Here’s what you had to say:
“No Mow May should be no mow all the time. I keep trying to turn my
property into a native meadow by encouraging and planting native species
while controlling and/or removing invasives, but am met with the code
enforcement officer who claims a violation of both the blight and ‘tall
grass’ ordinances the village of Breedsville has in place.
Why Michiganders need to mow their entire properties with the mower on
the “dirt” setting is something I will never understand.” — Jeff, Grand Junction
“I recently bought a house in Lansing. This is my 1st yard I own. I was totally planning on no mow may as I barely get how to use the mower I bought, but I’m also fostering a dog with Lyme and my dog had Lyme when I adopted her so my inclination is to keep the yard tidy. Also I’m trying to grow slow grow grass seed because of the huge patches in my lawn. I’m curious to see the pros and cons from the MI veterans with this issue.” — Stacey, Lansing
“This practice is only beneficial if you have ‘weeds’ in your lawn, like dandelions and clover, which most homeowners actively prevent from growing. Also, peak bloom in Michigan for dandelions is mid-to-late May, and for clover it’s June, making the opportunity for pollinators to benefit fairly small. Another consideration is that allowing your grass to grow for a month, it could reach up to 12 inches. Mowing at that length at the end of May will cause the grass to be stressed going into the hot summer months.” — Marcia, Ann Arbor
“I called our “mow and go” service and asked them to not mow in May. He wasn’t happy but we are a longtime customer (over 10 years) so he said okay.” — Victoria, Traverse City
“I didn’t make it to June this year, at least in the front yard. Too much rain made me mow the front yard but the backyard is mostly untouched but sooo long. I’m not sure that I’ll be able to handle it and fear of ticks has me worried, too. I’m going on 80 and finding it difficult to walk so it’s gonna be a challenge and I’m ready to give up mowing all together but I can’t afford to pay someone to do it.” — Paulette, Michigan
“I have been practicing No Mow May for a few years. It’s been very helpful for pollinators, with blooms of dandelions, slender speedwell and wild strawberries in the yard. The various bees were not active this year until the start of the 2nd week of May. I mowed extra thick grass areas, at the end of week 2, but tried to limit mowing so that they were not flying farther away to find their source of pollen. Week 3, dandelions seeded, so I mowed peripheral sections with inner areas intact. That means each section regrows while some are mowed. Clover is starting to show up at the end of week 3 which will be the best source of pollen during summer months. No pesticides or herbicides, I have noticed ticks in the wooded areas but not within the 1 acre yard. Also, no mosquitos, even with the taller growth. The yard will be maintained without sectioning for the rest of the summer, due to mosquito season.” — Janet, St. Clair County
“After reading the tick article, I say MOW.” — Deb, Kalamazoo
“While I live in Wisconsin, I have 3 young grandsons who live with their parents in the Kalamazoo, MI area. That’s why I am against NO Mow day right now in MI and elsewhere where I have young grandchildren. I would hate one to be bitten by a tick, and although their mom and dad check them after they play outside, they could miss a tick buried in their skin.” — Cindy, Wisconsin
“We were participating in no mow may until JUST yesterday…. and it reminded us why we do it. We unknowingly were housing 5 baby rabbits and one unfortunately met its demise from our mower.
Even with all the care we took once we realized they were hiding in our grass we still killed one. I know that they are rabbits and that may be what people see, but what I see is a vital part of the ecosystem.
Instead of that rabbit being killed by our mower, it could have been a meal for the raptors that inhabit our area or even for folks like us that hunt and consume them. We have many hawks and bald eagles that rely on that food source. I understand that it was one rabbit, but think about how many folks say that on a regular basis.
I also find that our yard didn’t have ticks in it this year, but we also don’t get deer wandering through our fenced in yard as much as some folks do. Overall i think the wrong question is should we mow to save ourselves from ticks, and think about the overall impact it would make if we were to make if we had policies in place to protect the ecosystems around us. If we had more possums and other critters to eat the ticks, what would disease numbers look like? If we actually focused on mitigating and solving rising global temperatures, would that reduce the prevalence of ticks?
I think the questions that focus on this singular correlation (ex: grass length and ticks) is leading us away from thinking about an issue like this systemically and WHY this is happening.” — Brooke, South Lyon
