If you’ve seen a neighbor with a 'No Mow May' yard sign in their yard, you’re not alone. The movement is gaining popularity online as a way to support habitats for pollinators in spring. But before you park your mower, understand what skipping your May lawn care routine can really do for your home and community.
Despite good intentions, reducing mowing for a month can lead to more weeds, weaker turf, and other problems down the road.
Where No Mow May Started—and What It Misses
The idea behind No Mow May began in the U.K. as a way to help bees and other pollinator species. The logic was simple: taller grass and flowering weeds give pollinators more food. Seems simple, until you break it down
But here’s the catch: that only works if your lawn already has the kind of flowering weeds that bees actually use. “[It] started as a movement to encourage homeowners to let their lawns grow wild for a month, with the goal of supporting pollinators," shared Matthew Koch, Ph.D., Director of Biotechnology and Genetics at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. "However, research shows that benefits to native pollinator populations come mainly from allowing already weedy lawns to grow for a month, since the flowering weeds that thrive in these overgrown spaces act as a food source for pollinators.”
The problem is, most lawns don’t have those native flowering weeds.
For an average lawn, letting green lawns grow unchecked leads to more problems than benefits.
Koch explains, “For most lawns, going an entire month without mowing can actually do more harm than good. Overgrown grass blocks sunlight, limiting the plant's ability to make energy and weakening the turf. When homeowners resume mowing in June, they’re often left with a lawn overrun by weeds, which can lead to thinning grass, increased susceptibility to disease, and even pest infestations. Plus, the steps needed to address these problems would likely counteract the benefits that an overrun lawn would provide to any pollinator habitat.”
Why Skipping Mowing Can Backfire
Letting your lawn go untouched for four weeks might sound like less work, but it could backfire.
Here’s what often happens after a month of no mowing:
- Grass blades get too long and fold over, trapping moisture (sort of like when you leave too many grass clippings on your lawn!)
- Noxious weeds like dandelions and crabgrass, and other invasive plants take over quickly
- Green spaces face disease risks increase due to poor air circulation
- Mower blades can scalp tall grass on your lawn and stress it
- Pest infestations can spike, especially from turf-damaging insects
All of this adds up to a lawn that looks worse, not better, by the time June rolls around.
A Better Way to Help Pollinators Without Skipping Lawn Care
If you want to support native pollinators, there are better options than letting your entire yard go wild. One simple change is adding low-maintenance, pollinator-friendly plants in small sections of your yard and garden. Clover is a great pick for this.
“A more sustainable approach is to incorporate native pollinator-friendly plants or groundcovers in areas of the yard while maintaining consistent lawn care practices year-round,” notes Koch. “Specifically, designating areas of the lawn to grow clover is a great way to increase biodiversity in the immediate area, and clover even acts as a natural fertilizer for soil by absorbing nitrogen from the atmosphere and transforming it to be usable by other plants.”
If you're going to try and improve your yard, I do believe it's worth choosing as many herbicide-free products as possible, so I support Koch's recommendation: “O.M. Scott & Sons Clover Seed is an ideal option for those looking for a naturally low-maintenance lawn product that has no artificial or pest control ingredients.”
