If you’re like many homeowners, your HOA is a blessing and a curse. HOAs are absolutely wonderful for creating some regulations in terms of neighborhood appearance and overall curb appeal, but that also means you have to pull your own weight to avoid pesky HOA fines. All homeowner associations have several guidelines regarding lawn care requirements.

Depending on whether your property is located in Woodstock, or Roswell, GA, or an entirely different state, you can be fined for various violations. Some of these violations include mowing, watering, and general lawn neglect. However, lawn disease is the most overlooked violation of lawn care. Learn more about the 3 types of lawn diseases that can result in HOA fines—and what you can do to avoid them.

Brown Patch

The fungal disease known as ‘brown patch’ can practically develop overnight, and if left untreated, will spread and potentially destroy your entire lawn. The disease itself appears as small patches of brown or yellow blades of grass.

Most HOAs probably don't have a specific clause that says brown patch = fines, but there are other aspects to this disease that can leave your pockets feeling a little lighter, including if:

  • The disease spreads to create large, discolored patches
  • It spreads to the neighbor’s yard
  • The disease lingers without treatment and is visible to onlookers

Essentially, a small area of lawn disease won’t get you fined, but not treating it and letting it spread across your lawn will definitely be a sign of lawn neglect—an HOA no-no.

Brown patch lawn disease on a patch of landscape.

Dollar Spot

Once you see signs of dollar spot, you should call us about a lawn disease service immediately. This fungus can spread quickly, and if it happens to touch the neighbor’s lawn by way of yours, guess who might call the HOA? You guessed right, your neighbor.

Treating dollar spot can be a challenge, even for experts, and the best way to treat this disease is to prevent it from taking root. If you're already signed up for routine lawn care, disease control can be added to that program.

As a preventative treatment, we perform the following services to prevent dollar spot:

A patch of landscape infected with dollar spot lawn disease.

Rust Disease

Rust disease, strictly speaking, is an eyesore and a quick way to get hit with fines. Rust disease looks like what you might imagine (rust-colored), and it can pop up as a result of incorrect lawn care, such as overwatering and under-fertilizing.

If you’re part of an HOA, you have a responsibility to keep the exterior of your home clean and neat, particularly your lawn. Meeting HOA standards means doing more than just mowing the lawn, and it takes a lot of time to weed, mow, edge, fertilize, and treat lawn disease. If you try to do it yourself, you run the risk of unknowingly creating a situation where diseases can thrive—like rust disease.

A grassy landscape infected with rust lawn disease.

Avoid HOA fines by contacting us to schedule regular lawn care and lawn disease control.

The best way to avoid HOA fines is by simply maintaining your lawn and addressing problem areas before disease runs rampant. Routine lawn care will stop the disease in its tracks. The TurfXpert team has years of experience with managing lawns and treating lawn disease in many areas of North Georgia, including Woodstock, Roswell, and Alpharetta. Schedule a lawn disease service today by calling (833) 444-8873.