Greg says, "I do not know what a spot or blanket treatment means."
Thanks Greg for asking that question. Blanket or spot refers to two different types of spray applications that are available used within lawn care programs. Generally, in reference to weed treatments.
A blanket spray - means the whole yard is treated,
A spot spray means that the areas with weeds are treated and not areas where there are no weeds.
With the organic products, the product cost is more. So, blanket treatments require a lot more product than spot sprays. If the lawn is in good shape, a spot spray is usually adequate. A very weedy lawn will likely need a blanket spray- at least to start.
In the past with the old pesticide the cost of product was not as much- in fact very insignificant. Spot spraying was not done because of cost but because people had issues with the use of pesticides.
Spot spraying originally was something that the lawn care industry instituted to meet the needs of the customers. When pesticides were used to control weeds, people would feel better if less pesticides could be used. So lawn care companies would spot spray lawns instead of blanket spraying the whole lawn whether it needed it or not.
Back then, spot spray programs would generally reduce pesticide use by 50% or more. In general, spot sprays would not do quite as good a job as a blanket spray, but people were willing to have a few weeds knowing that there was less pesticide used on their lawn. When spot spraying, the lawn care technician may not treat an area that appears to be weed free, but there may have been small weeds starting unseen below the grass.
