How much does it cost to start a lawn care and landscaping business dealing with: retaining walls, mulch beds, laying out landscape designs, lawn mowing, and constructions of decks and patios. And also what would be the grand total abouts with the insurance and all the equipment i would need? Thanks!

In this sue-happy, competitive world, businesses have to learn to manage risk in order to survive and thrive. Making sure you have adequate protection for your lawn care business is a must to protect your personal and business assets. While it is often a time-consuming and frustrating experience every successful business owner will go through it.

Lawn Care Business Insurance
Like any other business entity, lawn care businesses do need adequate insurance cover to protect their assets. In order to provide the specific needs, many insurance companies have created specialty insurance for the lawn care industry. While you can often get commercial insurance through your home and auto agent, it often pays to shop the specialty insurers as they are better able to understand the risks present to your industry and can price the policy accordingly. When obtaining business insurance and the agent/company do not understand your business or industry then you will get a higher rate so they are protected from the unknown.

Types of Coverage for the Lawn Care Business
Lawn care businesses have different kinds of insurance protection that may suit their different needs. Choose the one or go for all of them to prolong the life of your lawn care business insurance business.

A few different types of insurance you may want to consider for your lawn care business.

Business liability
Property damage (vandalism, water backup, etc)
Business interruption (Protects you from adverse day to day occurrences)
Inventory loss
Theft
Forgery through credit card transactions
Mechanical breakdown
Coverage for computer equipment media, data programs and communications equipment
Key employee
Vehicle
Professional liability

While it is a time-consuming process, researching the different types of lawn care business insurance and what is included/excluded in your policy is critical to the operation of your business should something bad happen. Talk with your agent, attorney and other business owners to make sure you are getting the proper insurance for your business.

For more information about starting a lawn care business visit www.StartingLawnCareBusiness.com

Can you honestly say you’d rather be sleeping out in a field or curled up in a bush somewhere than snoozing in someone’s attic, kitchen or basement when the temperature starts creeping down to zero? Chances are, you’d rather be warm and dry than wet and cold. Guess what? So would the neighborhood mouse population! That’s why they’re trying to move in to your house. The problem is, they’re going to wreak havoc-and your homeowners insurance isn’t going to do a thing about it.

With the notable exception of the ones that are happy spending their lives curled up in a cage, mice aren’t usually treated like welcome guests when they show up for a visit. There’s usually much screaming and beating of brooms involved! That being the case, mice find somewhere to hide when they come creeping in. That somewhere is usually your walls!

Have you ever seen what mice do to walls when they’re allowed to move in? If you have, you don’t have to ask why your home insurance coverage isn’t exactly waiting with arms wide open to pay for the damage! They love to chew, and nothing is sacred-including your electrical wires, drywall and insulation! That means you could find yourself replacing wires and panels left, right and sideways.

Now, everyone knows that trying to keep mice out when they’re determined to move in is about as easy as trying to make it across the Sahara in three days or less traveling on foot! They slip through holes no bigger than a dime, which means by the time you find how they’re getting in (usually with the help of an exterminator) you’ve already got a family setting up shop. The cost of getting rid of them can be astronomical.

The catch is, according to your home insurance provider they wouldn’t be moving in if you weren’t doing something to make it possible. They consider it to be a maintenance issue; if you inspected your walls regularly, kept your kitchen clean and didn’t leave food lying around, you wouldn’t have this problem.

They’ve obviously never met a mouse.

Regardless, homeowners insurance companies don’t touch rodent infestation, or the damages that go along with it, with a ten foot stick. It’s going to be up to you to keep your home clear of pests and vermin. Cats are a great way to discourage mice from settling in, and if you find you’ve got an infestation going borrowing or adopting a barn cat or two is a great way to chase them back out. Not only will the cats hunt the mice, the smell of their urine is enough to let the little pests know a bigger predator is hanging around.

Traps will work (eventually), although it can take forever and you still may not get them all. Do yourself a favor and steer clear of poison. It works great, but then they crawl into the walls and die and you have to literally dig out their bodies before you house starts to reek. It’s not pretty.

Most importantly, make sure you’re plugging the holes where they’re getting in with steel wool each time you find them (since that’s about the only thing they can’t chew through). Proper home maintenance is the best way to keep your castle rodent free, and if your homeowners insurance isn’t going to help pick up the bill the last thing you want to do is put yourself into a situation where you would need them to.

Can you honestly say you’d rather be sleeping out in a field or curled up in a bush somewhere than snoozing in someone’s attic, kitchen or basement when the temperature starts creeping down to zero? Chances are, you’d rather be warm and dry than wet and cold. Guess what? So would the neighborhood mouse population! That’s why they’re trying to move in to your house. The problem is, they’re going to wreak havoc-and your homeowners insurance isn’t going to do a thing about it.

With the notable exception of the ones that are happy spending their lives curled up in a cage, mice aren’t usually treated like welcome guests when they show up for a visit. There’s usually much screaming and beating of brooms involved! That being the case, mice find somewhere to hide when they come creeping in. That somewhere is usually your walls!

Have you ever seen what mice do to walls when they’re allowed to move in? If you have, you don’t have to ask why your home insurance coverage isn’t exactly waiting with arms wide open to pay for the damage! They love to chew, and nothing is sacred-including your electrical wires, drywall and insulation! That means you could find yourself replacing wires and panels left, right and sideways.

Now, everyone knows that trying to keep mice out when they’re determined to move in is about as easy as trying to make it across the Sahara in three days or less traveling on foot! They slip through holes no bigger than a dime, which means by the time you find how they’re getting in (usually with the help of an exterminator) you’ve already got a family setting up shop. The cost of getting rid of them can be astronomical.

The catch is, according to your home insurance provider they wouldn’t be moving in if you weren’t doing something to make it possible. They consider it to be a maintenance issue; if you inspected your walls regularly, kept your kitchen clean and didn’t leave food lying around, you wouldn’t have this problem.

They’ve obviously never met a mouse.

Regardless, homeowners insurance companies don’t touch rodent infestation, or the damages that go along with it, with a ten foot stick. It’s going to be up to you to keep your home clear of pests and vermin. Cats are a great way to discourage mice from settling in, and if you find you’ve got an infestation going borrowing or adopting a barn cat or two is a great way to chase them back out. Not only will the cats hunt the mice, the smell of their urine is enough to let the little pests know a bigger predator is hanging around.

Traps will work (eventually), although it can take forever and you still may not get them all. Do yourself a favor and steer clear of poison. It works great, but then they crawl into the walls and die and you have to literally dig out their bodies before you house starts to reek. It’s not pretty.

Most importantly, make sure you’re plugging the holes where they’re getting in with steel wool each time you find them (since that’s about the only thing they can’t chew through). Proper home maintenance is the best way to keep your castle rodent free, and if your homeowners insurance isn’t going to help pick up the bill the last thing you want to do is put yourself into a situation where you would need them to.