Lawn Maintenance Survey of Homeowners in the St. Cloud, MN Metro Area.

Some of the most common lawn care practices are applying fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides; however, many people are not aware of the potential environmental impacts of these practices. A survey conducted by researchers at St. Cloud State University in 2004 found that less than half of surveyed homeowners in the St. Cloud metro area felt fertilizers were potentially harmful to public health and/or the environment. Furthermore, only 12 percent of respondents had ever had a soil fertility test conducted for their lawn; and 16 percent of surveyed homeowners did not follow the fertilizer application instructions, or had a lawn care professional apply the fertilizer to their lawn. To address the possible negative consequences of these anthropogenic inputs, we conducted a follow up survey study that examined the current lawn care practices. We sent a comprehensive lawn care survey to 300 randomly selected addresses in the St. Cloud metro area.  After receiving the respondents’ completed surveys, we statistically analyzed the data to determine any shifts in attitudes among homeowners.