EnSec Pest & Lawn

Mr. and Mrs.,

I was very sorry to hear of your cancellation and to see this complaint. I understand your concern. When I viewed the pictures on the account from the most recent treatment, I still see where the torpedo grass is prevalent at the property as well as spurge and other weeds.

When we met in August of this year we discussed the need for repeated treatments on these difficult weeds, especially the torpedo grass. Due to the small size of the lawn and the communication and execution issues that we discussed during the meeting, I agreed to waive the $150 price that we charge above our standard program cost for this service. We have treated this pest repeatedly with Drive XLR8(7/24, 8/7, 8/21, and 9/10) In my experience we normally are able to gain good results on this weed in bermuda grass as long as it is treated properly and the conditions that are conducive for this weeds proliferation are minimized. This is an aquatic weed and it thrives on excessive soil moisture. When I have seen this product not work well and provide only suppression at best is when the soil moisture is more conducive for the growth of this weed than for the grass.

When I looked back at the history on this account it appears that this invasive weed(torpedo grass) became an issue when the area where a tree once stood was filled with this weed and then encroached into the lawn. Likely tubers were brought in with the fill dirt or the removal of the tree sparked growth in some deep rhizomes in the soil. These rhizomes have been found as deep as four feet. We had a super wet growth season in 2018 so the rain alone was enough to make this pest explode once introduced to the property.

2019 has been a different story. We had wet conditions early on, but have been struggling with drought for most of the summer. For torpedo grass to thrive despite treatment, it is my professional opinion that either the supplemental water had to be excessive, or the soil has exceptional water holding ability.

I was not happy with the condition of the lawn when I met the Shanks and I am not happy now. We discussed three things that needed to happen to get the lawn on the right track in August. The first was stepped up treatments to weaken the weeds and ultimately shut them down. The next was to mow the bermuda grass at a lower height. Bermuda gets leggy when maintained above 2 inches. The best weed control is delivered by a thick lawn. For bermuda to have the density we want to battle weeds I recommended mowing it as low as your mower will reasonably allow. Mr *** and I discussed scalping the grass down low in the Spring of 2020 and maintaining it low at that point, because they did not want to deal with the scalping that this adjustment would cause in the middle of the growing season this year. The last thing we discussed was watering on an as needed basis. With torpedo grass in the mix we could not afford to let the soil stay wet.

While I understand the frustration and disappointment that the client feels here, it is my professional opinion that if the grass were mowed lower and the soil moisture was not conducive for torpedo grass, that the treatments we provided would have delivered better results.

I offer two options for resolution. I can either refund the cost of the last application which is consistent with our guarantee, or provide standard lawn treatments for the rest of this year at no charge and include the torpedo grass treatments at no charge again in 2020. I am confident that these actions, coupled with lower mowing and less supplemental irrigation, would deliver the results that we both desire. To be clear though, torpedo grass is on the same growth schedule as the bermuda and is about to go dormant. We are not able to treat this pest during the transition to dormancy or during the dormant period. Spring, when this weed comes back, is the first opportunity for treatment on this invasive, aquatic, weed.

Again I apologize for the condition of the lawn and am sorry that we have not been able to satisfy you with this tough pest. The request for a full refund, in my opinion is unfair, and is definitely not representative of our guarantee. Please let me know which option you choose here and I will be happy to make it happen.

Thank you

EnSec offered a warranty on this property with a previous owner. EnSec was contracted for the construction treatments where we treated the soil and wood. We extended the builder warranty to the original owner but during several of the annual inspections conditions conducive to termites were noted. Of particular concern was the wood to ground contact: Wood to Ground Contact- 2x12 being used for grade level changing and touching structure. Other limitations on inspection and treatment were also noted for this property. Because the previous owner had paid the annual warranty through November, EnSec honored our warranty for 2019 but we are not extending a termite warranty on this property after our obligation to the previous owner. We have not received any payment for services on this property from this customer. It was paid from the prior owner and expires Nov 2019.