Equipment
Interested in learning what tools you might use for basic lawn maintenance? Keep reading!
You’ll need a mower, weed eater, blower, hedge trimmer, and some chemicals (if you plan on spraying any weeds). With advanced technology electric battery equipment has come a long way so if you want to upgrade from gas-powered equipment you have quite a few options. A lot of battery equipment is interchangeable now too so one battery can be used for almost every piece of equipment. Generally speaking, battery equipment requires much less maintenance to keep them running effectively and smoothly.
Mowers
For the mower, we recommend a self-propelled 21” or 22” diameter blade for residential yards (half an acre or less). Popular brands like Honda & Toros are great go-to options. You should sharpen your blade and change your oil at least once or twice a year (depending on your use). Check your air filter periodically to make sure it’s clean and debris free (just pull it out and tap on the ground to remove any free excess dust buildup instead of buying a new one each time). Always remove the spark plug anytime you have to look under the mower. Self-propelled mowers are recommended unless you like the extra workout (requires you to push the mower manually). Another thing to consider with mower maintenance is cleaning the carburetor which can be complicated and might require a trip to your local machine repair shop. You can purchase something called Seafoam from any hardware store as a DIY method if you’d like to try to clean it yourself by simply adding a small amount to your gas. Most lawn equipment prefers ethanol-free gas as an added bonus but will run fine on regular gas. Robotic mowers have also started to gain popularity and can be operated just from your phone. They can run any time of the day, are extremely quiet, and don’t require much maintenance. The downside is they are still extremely new, expensive, and prone to theft if it’s cutting your yard and you’re not around to monitor it.
String Trimmers
A string trimmer can also be referred to as a weed whacker or weed eater. This tool is great for cutting edges along your house, driveway, curb, or hard-to-reach areas. Commercial-grade weed eaters can even knock down tall weeds or thick brush. Weed eating is essential to complete a fresh yard cut. Without it, the edges of your yard will look long and unkempt since the mower can’t reach every area possible. Weed eaters can be great for edging your property as well if you know how to use one properly. Some people will recommend using an edger for this but it’s not always necessary. Edgers are great for providing a super clean barrier line between the yard and the driveway or beds. If you’re just looking to keep your yard lines looking fresh and clean a weed eater more than suffices in my opinion. There are different thicknesses of string trimmer lines as well. The thicker the line the longer it will last and the stronger it will hold up (to a certain degree). You’ll want to research which lines will work best with your trimmer before picking the right size. String trimmer heads are also something to consider. Bump heads are great because you can just tap on the ground and more string will come out instead of having to manually release string each time you’re running low.
Blowers
You’ll have a lot of different options when it comes to the blower. The biggest difference is handheld vs backpack style. Handheld is what it sounds like and backpack means you where the blower as a backpack. The general rule of thumb is backpack blowers are stronger so they’re better for moving larger items like leaves, debris, etc. Handheld blowers are cheaper and recommended for yards with fewer trees (which means fewer leaves in the fall). Backpack blowers are recommended for anything that requires you to move a lot of objects at once (unfortunately this makes the equipment much louder as well). Gas mowers are all 2 stroke which means you’ll need to do half oil/half gas mixture. Make sure to read your instructions clearly so you can know whether to add enough for a 1, 2, 2.5, or 5-gallon tank to hold your mixture in. Stihl, Echo, Redmax, Makita, and Husquarva are just a few brands to recommend. Stihl offers a large selection of different backpack blowers ranging from BR400-BR800. Their 400 line is lighter duty and therefore more cost-effective. The higher-end blowers are great for commercial work but also for homeowners to have to deal with a lot of leaves each season. Blowers are also highly susceptible to being stolen so I like to hide Airtags (or Tiles if you’re not in the Apple ecosystem) in the filter area and this allows you to track them when they go missing.
Hedge Trimmers
Hedge trimmers are nice for trimming any bushes around your property. Battery-operated trimmers require little to no maintenance. Simply apply a cleaning solution to the blades after operating them to keep them oiled and running smoothly.
Chemicals
Chemicals are great for spot-treating weeds in safe areas. What I mean by this is designated areas that aren’t in the grass or around plants or other things you want to be kept alive. I can’t recommend using any DIY chemicals in your yards if you’re looking to control weeds that way. If you do decide to try this out yourself just be very careful because the wrong connotation of ingredients could completely burn out your yard if applied incorrectly. You can buy weed killer in concentrate form by way of something called 41% glyphosate. One small dollop of this mixed in with a gallon of water will last you for weeks or months depending on how much you need to use. The downside to chemicals is they are criticized for health concerns. There are safer alternatives like vinegar, organic chemicals, or simply boiling water that can do the trick. Manually pulling weeds is also an option. Automatic pumping sprayers are the easiest way to apply any chemical solution. [Most] chemicals are safe to use around pets if you spray the area in direct sunlight at the warmest time of the day. The chemicals will soak into the weed quickest this way. Applying during a rainstorm or after dark isn’t recommended.
Misc Equpiment
Other things to invest in could be manual trimmers or loppers (in case your other equipment breaks down). Having backup equipment is great especially when you don’t have to worry about any maintenance issues since these don’t require electricity or gas to run. Loppers are great for cutting larger limbs (like a chainsaw might do). Metal gas cans with funnels are also another great addition. JustRite offers a safety can that is extremely easy to add gas to and pour gas out of. These are highly recommended over the red plastic containers. Other yard tools you could use are a shovel, rake, leaf bags, pruning sheers, hoe, pickax, or tiller.
