For me, and many other people, the time to trim the grass is in the morning before noon. But, not a lot of people know exactly why.

However, that might not always be the best time for every person. What if you work the night shift and sleep during the day?

What if you know it is going to rain all day? Could you mow your lawn at night?

Is it Illegal to Mow Your Lawn at Night?

There is no law specifically prohibiting you from mowing your lawn at night, However, making the noise your lawnmower makes can be Illegal depending on your local City laws. In most cities, you will be breaking the law if you decide to mow between 10pm to 7am ,and your mower produces over 45db of audible noise from 25 feet of your property. 

You should still check your local laws as this will vary, but these are pretty typical laws around the country.

But, be careful! You should make sure not to start cutting your lawn after 9:00pm or you will risk not finishing in time! To be safe, 8:00pm is probably the latest you should be cutting your lawn.

How Loud is Too loud?

When it comes to your mowing your lawn, the noise is the part that can get you in trouble.

Most communities have noise compliance laws that determine what noises are too loud. These laws vary from place to place, so you should check your local municipal codes (a simple google search of “ town, state municipal codes noise” should yield the correct information on the first result), but the noise limit for densely populated districts is usually around forty five decibels (dB) – in my neighbourhood it is 45dB for homes and 35 dB for apartment complexes.

Now, how loud is 45 dB? Decibels are the standard measurement of noise; and, 45dB is surpisingly quiet. 60dB is the volume of a normal conversation. 45dB is basically ambient noise whereas 90dB is the sound of your typical hairdryer on high.

But wait, does this mean it is illegal for me to simply talk on my property? Or blow dry your hair? No, thankfully, noise laws only apply to noises audible from 25 feet of your property, which makes a lot of sense. It basically is the same as being able to make whatever noise you want until your neighbours hear it clearly. If you neighbours can hear you talking as if you are in the room with them, you are probably talking too loud. So, this is great! Except, while it depends on the size of your property and your model of lawnmower – many companies have invested in making quieter lawn mowers for a premium price –  but even the quietest smaller mowers are at least 60dB from 25 feet, way too loud.

Logically, this makes any type of motorized landscaping in danger of exceeding the limit. But how can this be? Wouldn’t this mean all lawnmowing is illegal? Hold on, you do not have to start cutting your grass by hand just yet! There are exceptions! In my town, and most other towns, the noise laws have exceptions SPECIFICALLY for lawn care equipment.

How late can you mow your lawn in evening?

The latest you can mow the lawn is usually 10:00PM, which should be several hours after sundown and several hours after the end of your typical workday. However, you also need to consider how long it takes to mow your lawn. Once it hits 10:00PM you need to stop mowing, which means you need to start mowing earlier.

Is it too late to cut grass at 8pm?

You can use these calculators to find out how long it should take to mow your lawn and plan ahead! Whatever time you get from the calculator add half an hour to it just for safety’s sake and that should be the latest you can start mowing your lawn before 10:00PM. As an example, if according to the calculator it would take me an hour to mow my lawn I would add half an hour. As a result, the latest I should mow my lawn would be 8:30PM. So, I would say for most people 8:00PM is not too late to mow your lawn.

Also Read: Should you Water lawn after Mowing

 

Is it rude to mow your lawn at night?

It may not be illegal to mow your lawn in the evening, that does not mean your neighbors will be happy about it. I personally love the sound of a lawn mower, as do many other people – some people use lawn mowing sounds as white noise to help them sleep – but not everybody does.

The “right thing to do” is almost always going to come down to you communicating with your neighbors. Good fences DO NOT make good neighbors. Good neighbors do their best to actively avoid causing difficulties for each other. You should always default to communicating with them to solve any potential problems! After all, you see them every day and they are going to be the people who can best appreciate the hard work you put into your lawn! What is the point of a well-kept lawn with nobody to share it with?

If you want to keep the Noise to Minimum also Considering using a Brushless lawn mower -They are Much quieter!

Safety

You should make sure that your lawn is well-lit if you plan to mow your lawn at night! It can be extremely dangerous to mow in the dark. You could trip and hurt yourself or you could damage your mower in an accident. For me, my lawn ends on a rock ledge which could lead to a nasty fall. If you do not have outside lights for your lawn you should at least get a light you can mount on your mower. You can buy relatively cheap lights, such as these ones on amazon, which are simple to install. At the very least, you should get a wearable headlight so you can see where you are walking in the dark.

How early can I mow my lawn?

In regard to the opposite time of day, you will not have to plan ahead as you would in the evening, but you do have to be mindful of whether or not is a weekday and weekend. Since most people’s morning schedules change depending on whether it is a weekday or weekend so does the rules about when to mow your lawn in the morning.

On a Saturday or Sunday

According to Edison Research, the vast majority of people in America are awake by 6:30am. Since the earliest you can mow your lawn according to the law is 7:00am, it is likely the time window was chosen with that in mind. So, in the morning, the earliest you can start is 7:00am, and, obviously, the later you start mowing the more likely it is that your neighbors are awake already. Your safest bet is probably to not start mowing your lawn until 8:00am.

Is it Rude to mow your lawn on Sunday?

Personally, I think you should mow your lawns on the weekend. When I was a kid, my father would use his gasoline cylinder mower every Sunday at 8:00 am before we ate breakfast and went to church. Now, I do the same! Mowing your lawn on the weekend when you are not as stressed or as busy really gives you the time to enjoy being outdoors, appreciate the aroma of cut grass, and feel productive while also relaxing through humble physical labor! And, on weekends, your neighbors are probably less prone to being irritated.

What is the best Time I can Mow My lawn

However, legalities aside, there are actually some rules about the best practices for mowing your lawn from a practical standpoint. If you want the best for your lawn, most landscaping professionals would recommend you do it after 8:00am and before noon. Think about it! Any earlier and your grass will still be wet from the dew. Wet grass is not as easy to cut and it is harder to clean up. For some cheaper mowers, it could even damage the blades. Not only that but by cutting your lawn before noon you avoid being stuck in the hot sun for too long! You could also do this in the early afternoon when the sun has started to fall; but, after 6:00pm is when dew starts to form on your lawn, so the consensus is make sure to mow your lawn before 6:00pm.

If you mow your grass too late you can risk bacteria and fungus growing in your lawn. By mowing the lawn, you weaken the grass and it needs a few hours to recover from the trauma of being cut. When you combine that weakened state with moisture it makes your grass a prime place for bad organisms to grow. That being said, if you live in a warmer and drier climate, you probably do not get a lot of dew and this should not be a huge concern.

So, overall, there a few legal restrictions on lawn mowing; but, for the most part, it is your lawn and your property and you are free to do with it as you see fit for the most part. It is probably in your best interest to communicate with your neighbors to make sure you are not bothering them. And, it is in the best interest of your lawn to trim it before sunset. However, as always, there are few absolute wrongs and absolute rights in life. Think about you, your neighbors, your lawn, and your climate and make the best decision you can for your lawn. At the end of the day, it is just some grass and some noise. Nothing to get to worked up over!

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