❌ Get RID of Standing Water (4 Reasons You Might Not Think Of)

This time of year is dreary. When there’s not pretty snow on the ground, a lot of you are seeing a lot of mud, slush, and slop throughout your yard. And every time it rains or snows, puddles form and are very slow to go away and bad weather just makes them worse.

It is imperative that you deal with standing water in your yard.

Here are some of the adverse side effects to standing water in your yard:

Mosquitoes Spread.

One of the quickest signs of a wet yard is a heavy mosquito population. A female can lay her eggs in just one ounce (or an inch) of standing water. That doesn’t inspire confidence much, I know! Nobody likes to be eaten alive when they walk out into their yard in the warmer months. So take away as much of their battleground as possible by creating a dry lawn they can’t easily breed in.

Foundations Crack.

Water that drains toward your home or ponds along your foundation is something you should address ASAP. By the time you see the effects of foundation damage, it’s already too late. Water that infiltrates the earth beneath or along your foundation can access any voids in the wall or the floor. Eventually it can cause the foundation to become unstable and shift, or begin to crack. If it freezes, there is much more of a risk of cracking. You’ll see evidence of foundation damage by ceiling cracks or splits on the inside wall. 

Trees are killed.

Flooded soils kill trees over time. Tree roots need to be able to efficiently draw nutrients and water from the ground. When these soils become saturated for a long time, organic matter, mold and mildew increase in the soil and make the roots slimy. Roots will die back as they become ineffective which reduces photosynthesis to the tree. Over time the tree will slowly starve and eventually die from the bottom up. With no strong root system, you are left vulnerable to a risky tree fall or lean. 

Lawns die.

When there are excessive amounts of water in your yard, it kills the grass. The grass may brighten up at first with the extra hydration, especially if it’s in summer. But eventually the grass will drown as it doesn’t have access to needed oxygen. In large areas, acids build up in the soils where these grasses decompose and create an acidic environment where nothing can survive (except undesirable wetland species). You don’t want a situation like this to get out of hand, or you’ll be dealing with significant repair work. 

As a rule of thumb, the quicker you can address them, the easier the task will be. Because some standing water issues only compound over time. Have our team at Chesapeake Landscapes address your yard drainage issues. We serve Harford, Baltimore, and Cecil County with year-round full-service landscape and hardscape work.

We are heading into our busiest time of year and encourage you to contact us today to grab your spot on the schedule for Spring Maintenance.  

And if you’d like to talk further about a design work (landscapes or hardscapes), Schedule an appointment with a designer here!   

Secure your position on the calendar so you don’t have to wait!

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