Lawn professionals and contractors agree — now is the time for homeowners to take the steps necessary to winterize their lawns. If they continue to wait, they may not be able to get everything done before the weather gets too harsh.

One of the first things homeowners need to do, according to president and CEO of Archer Lawn Care Jay Archer, is to continue mowing lawns to three inches on a regular basis. When the leaves start to fall and get in the way of mowing, mulch or bag them until they stop falling and the lawn goes dormant.

“This will help prevent possible lawn issues such as mold and fungus from excess leaves and debris smothering your lawn,” said Archer.

Aeration should also be taken care of in the fall, advises John Dillon, who takes care of New York City’s Central Park. This treatment pulls up plugs of grass and soil, breaking up the soil to give lawns the chance to breath. It also provides room for new grass to grow, spread, and thrive.

Fall is also a good time to overseed and reseed, because of the cooler temperatures and the additional moisture from rain and dew, according to Vondrachek Lawn Care’s Jef Vondrachek.

“This is the time to repair the lawn from the damage that it sustained over the summer or overseed to thicken up the lawn,” said Vondrachek.

Many homeowners, however, tend to neglect their lawns in the fall. While some certainly don’t realize that they need to prepare their yards for the oncoming frigid elements, other, neglectful homeowners believe that winterizing lawns is simply too expensive.

Although the landscaping industry does generate about $74 billion of revenue, it’s not because of the cost of prepping lawns for winter. In fact, winterizing a lawn costs $404 on average, and professional aeration only costs about $150 on average.

For a small investment, homeowners can prep their lawns for the oncoming winter — just so long as they act soon. Otherwise, the weather may not cooperate.