It’s that time of year again, when lawns in central Oklahoma turn from brown to blue in a matter of minutes. Maybe you’ve seen it so much that you don’t think about it, but there are important questions to ask about this blue stuff. Like, what even is it? Do I need it on my lawn? Who first started using it and why? Most importantly, does it have anything to do with the Smurfs?
Luckily, the lawn experts at Willis have answers to all these questions and more. Let’s get into it!
What is it?
So, the blue color isn’t for your lawn as much as it is for your lawn service provider. The blue coloring is added to the spray solution as a “tracker” or “spray indicator.” It helps us to uniformly cover every part of your lawn and makes it easy for you to confirm we didn’t miss a spot.
Sadly, it doesn’t have anything to do with the Smurfs.
Does it help my lawn?
The short answer is no, it doesn’t help your lawn. But while the color itself isn’t herbicide, it can still let you know if a technician missed an area or did a sloppy job. That’s why we think it’s still pretty important to the final product. Think about a simple strawberry cake. It’s usually a vanilla cake with:
- Red food coloring
- Diced strawberries
- Maybe some strawberry puree
How important is the food coloring to the taste of the cake? Honestly, not very important! You can put more or less food coloring in the cake batter without changing the overall flavor. But seeing that color of cake gets you thinking about how it ought to taste. It’s a signal that you should expect certain things from the finished product, even if the expected flavor comes from the other ingredients.
Keep in mind that, similar to the strawberry cake, the blue of your lawn lets you know that it’s been sprayed without addressing why you had it sprayed. Blue, regardless of its shade or even its absence, doesn’t mean your lawn application is better or worse, it just lets you know the lawn has been sprayed completely. But just like the strawberry cake with no strawberries in it, even a lawn sprayed the darkest blue could be completely missing the important herbicides that effectively kill or prevent weeds.
Why does Willis keep it true blue?
You’ll find blue lawns every time Willis performs a sprayed liquid lawn treatment. For Willis, the blue accomplishes two objectives:
- Customer confidence – Unfortunately homeowners are leery of lawn care companies these days. Using a colored spray indicator helps our customers know that we uniformly treated their lawn. Plus, just in case accidents happen, it’s super obvious if we missed a spot, which makes fixing it super easy.
- Marketing – You read that right! The blue is a great marketing tool. Once your neighbor sees it start cropping up (get it?), it’s a reminder to call Willis.
Does the blue color make it more expensive?
We’re aware that some companies have removed the coloring and claimed that it lowered their cost to you. The truth is, the cost of frustration and headaches resulting from a partially treated, or not well-treated lawn are far worse than a cheap company that does not use the color. Without the blue, it can be hard for homeowners to see with their own eyes that their lawn has been uniformly and completely treated. Which then leads to those same homeowners spending more time, money, and headaches on issues that could have been avoided with better workmanship from their lawn care provider.
Not only that, but we know for a fact that staying true blue is important to our customers! On a survey we sent out to our clients in 2021, close to 100% of respondents said they wouldn’t feel as good about the herbicide service without the color.
Trust Willis Lawn Services for blue ribbon treatment
Now that we’ve prepared you to win a friendly bet with your friends over why everyone’s lawn suddenly turned blue, we’d also like to remind you that it’s time to get your lawn sprayed in preparation for spring.
If you’re not quite ready to give us a call, please join our Free Lawn Help Group on Facebook. It’s for anyone who needs help with their lawn, whether they’re already our customers or not. Our professionals often answer questions in the group, so you’ll get a taste of the personalized care you’ll receive when you are ready to be a customer.
But what we’d really love is the opportunity to discuss how we can set you up for a beautiful lawn this summer. If you’d like to try our blue ribbon treatment, please Schedule a Conversation with one of our knowledgeable and friendly technicians.
Remember, with Willis Lawn Service, we promise a better lawn or your money back!
