InstaBids

How many lawn care bids should I compare?

Get more than one: the FTC’s consumer guidance says "Get multiple estimates." Compare them on the same yard sketch and seasonal calendar, checking mowing pattern, clipping cleanup and treatment items.

Source: FTC home improvement hiring guidance, read 14 October 2026.

Researched by the InstaBids editorial team. Last checked: 14 October 2026

A large front lawn with neat diagonal mowing stripes.

Key facts

Why do bids for one job differ?

Start a Florida lawn care comparison with turf areas and the proposed seasonal mowing pattern. Separate edging, shrub trimming, leaf removal and irrigation observations, because a recurring cut and a yard restoration request leave bidders with different duties to describe.

UF/IFAS distinguishes regular mowing from additional services such as weeding, pruning and fertilization, and treats irrigation installation or repair as a specialized need. Use those distinctions to build your request rather than assuming lawn care names the same work in every proposal.

Source: UF/IFAS hiring and maintenance guidance, read 14 October 2026.

Mowing height depends on the type of grass, according to UF/IFAS. Describe the turf if you know it; otherwise ask the company to identify it and explain its intended mowing height. Ask how the proposed visit schedule will change through the year, without prescribing a universal interval.

Source: UF/IFAS hiring and maintenance guidance, read 14 October 2026.

Mark the front yard, rear yard, side strips and planting beds on a simple sketch. Give hedge work its own line, with the plants and desired extent of trimming. Specify whether fallen branches, accumulated leaves or an initial cleanup belong in the request. Ask for those tasks to be distinguished from routine mowing.

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When is a comparison less useful?

Describe the irrigation connection in the written scope before comparing lawn care proposals that include sprinkler work. Ask what installation or repair is proposed and keep that question separate from the mowing calendar.

DBPR lists paid irrigation installation that requires connecting lines to drinking water as needing its licence, and installing or repairing a system that already has a backflow preventer on the drinking-water supply as not needing one. Ask the company to describe the actual connection work.

Source: DBPR irrigation examples, read 14 October 2026.

Florida's licence lookup is public at DBPR.

Source: DBPR public search, read 14 October 2026.

Do not spend your comparison effort collecting identical short answers while your key question remains unresolved. If you need someone to handle the rear yard through a narrow gate, settle access first. If you want an ongoing arrangement, return to the seasonal schedule after the immediate task is addressed.

How can I ask several companies the same questions?

Describe lawn care through a yard sketch and a seasonal calendar, assigning mowing, clipping cleanup and irrigation observations to separate line items. Keep fertilizer and weed-killer requests visible so a maintenance proposal cannot silently merge treatments with ordinary grass cutting.

UF/IFAS recommends keeping grass clippings in the lawn area and off roads, sidewalks and storm drains. Ask how the crew handles clippings on paving. Specify separately whether you want collected leaves or branches taken away, and where any retained yard material should go.

Source: UF/IFAS hiring and maintenance guidance, read 14 October 2026.

Its irrigation checklist also asks about seasonal spray adjustments, clogs, leaks and the rainfall shut-off device or soil-moisture sensor. Ask which of those observations are included, and whether actual repairs require a separate request.

Source: UF/IFAS hiring and maintenance guidance, read 14 October 2026.

Florida’s limited certification for commercial yard maintenance personnel does not authorize application of pesticides to turf under section 482.156(4)(a). Keep mowing, fertilizer and pest-treatment requests separate; do not describe weed-killer application as simply another pass with the mower.

Source: Florida Statutes section 482.156, read 14 October 2026.

Florida law says that, beginning January 1, 2014, “any person applying commercial fertilizer to an urban landscape must be certified” under section 482.1562. Subsection (9) exempts yard workers applying fertilizer only to individual residential properties with fertilizer and equipment supplied by the owner or resident.

Source: Florida Statutes section 482.1562, read 14 October 2026.

Use a blank calendar with separate rows for turf cutting, hedge trimming and irrigation observations. Ask the company to enter its proposed pattern for each season; leave treatment dates blank until the treatment scope is described. Mark an overgrown first cut as an initial task, not as the assumed condition at every visit.

Should I ask whether a quotation has a charge?

Ask whether a lawn care walk-through is for an overgrown first cut or an ongoing mowing plan. Record the initial clearing and later visit pattern separately, and identify any fertilizer application as its own task.

For an overgrown yard, photograph the grass beside fixed features and identify branches, loose objects and inaccessible strips. Ask what must be cleared before the first cut and whether clipping collection differs from later visits. A fertilizer proposal needs its own application description. Request the walk-through terms before arranging access.

What should my request include?

Use your yard sketch in the request for lawn care, showing turf zones, gate access and the seasonal duties you want described. Add treatment requests separately.

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, read 14 October 2026.

What should I do when written bids arrive?

Compare lawn care responses against the service calendar and treatment list. Confirm who handles mowing, clipping cleanup and disposal, and seasonal irrigation observations, and keep fertilizer application separate from pesticide work before deciding whether the written plan matches your yard.

Draw a calendar for the proposed service period and enter each company's stated pattern. Mark the visits that include hedge trimming, if requested. Leave an empty space where a company has not answered; do not convert an assumed task into an included task merely to complete the calendar.

Resolve the fertilizer and pesticide split before seeking another mowing proposal. A response that bundles treatments into yard maintenance leaves the actual work unclear: ask which product application is intended, where it would occur and who would perform it. Compare another plan only when it answers those treatment questions or offers a different seasonal mowing approach.

Next: How InstaBids works, Florida hiring checklist.

InstaBids is in an early pilot in Broward and Palm Beach counties. InstaBids is new in your area, so finding contractors can take longer, and a request may get no bids.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, read 14 October 2026.
Source: InstaBids FAQ, read 14 October 2026.

Sources for the facts on this page

Read UF/IFAS for lawn care questions about grass height, clippings and irrigation observations. Consult sections 482.156 and 482.1562 for treatment boundaries and DBPR’s irrigation table for the connection work described above.

Sources checked: 14 October 2026.

Parent: InstaBids home.