50313 zip codes) along with Pleasant Hill and Altoona, IA.
Do I need to be home when you are cutting my grass or other yard work?
No, we’ll do the work whether you’re home or not. We do ask that your lawn be free of hazards like children’s toys and pets are put away for their safety.
Can you mow my lawn if I have a fence?
Yes - if our equipment can fit through your gate we can mow your yard. If your gate opening is 51” or greater, we are able to fit our equipment. If it’s smaller, we may add an additional push mow charge depending on the size of your lawn due to the extra time it takes to service the lawn.
Can you do grass mowing on hills?
Mowing grass on hills will depend on the incline but we are able to mow most hills found in Des Moines. There may be additional charges depending on your hill. We will assess with an on-site visit if needed.
How often will I be charged for my weekly grass mowing service?
For mowing and other lawn care projects under $500, we bill every 1st and 15th of the month for the previous services completed. If we skip your property, we won’t charge you. For other lawn care services, we bill once the project is completed unless otherwise discussed or a deposit is needed for materials. For snow removal, we offer a different seasonal packages. The amount owed is due once the contract is signed. Brine application is charged the Monday after ice management service has been done.
Landscaping FAQs
Can you design and install landscape edging or pavers?
No, we don’t offer design or installation of landscape edging or pavers, also called hardscaping. We do offer landscape maintenance, offered in 2 levels. We also offer monthly landscape maintenance and plant installation.
Do you trim or plant trees?
We will do light tree trimming that we can reach from the ground (up to 12 ft) with our equipment. We don’t do major cutting/trimming or remove trees of any size. As for planting, we only plant small trees, bushes, or shrubs that will go with your landscaping.
Can you install a new tree for me?
If it’s something small that will be put into your landscaping, yes. Larger varieties you’re wanted elsewhere unfortunately, we cannot.
Are you able to recommend plants to put in my landscaping?
No, we are not trained in horticulture or botany. We recommend checking with your local greenhouse professionals to find the right plants you’re looking for.
Aeration FAQs
How can you tell if a lawn needs to be dethatched or aerated?
Dethatching is removing a layer of lawn debris (also called thatch) from the surface of your soil. A little is OK but when it gets too thick it makes it hard for light, water, and nutrients to get into the roots. If your lawn feels spongy and not firm, either by walking around or by feeling it, there’s too much thatch (over 3/4 inch is too much). You can also take a small wedge out of your yard and check the depth of the thatch layer. It’s not something that needs to be done on a regular basis but as needed and usually in early spring before the weeds go to seed. It’s helpful but may still require aeration as well. We don’t offer dethatching because we feel it’s more beneficial to aerate.
Aeration or core aeration is the process of taking small plugs out of your lawn because you have soil compaction. Just like lawn debris, if the soil is compacted, it can’t absorb nutrients or water to help the grass grow. You need this done if you see thin or discolored grass, its growth is stunted, or you see puddles after a light rain. You can also do the Screwdriver Test - here’s a video to explain. Even if it’s only a section of your lawn that has a lot of foot traffic, it’s a good idea to do the whole lawn for the health of the grass. Aerations usually only need to be done about once a year; we typically recommend in the late summer or early fall to avoid weed seedlings from taking advantage of the holes. If your soil has a lot of clay in it, you see a lot of foot (or paw) traffic, or weren’t able to get it done in the fall, we do offer spring aerations for those reasons. If you have bare spots, fall is also a great time to oversee your lawn while the ground is still warm from winter and there’s no threat of weeds taking over.
Do I have to overseed when I aerate?
We recommend overseeding (spreading grass seed) when you have a core aeration done in the fall for a few reasons: the soil is still warm but there’s no weed seed to compete with, the grass seeds have the rest of fall and all winter to get established, and, with that, help crowd out the weeds in the spring. It’s not mandatory to overseed when aerating, but it’s really helpful for a healthier, lush lawn.
How often do I need to aerate my lawn?
The Iowa State Extension and Outreach office recommmends at least once a year. Addition aerations can be done if you have a heavy clay soil, have lots of compaction from foot (or paw!) traffic, or don’t have a well-drained lawn.
Can I have my lawn aerated at any time?
No - it’s recommend to have it done in either spring or late summer/fall time frame. We always recommend the fall (mid-September through early October) because you don’t have to worry as much about pesky weed seeds sneaking into fresh plug holes.
Leaf Clean-Up FAQs
How do I know if I need to have a leaf removal service?
If you see more leaves than you do grass, or no grass at all, when the leaves fall, you’ll need to have your leaves taken care of. Excessive amounts of leaves can actually damage your lawn by not letting enough sunlight or airflow to the grass, causing dead spots. It can also cause disease when left wet over the winter. When our team visits during a leaf removal service, we remove excessive amounts of leaves using leaf blowers and lawn vacuums, then mulch the remaining back into your lawn to keep good nutrients for your soil.
Will you mulch leaves into my lawn?
After we’ve removed excessive amounts of leaves, yes. We mulch what is left of leaves back into your lawn. If you don’t have excessive amounts of leaves but still want help mulching, we can do that, too.
Do I really need to have my leaves cleaned up?
We strongly recommend it. Even a small amount of leaves can be mulched to help your lawn stay healthy. It’s a natural way to add nutrients into your soil for the winter and have a great start for spring.
Snow & Ice FAQs
Do you use snow plows or heavy equipment for snow removal?
No - we’ve found light-impact equipment like snow blowers and UTVs to be a better option. Same results, less damage to your concrete, curbs, and lawn edges. We are also able to evenly distribute the snow on your lawn so you don’t have large piles that block parking or walk ways and cause compaction and mold from slow melting.
Why do you only use salt brine?
Through our research and classes we’ve taken, we’ve found it to be a safer and more effective product than rock salt. It doesn’t burn your grass, won’t hurt your pet’s paws, and can’t be tracked indoors. It’s also less damage to concrete surfaces because it uses 75% less salt than rock salt. We can also cut down on extra sanding or repeated salt applications, too.
How is a liquid de-icer like salt brine better than traditional rock salt?
Since it has 75% less salt, it’s better for concrete surfaces, lawns, and pets. Unlike rock salt, which can be blown away, when the salt brine is applied, it doesn’t freeze because of the additives and salt within it, and leaves behind the crystals once the water evaporates. This is why it works well applied before a winter storm. There’s also less runoff into lawns and streams, keeping your yard and local waterways healthier.
Where do you take care of any ice or slick spots?
We apply a salt brine treatment on driveways, walkways, and city sidewalks. If you need other areas done, there will be an additional cost.
Where do you provide snow removal and ice management services?
We mainly focus in the 50317 zip code of Des Moines along with the northwestern part of Pleasant Hill, IA.
When will you come to remove the snow in my driveway?
We start our snow removal route once the snowfall has stopped and is more than 2 inches indepth. We work to get all customers completed within 12 hours of the snowfall stopping. If the snow is more than 8 inches may take up to 24 hours.
What if I call day of a snowstorm?
If we’re able to add you to our list, it could be up to 24 hours before we can arrive after the snow has stopped depending on where you are in our service area and route. Our contract snow customers are done first since they’ve prepaid for their service in advance.
Can you do snow removal for business parking lots?
At this time, no. We are only able to offer residential snow removal because we currently only use light equipment and not snow plow trucks or heavy equipment. We do recommend our salt brine ice management for businesses so that your business is covered for both snow and other winter precipitation.
How long before a forecasted winter storm can you put down salt brine?
We can put it down any time between 3 days and 1 hour before the storm starts.
Do you only take care of ice or slick spots when there is snow?
If you request our salt brine application as a stand-alone service, we’ll cover freezing rain and ice storms as well as snowfall. The service will be used for both before a storm and after as needed.
Won’t salt brine wash away?
In short yes, but is still effective longer than rock salt. Because of the mixture of water to salt in the brine, it holds it’s effectiveness through most precipitation events. That’s why most of the time we can pre-treat an area but if the storm is significant enough, we’ll gladly come do a treatment after, too.