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
Do you offer lawn care near me?
If you’re located in Des Moines around the East Des Moines neighborhoods of the Brook Run, Sheridan Gardens, and Fairmont Park, or the 50317 of Pleasant Hill, IA - YES! There's a good chance we're already servicing one of your neighbors nearby.
How much does lawn care services cost in Des Moines?
It depends - if you’re looking for a basic weekly mow and trim, an average size lawn in East Des Moines or North Pleasant Hill, 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 should my lawn be mowed in Iowa?
Curious if a weekly or biweekly mowing is better? It’s recommended to mow as often as the lawn needs it and is growing but not more than 1/3 the height of your grass. We schedule your weekly lawn mowing service 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.
How do you know if my grass is good to mow or if my lawn is going dormant?
There are a couple of ways to know if your lawn is ready to mow or needs a break. If your asking yourself “why is my grass starting to turn brown in the summer”, it’s more than likely going dormant, not dying, for protection from the heat. We also see how quickly a foot print in the grass springs back. Dead grass will be crunchy and pulls out of the ground easily while dormant still springs back, although slowly, and still has strong roots.
If we start seeing your lawn going dormant in the heat of the summer, we’ll give it a break. We do our best to stay within 10 days between mows, but when it’s dormant, can go up to 14 days. The same applies as the summer fades into fall and your lawn prepares for winter - our season ends either mid-November or whenever we notice your lawn going dormant.
Why don’t you offer one-time, bi-weekly, or push mow-only mowing service?
To provide efficient, top-tier service and keep lawns up to our standards, we don’t offer these services. One-time mowing takes longer and can be hard to fit into an already full schedule, therefore cannot be done in a timely manner and causes our staff to work later or weekends. Bi-weekly has a similar issue - because it’s not consistently on our schedule, it can keep our team from being as efficient as possible week after week. It also doesn’t allow us to help a lawn stay healthy and to our standards. (We will skip lawns during the heat of the summer if the lawn isn’t showing growth to help maintain the health of the lawn) As for a push mow-only service, we’ve found this takes a toil on our team because of the extra labor it adds. We do occasionally push mow if a fence gate is smaller than our equipment, but only if it’s a smaller fenced in area as well. If the team is worn out from push mowing, it doesn’t help their efficiency or quality of work. Overall, we strive to be the most efficient and give the best care to both our customers and employees, so we don’t offer these services.
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.
Will you mow if the grass is wet or after it’s rained?
It depends. A light rain we can still mow, especially if it’s been dry. If we have hard rains or a long streak of rain, especially over the course of days, we will postpone your service until we feel the conditions are more ideal. This is so we don’t cause damage to the lawn or have to worry about clumps of wet grass that could cause patches of grass to die off. We will communicate the best we can when the forecast shows a lot of rain or after it’s rained to let you know what the plan of action is.
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 and the 50317 area of Pleasant Hill, 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 not be able to provide service since we don’t offer a push mowing service.
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 currently offer dethatching.
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 you have bare spots, fall is a great time to overseed 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 and when should I aerate my lawn in Des Moines?
The Iowa State Extension and Outreach office recommends aerating your lawn at least once a year in Des Moines, IA. An additional aeration 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. It’s recommend to have it done in late summer/fall time frame and if a 2nd is needed, early to mid spring. 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.
What if my leaves don’t all fall about the same time?
We have many customers who’s trees drop leaves at different times. We offer different options for cleaning up leaves in the fall for that reason. We even offer a package that can take care of your winter pruning of bushes and cutbacks for perennials! You can learn about all of them on our Leaf Clean-Up Page.
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 with leaf removal and leaf mulching, we can do that, too.
Do I really need to clean up the leaves in my yard?
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.
When should I hire a professional leaf removal service?
The best time is BEFORE the leaves have started or finished falling in your yard. If you know you’ll have more leaves than you can reasonably mulch into your lawn or handle cleaning up, don’t have the time or equipment to clean them up, or want the leaves collected and removed for your property, professional leaf removal can save you time and help keep your lawn healthy. It’s especially helpful for those who have mature trees or heavy leaf fall each autumn. We recommend reaching out as early as September to make sure we can get you on our list!
Where do you offer leaf clean-ups in Des Moines?
We offer leave removal and fall yard clean-ups services in East Des Moines and the 50317 area of Pleasant Hill. We do this to keep our service efficient and know our customers’ lawns well.
How much does a leaf removal cost in Des Moines?
While we can’t say what other companies charge, our pricing is: One-Time Leaf Removal starting at $250, Leaf Removal Package starting at $350, and Seasonal Clean-Up Package starting at $450.
Snow & Ice FAQs
Do you use snow plows or heavy equipment for snow removal?
We use both - we’ve found light-impact equipment like snow blowers and snow plows go hand in hand. If you prefer to have only light-impact snow blowers on your driveway, we offer that as an option. Otherwise, we’ll only use them for sidewalks and walkways. Prices do vary for which equipment is used on driveways.
Why do you only use a liquid 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?
Our snow removal service are is in the 50317 zip code of Des Moines between 235 and NE 56th and Dean Ave to Aurora Ave.
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 for homeowners. Small businesses can have the option of a zero tolerance service by request. 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 (see “Where do you provide snow removal” above) 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?
Yes! We also offer our salt brine ice management for businesses so that your business’s snow removal service is cleaner and even, and salt brine helps with anything less than 2 inches or precipitation other than snow before it has a chance to freeze to the ground. We can currently handle parking lots under 12,000 sq ft in size.
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 before a storm.
Won’t salt brine wash away?
In short yes, but is still effective and stays 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.