Scotts

Target: Scotts
Web-Site: http://www.scotts.com
What they sell: Lawncare Products
Date: February 2, 2008


CustComplaint@gmail.com:

Good morning, last evening I experienced an attack on my lawn. During the night I was awakened by the sound of erupting firecrackers. I sprang quickly from my bed just in time to see three young boys zoom away in a pick-up truck from in front of my yard. Sadly the firecrackers were not the only disruption of the night. I looked down at my front lawn to find a 15ft flaming outline of the male genitalia. It was really quite embarrassing, because I had to get dressed and run a hose out front to extinguish the blaze. And by that time a few of my neighbors had awoken.

Now luckily no one was hurt, but now I have a huge problem on my hands. The artist's handiwork is no blazoned into my front yard and has destroyed my grass in the perfect outline of the figure. I covered the artwork with a tarp this morning before going to work, because there are a lot of kids on my block, but I need to know the best method to repair this damage quickly.

The grass is all burned out, and I suspect they used oil to ignite it, because the thing was still burning when I finally reached it with the hose. What would be the best method to remove this disgusting outline from my lawn, before I have every parent on the block hating me because little Johnny's dad had to give him the birds and bees talk at age 7.

SCOTTS RESPONSE:

Thank you for your interest in Scotts and for the opportunity to help you with your lawn and garden endeavors.
Unfortunately, Mr. Goder, the area damaged by the fire will need to be reseeded; however, reseeding is not possible at this time of the year in your area of the nation.

The two best times of year to seed are spring and fall. If you choose to seed in the fall, you need 65 degrees and above consistently as your daily high temperatures for seed to germinate. You need about a month from the time you put seed down until the cold weather comes to get the seed up and established enough to survive the coming winter.

When you seed in the spring, you need temperatures of 65 and above consistently for a week to get the ground temperature up to 55 and then it needs to stay that warm to germinate the seed. If you seed in the spring, avoid the regular crabgrass preventer and broadleaf weed control until the new grass has been mowed 4 times. Do not seed if you have already used a crabgrass preventer in the last 4 months.

In addition, the oil or gasoline used to start the fire may have contaminated the soil of your lawn. If this is the case, the contaminated soil will need to be removed from the lawn and replaced with fresh soil before seeding the area; otherwise, the grass seed will likely not germinated in the contaminated areas.

Before removing the soil from the area, you may want to have the soil tested to confirm if the soil is contaminated, and with what. We generally suggest contacting your local County Extension Agent to inquire about soil testing.

When you are able to seed the damaged area, use the following guidelines:

• Choose an appropriate seed. Consider the environment of your lawn and the area's specific needs. Is the lawn shady or does it get full sun all day? Does it get a lot of traffic? Are you able to water as needed? Scotts has several Pure Premium seed mixtures to choose from.

• Prepare the seed bed by having the area plowed and disced, or by using a rototiller to till the top few inches of soil. If leveling is needed, it can usually be done with nothing more than a shovel, wheel barrow and a garden rake.

• Sow the seed evenly. Use a Scotts hand-held, drop or broadcast spreader. Spreading by hand is not recommended, since getting uniform coverage with this method is difficult.

• Applying Scotts Starter Fertilizer will help new seedlings develop faster and grow into a thicker, greener lawn. After applying seed and starter fertilizer, rake the area lightly to work the seed about 1/4 inch into the soil.

• Mulching is recommended to reduce the frequency of watering on flat areas. Be sure to use clean mulching material and to spread the mulch thinly. When using clean straw, for example, be sure to spread the straw no more than 2 straws thick.

• Watering is crucial to seedling success. Only the top inch of soil needs to be kept moist, so watering frequently, rather than deeply, is best.

• When it's time to mow, set the mower at a height of about 1 1/2 inches. Be careful not to damage the young plants. Remove the clippings so seedlings will not be smothered.

• Most weeds will be eliminated by regular mowing. Others can be treated by applying one of Scotts combination weed and feeds, after the lawn has been mowed at least four times.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact us and for your interest in Scotts. Please feel free to contact our company anytime we may be of assistance.

Benjamin S****

Consumer Response Representative
The Scotts Company and Subsidiaries
14111 Scottslawn Road
Marysville, OH 43041

Ref # 6727264