Landscaping and lawn care scams to avoid in Pennsylvania

Updated November 10, 2026 · KeystoneProGuide editorial team

What do landscaping scams look like?

Mostly like ordinary home improvement scams, with a few traps peculiar to lawns. The Federal Trade Commission lists the tactics scammers use: they knock on your door because they are "in the area", say they have materials left over from another job, pressure you to decide immediately, ask for full payment up front or cash only, ask you to get any required permits yourself, or suggest a lender they know. Each of those translates directly to a driveway paving offer, a patio crew or a seasonal lawn contract.

What has Pennsylvania's Attorney General acted on?

A lawn services business, among others. In April 2025 the Attorney General sued a Beaver County contractor whose business was a lawn services company. The lawsuit alleged that it failed to perform home improvement contracts, doing subpar work or none at all, and that it kept signing contracts after its home improvement registration had expired. The office said at least seven court judgments had been entered against the contractor since 2022 and that a criminal case on theft and deceptive business practices charges was pending. The lawsuit seeks to stop the contractor doing business in Pennsylvania, with restitution and civil penalties.

Three lessons follow for any landscaping job that counts as home improvement, which the Attorney General says includes patios, retaining walls, drainage systems, lighting and walkways:

Registration lapses. A number on an old business card is not proof. Check the current registration on the state's contractor search, which shows only active registrations.
Complaints leave a trail. The FTC suggests searching online for a company's name with words like "scam", "review" or "complaint", and checking with consumer protection officials, before you sign.
Penalties exist. The Attorney General says an unregistered home improvement contractor is prohibited from offering or performing the work and faces civil penalties of $1,000 or more.

What warning signs does Penn State list for lawn care companies?

Penn State Extension's guide to choosing a lawn care company says to beware of companies that:

have unlisted phone numbers;
have no BU number, the pesticide business license number, on their vehicles;
claim a secret formula or a more potent pesticide, when all pesticides must be registered by the EPA;
claim to be endorsed by a university, the EPA, the Department of Agriculture or another state agency;
pressure you into an immediate decision;
use scare tactics to rush you into an application;
confirm a pest identification over the phone from your description, when correct identification usually needs a visit.

Penn State's counter-advice is short: you do not have to decide on the phone, and you should talk with several companies.

Can a lawn program break the rules without anyone noticing?

Yes, in one specific way. The Department of Agriculture says plain fertilizer needs no license, but that a company applying weed and feed or pre-emergent products is applying pesticides and must be licensed. A seasonal "fertilizer program" that quietly includes weed or crabgrass control, run by an unlicensed crew, is pesticide work done without the license the state requires. Ask which products are used and look for the BU number.

What about the deposit?

For home improvement work over $5,000, the Attorney General says a down payment of about one-third of the price, or one-third plus special-order materials, is generally appropriate, and that the law does not dictate how the balance is paid. Its suggestion is payments as the work progresses, with the last on completion. The FTC adds: never make the final payment until the work is done and you are satisfied. A patio crew asking for most of the money before the first stone is laid is asking for more than the state's guidance supports.

Which bad practices are not fraud, but still cost you?

Some are habits, not crimes, and authorities still warn against them.

Volcano mulching. Penn State Extension says piling mulch against tree trunks holds moisture against bark, starves roots of oxygen and can cause girdling roots. It suggests one reason it is common: crews refresh mulch every year without regard to the depth already there, and dumping mulch is faster than placing it. Pay for a thin skim over raked old mulch, not a new heap.
Planting banned shrubs. The Department of Agriculture lists Japanese barberry, burning bush, Callery pear and several privets and bush honeysuckles as noxious weeds that cannot be sold or planted in Pennsylvania, apart from approved varieties. A plan that includes them is out of date.
Skipping the 811 call. Pennsylvania One Call says a hired contractor must make its own call and should be able to show its eleven digit serial number. No serial number means the excavator may not have met its legal obligations.
Building a tall wall without a permit. The state code exempts only retaining walls up to 4 feet that support no surcharge. A contractor who tells you a taller wall needs no permit, or asks you to get it, deserves a second opinion.

Where do you report a problem?

First, the FTC suggests trying to resolve it with the contractor and following any phone call with a certified letter, keeping copies. If that fails, the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection takes complaints online, by phone at 1-800-441-2555 or by email at scams@attorneygeneral.gov, and the office says it receives more than 50,000 complaints and referrals a year. Pesticide complaints go to the Department of Agriculture on 1-717-772-5231, the number Penn State lists. Some counties also run their own consumer offices; the county guides list them.

Before you sign, questions to ask a landscaper and how to choose a landscaper cover the checks, and what Pennsylvania requires sets out the rules. Local businesses are on the landscapers directory page.

Sources

How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam, Federal Trade Commission
AG Sunday Files Suit Against Beaver County Home Improvement Contractor for Allegedly Failing to Complete Jobs, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Submit a Complaint, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Choosing a Qualified Pest Management or Lawn Care Company, Penn State Extension
Fertilizer FAQs, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Controlled Plant & Noxious Weed Lists, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Mulch Volcanoes Are Erupting Everywhere!, Penn State Extension
FAQs Homeowners, Pennsylvania One Call System
34 Pa. Code § 403.62. Permit requirements and exemptions., Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Code)