10 things you should never do to your grass this winter, according to a lawn pro

When your lawn is covered with snow during the winter, you can completely forget about the grass underneath. It’s sleeping, okay, so what harm could possibly happen to it?

Actually, this Is It’s possible for your grass to suffer damage this time of year, ruining all the hard work you’ve done maintaining it during the spring, summer and fall. Learn about 10 things not to do with grass in the winter.

In some parts of the US, if you haven’t finished raking leaves from the lawn in the fall, it is still possible to complete the task in the early winter. Allowing a thick layer of matted leaves to cover the grass throughout the winter prevents proper aeration of the lawn and is an open invitation to fungal diseases.

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Don’t let the grass sit high all winter long

Mowing the lawn for the last time is another task that, weather permitting, you may be able to complete in the early winter if you failed to do so in the fall. Tall grass provides insects with a ready home for the winter on the lawn. It also invites plant diseases.

Do not leave large objects on the grass

When you’re trying to prepare the yard for winter in the semi-darkness of the afternoon after Daylight Savings Time, it’s easy to forget something and leave it on the lawn. This could be a tarp that you were using to collect leaves, or perhaps a large box that you were throwing in while collecting twigs.

Leaving such items on the lawn during winter has a detrimental effect that prevents your lawn from breathing properly and creates favorable conditions for fungus.

Avoid walking on your lawn frequently in the winter

Don’t break your way across snow-covered lawns. Accumulating snow like this reduces air circulation, which can cause your grass to suffer from fungal diseases.

In fact, repeatedly walking on the same part of the lawn is harmful for the grass. Any Time of year. Consider installing walkways To cover these areas.

Don’t leave large piles of snow on the grass for too long

Decreased air circulation due to prolonged snow accumulations can lead to snow mold conditions in late winter. If you hire someone with a snow plow to plow your driveway (or if you use one). an ice maker), it’s easy for huge piles of snow to accumulate on the sides of your driveway. Afterwards try to distribute the snow evenly over the entire lawn using a snow shovel.

If, on the other hand, you remove snow from the roadYourself, you’re one step ahead: As you pile snow on the lawn, stagger your blows so that some of it goes farther than the rest. This will prevent it from accumulating so heavily on the section of grass that borders your driveway.

Don’t let your snow plow operator run away

If you hire snow plow operators to plow your driveway, make sure they won’t dig into your lawn as they make passes or drive over your grass (which creates potholes). The easiest way to keep snow plow operators in range is to install reflectors along the edge of your driveway.

However, this requires some foresight: If you wait until winter to install reflectors, the ground may become too frozen to accommodate them.

Sodium chloride-based snow melting products can damage your grass. if you Sure Melt snow on lawns, look for calcium chloride-based products instead.

Voles are rodent pests like rats that can damage your grass. It’s easy to tell if you have them: They create runways (visible even when there’s snow) that can spread across your lawn. winter is a good time to trap them mouse snap trapWhich you put in their runway.

Remember to drain your lawn sprinkler system before temperatures rise. Failure to do so may cause the pipes to burst.

Don’t water the grass in winter

Your grass goes dormant during the winter and if you keep watering it in the fall, it will have all the water it needs. Overwatering in winter will compact the soil and, ultimately, cause root damage.