ChemLawn is a name-brand lawn care provider that no longer exists. After a troubled past, the company was acquired, rebranded, and became TruGreen after fixing all issues. TruGreen is now recognized as the leading residential lawn care company in the country. It’s an accredited business and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

To understand how this transition came to be, we explore the history of ChemLawn, how the acquisition took place, and why we recommend TruGreen as the best lawn care service.

4.9

Our Rating

Based on our 23-point rating system.
GET QUOTE
Exclusive Offer:
50% Off Your First Application
Year Founded:
1973
Avg. Monthly Cost:
$51–$107
BBB Rating:
A+
State Availability:
48 states (ex. AK & HI)

Our Preferred Lawn Care Companies

Today’s Homeowner recommends several lawn care companies to our readers. Below you’ll see our latest suggestions and their unique superlatives. You can also explore our review of the best lawn care services to find your ideal option.

Top Pick

4.9

VISIT SITE
Limited Time:
50% Off Your First Application
Best DIY Lawn Service
Sunday Lawn Care Logo

4.1

VISIT SITE
Limited Time:
$20 Off Smart Lawn Plan (SUNDAY20TOH)
Best Organic Treatments

3.5

VISIT SITE
Limited Time:
No current offers available.
Best for Landscaping

3.2

VISIT SITE
Limited Time:
$15 When You Refer a Friend

History of ChemLawn

ChemLawn was founded as a small private company by Paul G. Duke and Richard Duke in 1968. It was sold in 1987 to Ecolab, a provider of water, hygiene, and energy services. At this point, the company started to become a leader in lawn care services and began exploring other facets of the lawn industry, such as landscape construction. Additionally, during this time the company received criticism for using toxic lawn care chemicals in its products, but these products—like its name—have changed drastically

The company was acquired by ServiceMaster, the parent company of Terminix, Merry Maids, and other brands, in 1992. ServiceMaster rebranded ChemLawn after it began losing market share to other competitors and chose the name, TruGreen ChemLawn. ServiceMaster eventually dropped “ChemLawn” to create the current namesake, TruGreen.

Though ChemLawn was associated with traditional lawn care for years, TruGreen has adjusted its approach to lawn care to include traditional practices and natural alternatives. The company focuses on high-quality, personalized treatment plans with recurring visits to help homeowners achieve the lawn of their dreams.


TruGreen Services and Plans

When it comes to your lawn health, pay attention to the soil pH levels, grass changes, and seasonal lawn care needs. TruGreen has numerous year-round lawn plans that take all of these factors into consideration, such as:

  • TruHealth℠ Lawn Plan—This is a great basic plan that includes soil analysis, lime soil amendment, grub control and prevention, fertilization, pre-emergent, and targeted weed control. 
  • TruComplete℠ Lawn Plan—This plan offers all of the basic maintenance services included in TruHealth, with the addition of aeration services. Aeration includes thatch removal and turf adjustments to ensure your soil is getting the nutrients it needs.
  • TruSignature℠ Lawn Plan—This is a comprehensive lawn care plan for homeowners in need of basic home maintenance and landscaping services. It includes tree and shrub services that target potential insects and diseases.
  • TruMaintence℠ Lawn Plan–This plan comes with a soil analysis, weed control, and fertilization. It’s the most basic lawn-only care plan available.
  • TruNatural℠ Lawn Plan—This is Trugreen’s all-natural plan that includes a 100% all-natural fertilizer. This is the ideal plan for having pet-safe and kid-friendly lawns, but it doesn’t come with weed control. However, chemical weed control can be added to the plan at no cost to the customer.

TruGreen also provides other benefits such as fire ant control services, sulfur soil amendment treatment, and water sprinkler repair and maintenance services, tree and shrub care, among others.


TruGreen Cost

Lawn care can be pricey when you buy one-off services. For example, repairing a sprinkler system can cost an average of $249, tree and shrub maintenance can cost an average of $455, and seeding a lawn can cost an average of $937. 

Rather than buying individual lawn care treatments, we recommend investing in a lawn plan that includes seasonal care and personalized attention. With TruGreen, you can choose between three common plans, as well as other tailored plans. 

In fact, a 50% off your first application deal is available to new customers.


TruGreen Customer Reviews

TruGreen has served more than 2.3 million residential and commercial customers across the United States. A leader in the lawn care industry, TruGreen received the National Association Of Landscape Professionals Environmental Stewardship Award in 2017. The company’s reliability, affordable plans, and customer guarantees make them unmatchable. 

Here are a few TruGreen reviews from current customers:

“Since we started using TruGreen a couple of years ago, I have seen a real difference in the appearance of our yard, greener thicker grass, and very few weeds. After wasting a lot of time and money trying to do my own lawn maintenance, I believe that TruGreen is a very good value to our investment in our home.”

Brent H.

“I wish I could upload a before and after photo!! My front lawn went from straw and weeds to the nicest lawn on the street!! Thank you, TruGreen!!”

Darci F.

Read more about this company with our TruGreen lawn care review.


Why You Should Choose TruGreen to be Your Lawn Care Service Provider

Many Americans are transitioning to more natural, organic products, so why shouldn’t that extend to lawn care? ChemLawn, a company that used to be criticized for its chemically based treatments, has made adjustments under the TruGreen name. TruGreen products no longer include GMOs, carcinogens, or products known to cause allergic reactions. You can avoid a toxic lawn altogether and use 100% all-natural fertilizer when you purchase a TruNatural℠ Lawn Plan.

In addition to providing natural options to customers, TruGreen offers the following benefits:

  • 24/7 customer support — TruGreen offices are available during the weekdays, but customer service is available 24/7 online and through the TruGreen app. 
  • Adjustments guaranteed free of charge — If you have a lawn plan through TruGreen and you need adjustments made in-between visits, a lawn specialist will return on your behalf, as part of the Healthy Lawn Guarantee®.**
  • Affordable plans — New customers get 50% off their first treatment when they purchase a one-year lawn care plan.
  • Healthy Lawn Analysis® — A TruGreen Ph.D. specialist will analyze your lawn, test your soil, and take other factors into account before building a personalized treatment plan for your lawn.
  • TruExpert application — Rather than having to do your lawn care yourself, TruGreen sends vetted experts to do all of the work while you relax.

After reading through this review, you can understand why TruGreen is our preferred provider—the company’s certified lawn technicians, comprehensive plans, and customer support reliability are unmatched in the lawn care services industry.

Top Pick

4.9

VISIT SITE
Limited Time:
50% Off Your First Application
Best DIY Lawn Service
Sunday Lawn Care Logo

4.1

VISIT SITE
Limited Time:
$20 Off Smart Lawn Plan (SUNDAY20TOH)
Best Organic Treatments

3.5

VISIT SITE
Limited Time:
No current offers available.
Best for Landscaping

3.2

VISIT SITE
Limited Time:
$15 When You Refer a Friend

Read also: How to Restore Lawn Full of Weeds


Methodology: How We Rank Lawn Care Companies

At Today’s Homeowner, we strive to bring you the most accurate information for your home improvement projects. Our lawn company ratings emphasize what matters most to you — a wide range of useful products with reliable service and impressive results.

Our ratings are based on publicly available information about each company, secret shopping via phone and internet, customer-review analysis, and discussions with lawn and landscaping specialists.

Each company can earn up to 100 points divided across five categories. We assess those point scores, then convert them to a five-star scale to determine rankings. We researched popular lawn care companies across the country to develop the following category breakdown:

  • Plan Options (36 points): Lawn care companies earn the most points in this category if they offer a wide range of plans to fit various homeowner needs. Companies providing services like aeration, seeding, tree/shrub, and fertilization (discover some renowned yard fertilizer experts) care will earn more points than providers with base-level plans.
  • Additional Offerings (11 points): We score this category by evaluating additional offerings that enhance a company’s overall service selection. Companies that provide pest control services, organic lawn care products, and a la carte options score the highest in this category.
  • Customer Service (25 points): We considered how far each company goes to ensure customers have convenient, intuitive access to products and services with contact forms, online chat features, and additional learning resources.
  • State Availability (8 points): We factored each company’s state availability into its overall score. Companies with more locations and wider service areas score higher than those with limited availability.
  • Trustworthiness (20 points): We score each company’s trustworthiness based on its Better Business Bureau accreditation and score, number of years in business, and Google Star ratings.

We monitor company data on an ongoing basis to keep rankings and information up to date.

Editorial Contributors
avatar for Coty Perry

Coty Perry

Expert Writer & Reviewer

Coty Perry is a lawn and garden writer for Today’s Homeowner. He focuses on providing homeowners with actionable tips that relate to the “Average Joe” who is looking to achieve a healthier and greener lawn. When he isn’t writing he can almost always be found coaching youth football or on some trail in Pennsylvania in search of the next greatest fishing hole.

Learn More

photo of Lora Novak

Lora Novak

Senior Editor

Lora Novak meticulously proofreads and edits all commercial content for Today’s Homeowner to guarantee that it contains the most up-to-date information. Lora brings over 12 years of writing, editing, and digital marketing expertise. She’s worked on thousands of articles related to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, roofing, plumbing, lawn/garden, pest control, insurance, and other general homeownership topics.

Learn More

Connect With Local Lawn Care Pros in Your City