5 Star Lawn & Pest Control

We purchased our home in June 2016. The St Augustine grass was in bad shape after the previous owners tried DIY lawn treatments. Our neighbors use 5-Star and recommended them to us. They were responsive to my service request and started treatment right away. We apparently had a severe infestation of lawn chinch bugs, which had damaged the lawn leaving "bald" patches everywhere. Indoors, we noticed several large palmetto bugs. Once they started treatment, things improved very quickly. Now, 6 months later, the lawn is nearly recovered and we have seen no insects in or around the house. The cost seems reasonable, but I have no previous experience...the pest control is $80 quarterly ($320 per year) and lawn service is 6-7 times per year at $60 ($360-ish?). If there is a problem with either (weeds or insects) they will address additional treatments at no charge. They do give pre-paid discounts, but I wanted to be sure of their service before I committed to that. So far, we are pleased with the health of our lawn and the service they provide. The only problem I've had was not knowing when they were coming (so I could unlock my gate to the back yard). They offered to call the day before, which allows me to give them access to my back yard. And for the last 2 months, this has worked well.

It's a recurring service. Some times we just don't know what weeks they are going to how up so it just makes it kind of confusing. Sometimes they show up sporadically and sometimes they don't but they would come back.

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Although we had been using one of the Big Name spraying companies prior to this and paying almost twice as much, our lawn was full of weeds, bare spots and brown patches. We had used several other companies prior to them, and all of them talked the talk but delivered poorly. One even had us pay for a year up front and then never came back. Our lawn was so bad that our architectural review committee, upon annual inspection last year, wrote us up to have our lawn resodded in certain areas etc. Our contract was coming up with the "Major Lawn Sprayer" the fall of 2014 so we went on Angies list to look for suggestions. We found 5 Star with excellent reviews and called them out to give a price. They showed up on time for the appointment, were knowledgeable about spraying and fertilizing, quoted a fair price, and said that we should notice a difference after a few applications. We are now a few applications later, and our lawn looks the best it has ever looked (without resodding), as a matter of fact, we are the nicest lawn in our entire development. We have been voted "Yard of the Month" in our community. The technician shows up like clockwork and does a complete and thorough treatment. Our ornamental shrubs are also better looking than they have ever looked. Five Star walks the walk and talks the talk. They certainly are not the cheapest but, by far, not the most expensive. (We had the most expensive so we speak from experience). You should not hesitate to give Five Star a try. We think you would be more than satisfied...you would be delighted.

I intentionally waited 6 months to provide this review. Previously I had a highly rated company (which I will not name) for 2 years. The service interval was 2 months. Their service progressively got worse and worse - with my yard slowly falling into disrepair. I hired 5 Star not based on price but performance. I need a company that will treat my yard as if it was their own. Be proactive - not reactive. Also, I cannot be continously calling them back out due to poor treatments. 5 Star has a 6 week service interval which means they certainly are not the cheapest , however I am very happy with the performance so far. The damage caused by insects from my previous company has been repairing itself nicely. The tech calls before service and is courteous and shows up in a timely manner. Call backs to the company (just 1) have resulted in prompt dispatch and resolution. The real test will be July - October when the bugs and humidity are horrible and the lawn is at its highest stress. I will post another review in October and see how they weather the storm.

Overall, I would give 5 Star Lawn and Shrub Care an "A" score. I continue to use their services every other month.

They're prompt, courteous, and they tell you what they did. They done everything they said they would do,they were great.

I paid for service on Monday, 3/24. They said they would be back Tuesday, 3/25 because I had been trying to get service since Thursday of the following week. Still not here. Costing me $225 for lawn treatment every six weeks and $75 for pest control inside every 3 months. I told them I have a flea/tick problem now, not later. But still not here. I expressed wanting to get services every six months - told me it wasn't possible. I told them I wanted to try nemotodes - they told me not to because I would have to replace my lawn. I talked to the UF extension office - they told me 5-star was full of it. Can't trust anybody. Update - They are servicing the lawn today 3/26 after I called to see if they were scheduling the service soon since I deemed it an emergency and expressed emergency needs. Still no service scheduled for interior. 5-Star requires a service agreement, which suggests cancellation in writing 30 days prior to next service.

5 Star returned phone calls and was prompt when meeting for an estimate on the service to be provided. The level of service they were providing was a bit costlier than I wanted to agree to, so I declined their services.

5 Star crew takes their time and does not just "spray and go". Recently Scott's technician found that I had an irrigation leak that I had never noticed. He recommended EIS Sprinkler and they found a major break. They are an excellent comapny too. Fix and working great. I would have never known about that break with out 5 Stars help. Great bunch of guys and gals!

After our service with True Green went downhill and a fungus began taking over part of our backyard, we started looking for another service. My husband went jogging through other neighborhoods looking for good yards. One day he came home and said that he found 5 of the best yards in that neighborhood, and they had been treated recently by 5 Star. (The signs were still in the yards.) Since True Green couldn't seem to fix our problem area, we cancelled their service and called out 5 Star. Problem solved quickly, and now our lawn looks lush!

We have been using Scott at 5 Star for about a year, and so far pleased with the results. We went through 4 companies in the past 9 years and 5 Star is definitely the best we've experienced. He is trustworthy and cares about our satisfaction. The last company, Tru-Green, neglected our concerns and let chinz bug problems go for 6 months, until the lawn was completely gone. We had all new St. Augustine sod installed in 2010, and upon a referral from a friend we hired 5 Star for regular treatment. So far so good. Not to say there haven't been some problems. Every year seems to bring a new set of worries,this year it's been weeds of various kinds and strength. Lawn treatment is a tough deal for homeowners, it's hard to understand if you're getting your money's worth when you see constant problems, especially if you're paying a professional and the lawn continues on a downhill spiral. I believe there are two critical issues: How closely your lawn care people actually monitor the yard when they are performing the service, and how quickly they respond to problems. That's the name of the game. The key is listening to your concerns and responding quickly, keeping things under control as best as possible. Scott at 5 Star appears to be doing that job. Bottom line, several people in our neighborhood replaced their lawn at the same time we did, and a year later ours is one of the best-looking.