Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

[BGJohn]

Things are starting out well, thanks to some good advise from everyone. My question is, I have a client who has quite a few trees. In the summer the leaves are not to much of a problem but in the fall this could be an issue. How do I go about explaining that there is going to be an additional fee for leave removal since obviously you can cut the lawn well with leaves all over the ground. Also how do I go about charging someone for this?

Thanks for all the help!!

[qualitylandscaping]

reply

BGJohn,

Simply explain that leaves increase the rate. It is an understandable and justifiable increase.

Rates

1-man crew with leaf blower, and rake: $30-40 per hour
1-man crew with lawn mower (mulching): $35-45 per hour
1-man crew with lawn mower (bagging): $45-60 per hour
2-man crew: add $20 to the above rates

Dumping leaves at the curb for pickup by your town: Included in hourly rate
Putting all debris into leaf bags for pickup by your town: $2.00 per bag (includes labor&bag)
Hauling Leaves to a waste disposal center: $1.00/mile + $10 dump fee

Good Luck!

[imograss]

reply

in a situation like this, i try to convince the homeowner to let me come every week when the leaves are coming down to mulch them with my mower even if the grass isnt growing at the time . i will mulch them up as fine as dirt if the lawn is big enough. if the grassisnt growing enough to cut every week this gives me a chance to get extra$$. if you do this every week it seems much easier than waiting till they have all fallen and then get them up. they will usually be wet, frozen ect. if they let me do it my way ill charge a little more than the usual cut and it keeps the lawn looking better longer.

[CCLS]

reply

Tell them when the leaves start falling so much that you can't mulch them anymore, that you will have to charge them a clean-up fee. I usually charge $35-$40 per man hour. If you have to remove them, figure out your dump fee and I usually add $20 to that price to cover my driving expense. When the leaves start to fall really light, I usally charge them for a mow plus a bagging fee. If you normally get $30 to mow then it is $45 for a mow and a bagging fee. This way like imograss said, you can extend your mow season and keep the yard looking nice until you need to do a fall clean-up.

[Skino]

I set up fall clean-up for my clients in september. we mow thru halloween and then do leaf pick up only as late into the season as possible. we also do the flower removal and haul -- usually i get 150-250- per house+ 50 or so to haul