Village Green – Lawn Care, Landscaping, Sprinkler Repair & Mosquito Control – 972-495-6990

Mr. & Mrs. T’s Landscape eTour

by khyatt on May 17, 2013 in eTour, GreenTalk, Landscaping Dallas

Ken visits Mr. and Mrs. T’s home to check on a landscape project Village Green finished two weeks ago.  Like many of Village Green’s projects, this customer had trouble growing grass under their oak trees because of the shade.  Village Green replaced the Bermuda to St. Augustine, and created some beds under each tree.  The end result is a yard that is gorgeous, but will be very low maintenance for Mr. and Mrs. T.  It’s an added bonus to watch this video to hear Ken give a Who’ Who commentary of landscape plants.

Village Green Mosquito Assassin Program

by khyatt on May 13, 2013 in GreenTalk, Mosquito Control

Cooking on the grill, playing with the kids or dogs in the backyard, sitting on the porch enjoying a quiet cup  of coffee? The problem is mosquitoes are just waiting  for you and your family and they’re not just painful, they can be dangerous.  Our Mosquito Assassin Program is…

• Safe around people, pets and plants. 
• Kills up to 90% of your mosquitoes.
• Keeps killing them for months after we leave.
• Only 5 visits can keep them gone all season long.
• We have our own on staff Entomologist.

Is it safe? This is the question we are asked most. How can it be safe to my family, pets and plants if it is so effective at killing mosquitoes. The product we use is a pyrethroid, which is based on chrysanthemum blooms. This is the same product that is used in most flea and tick products for your pets. In fact, we bet many of our customers have stronger chemicals under their sink for cleaning.

How does it work? Pyrethroid works by entering the shell of insects. Since people and pets have skin instead of an exoskeleton, the chemical is not able to absorb in the same way making it completely safe around people and pets. We (and our on staff Entomologist, Dr. Ray Thompson) believe the risk caused by mosquitoes to be much greater than the risk from the pyrethroid. 

Will it harm beneficial insects? My plants? No. The main reason is that bees and butterflies do not spend time on the plant’s leaves only the blooms. The program also will not harm any plants in your yard since the chemical we use is plant based. 

Why is the Mosquito Assassin Program so effective? Adult mosquitoes don’t like to be active during the heat of the day. They prefer to hide in shady areas, such as trees, shrubs, tall ground cover and underneath decks. We do our treatments during the day, which means we find most of the mosquitoes while they are hiding. Our technicians often see clouds of mosquitoes billowing out of shady areas when the blower hits it (see video above.) Nearly all of those mosquitoes will be dead within an hour or so. There will be a residue left over in those areas which means any new mosquitoes that fly in to hang out will be dead in an hour or so too.

Do you want to take back your backyard from mosquitoes? Contact us today. Mosquito season has begun with several cities in our area already spraying to combat the dreaded West Nile Virus.  If you would like to get a head start on treating mosquitoes at your home, give Village Green a call.  Through May 31, 2013 we’re offering 50% Off our first visit on our Mosquito Assassin Program. 

QuickTip: Spring Watering Schedule

by khyatt on May 7, 2013 in Dallas Sprinkler Repair, GreenTalk, Sprinkler Repair Dallas

In the spring your lawn requires around a half an inch of water per week on average.  That equals roughly 30 minutes for most sprinkler systems.  The problem we have in our area is our infamous clay soil can only absorb about 10 minutes worth of water.  After that it will run off which is not good for your water bill or our local water supply. 

Our QuickTip?  Don’t water all 30 minutes at once.  Instead program your sprinkler’s controller to water one day per week with a start time of 2am, 4am, and 6am, having each zone run for 10 minutes.

If you have rotors (the type of sprinkler that turns slowly while spraying a long thin stream) you need to water twice as long (at least 20 minutes per zone at 2am, 4am, and 6am.)  Depending on the rotor speed and stream, you may need to water even longer to give your lawn what it needs.

Do you need help optimizing your sprinkler?  The Village Green sprinkler gurus can tune up your system and have you ready for summer in no time.  Contact us today (972-495-6990 or email) and we’ll take $25 off the first hour of sprinkler work (normally $15 per hour plus materials) through May 31, 2013.