Lawn care costs soar to almost $1000 a year for Australian households

Aussie lawns are getting hit by the fuel‑price crunch, with households spending about $960 a year to keep the grass tidy and more people turning to DIY fixes to save cash.

New data shows younger Australians are paying the most as pros lift fees and fertiliser costs jump.

Nationally representative research from Money.com.au puts average lawn spend at $80 a month.

That covers mowing, fuel and lawn products.

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Millennials are the biggest spenders at $120 a month, while Gen Z sit at $100, Gen X at about $70 and Baby Boomers at $40.

Money.com.au’s Finance Expert, Sean Callery, says yard maintenance costs can add up to a small fortune over time.

“Between maintenance, equipment, fuel and the occasional professional service for larger jobs like hedge trimming, many households are already spending more than they’d like just to keep their yard in shape,” he says.

“Simple steps like spacing out your mowing, handling the basics yourself where possible, maintaining your equipment, and buying lawn care products on sale can help keep costs down – and those savings add up over time.”

“With fuel prices higher than at the start of the year, the cost of maintaining lawns has likely increased for most households and it’s a double whammy as interest rates have also risen.”

Professional services feel the pinch

On the ground, operators are passing on the hit.

Many have added surcharges of 10 to 15 per cent or lifted per‑visit fees to cover petrol and diesel.

“Due to the rise in fuel prices we have had to put up the prices on lawn mowing … prices on lawn mowing will now go up by $15 until the price of fuel comes back down again,” Browns Mowing and Landscaping told Bundaberg clients in Queensland on Facebook.

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Professional lawn maintenance companies have been forced to raise prices on the back of rising fuel costs. Picture Eddie Safarik

Another operator said he had raised prices by 10 per cent.

“Everything has gone up. Licences, insurance, parts, fuel. Can’t survive if you don’t adjust with the economy.”

Some are trying to absorb the rise or apply it only to new customers, while others have flagged a surge charge if fuel keeps climbing.

Fertiliser follies and DIY hacks

Beyond fuel, the cost of fertilisers has also soared, with reports indicating some prices have doubled or even quadrupled due to global supply chain disruptions.

However, resourceful Aussies are finding ingenious ways to combat these expenses.

One TikTok content creator, @fosizzle2, known for sharing DIY gardening tips, recently went viral with a hack to create homemade fertiliser.

Hobby gardners, including @fosizzle2 are going viral online for their savvy DIY tips, including homemade fertilisers.

Basic household ingredients such as brown sugar, lemon, egg shells and rice make for excellent garden fertilisers. Source: @fosizzle2

“Stop paying $2.50 a litre to get $20-worth of fertiliser,” he advised, suggesting a simple mixture of two teaspoons of brown sugar, a small teaspoon of baking soda, and nine litres of water for “good root growth, yield, flowers and soil improvement.”

Other videos show similar hacks but with lemon, egg shells, and rice.

The electric revolution for your lawn?

For those committed to DIY, the rising cost of petrol is also prompting a serious look at electric alternatives.

An online discussion saw one user ask, “I know the lower end battery powered mowers really aren’t that capable of mowing unkept lawns but with these increases in fuel prices, who is considering changing?”

The responses were telling.

A Vaucluse resident hoses down his electric lawnmower.

One professional replied, “I was spending about $200 a week on fuel for mowers etc. We are predominantly battery now and spend about $70 a week now on fuel. We will change to full battery eventually.”

Where does your state rank?

When it comes to overall lawn care costs, New South Wales households lead the nation, averaging around $100 per month ($1200 a year).

Victoria and Western Australia follow at approximately $70 per month ($840 annually), while Queensland ($60 a month or $720 annually) and South Australia ($50 a month or $600 annually) spend less on average.

As the cost of maintaining that pristine lawn continues to climb, it seems many Australians will need to reconsider their approach to their beloved green spaces.

Simple steps like spacing out mowing, handling basic tasks yourself, maintaining equipment, and buying products on sale, as suggested by Mr Callery, could be the key to keeping the Aussie lawn obsession from breaking the bank.