Is Landscaping an Essential Business During COVID-19?

This question has been coming up with some consistency since the initial shelter-in-place orders arrived in March of 2020.

What businesses are essential and which are not?

Certainly, grocery stores and hospitals are deemed essential. Gas stations must stay open. Convenience markets and bodegas are essential. But what about landscaping companies? Are services for trees essential during a shelter-in-place?

The answer is a measured one. Some services a landscaping company provides are considered essential. Other services are non-essential. Public safety experts have encouraged the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) to have its members focus on these six services:

1. Removing obstructions to pathways.

This includes both public and private walkways, sidewalks, hiking paths, and others places people walk. Having growth obstruct these pathways can create risky situations.

2. Managing invasive species

Whether these species are in trees, bushes, or grass, keeping infections from overtaking greenery is an essential service.

3. Preventing fire hazards

Removing plants and pruning areas of overgrowth can assist in fire abatement.

4. Removing fallen trees

If big winds have taken down trees, or caused them to be perilous – dangling branches, split limbs, etc. – we are encouraged to remove them.

5. Limiting the spread of disease-carrying pests

Ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes carry potentially fatal diseases and dangerous infections. Whatever a landscaping company can do to limit their spread is an essential service.

6. Pruning for safety and security

Weeds can overgrow, and grass needs to be mown and maintained for the sake of continued safety. Part of this work involves inspecting properties to make sure the growth has not created any hazardous situations.