Have you heard of No Mow Month? Maybe No Mow May or even No Mow March?

It’s an initiative that began in Great Britain back in 2019. That’s when citizen scientists with charitable organization Plantlife began encouraging homeowners and businessowners to not cut their grass each May.

The goal? Help give pollinators like butterflies and bees a boost by letting grass and other turf grow taller and flower. This would, in theory, give pollinators more places to find nectar for nourishment and safe harbor for laying eggs to produce the next generation.

The History & Importance Of No Mow May

Now, I’ve also been curious about No Mow Month and No Mow May. I began hearing about it in the early 2020s, after Appleton, Wisconsin, became the first city in the United States to adopt and enact No Mow May in 2020. That first year, hundreds of Appleton residents took part. The no mow movement began spreading to nearby Wisconsin towns like Oshkosh and Hortonville — even well beyond across the country.

Where I live in Central Florida, there’s been a movement toward choosing an earlier No Mow Month. Why? Because by May grass is already growing out of control here. Plus, our pollinator season is usually hopping by March, when the rest of the country still wakes up to frosts.

Wendy Wilbur of the University of Florida (UF) Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Extension pitches No Mow March for Florida homeowners. Wilbur writes, “In Florida, if we waited until May to do this [not mow for a month], we would need a machete and a bush hog to get through our yards. So UF/IFAS Extension agents in North Florida have been promoting the concept of ‘No Mow March’ to be compatible with the timing of growing season here in the sunshine state.”

I didn’t mow the grass last March either — and my lawn seemed to look OK enough. My wife and I also saw an uptick in butterflies and honey bees. So it’s all good, right?

Well, I’ve been hearing a lot of pushbacks on No Mow Month and No Mow May, too. And I was curious why.

Controversies & More

Around 2022 I began reading about people who were opposed to No Mow Month. It struck me as weird because not mowing your yard to help pollinators seemed like an innocent thing. It certainly must help our ecology, right?

Well, not so fast!

Many environmental scientists are coming out saying that No Mow Month offers no major benefits to pollinators. In fact, some claim it could even be a detriment. So quotes Gail Langellotto of the Garden Ecology Lab, “native plant advocate Doug Tallamy, suggests that providing a temporary safe haven, regardless of its length of time, is counterproductive for pollinators and other wildlife it was meant to benefit.”

This same article also references a study showing that lawns mowed every week, every other week, or every third week hosted many dozens of different bee species. The caveat with that study was participants pledged not to irrigate or use herbicides on their lawns during the study. Langellotto concludes that mowing every week or every other week might be beneficial to pollinators but skipping a whole month is not.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County (New York) turf scientist Tamson Yeh shares similar concerns with AP reporter Jessica Damiano. “[L]etting the grass grow high and allowing it to do its thing, and then suddenly mowing it back is really counterproductive,” Yeh is quoted as saying in Damiano’s AP article. “Bees tell each other where the food is, and pollinators (when they discover an unmown lawn) will remember to come back to it again and again.” Yeh adds when the grass is mowed again in June, that food source is gone and the bees must seek nourishment elsewhere.

A popular Reddit thread on No Mow May shows a diversity of opinions, some based on science and others on personal experiences.

What Are The Pros & Cons Of No Mow Months?

Frankly, as someone who’s a backyard gardener just trying to do the right thing — like so many of you reading this — I find all of this back-and-forth a little perplexing. What do you do? Should you take park in any No Mow Months? Just keep mowing as usual when the grass is growing?

Here’s what I’ve found…

Pros & Cons Of No Mow Months

Pros

• A couple weeks into No Mow Month, you should see flowers emerge that will draw pollinators like bees and butterflies to your yard
• The appearance of pollinators can also lure birds and bats to your yard, helping the natural food chain
• As the grass grows it will better absorb rainwater, reducing runoff and soil erosion
• Tall grass tends to be more drought tolerant than short grass
• Not mowing your grass for a month will reduce carbon emissions if you typically use a gas- or electric-powered mower
• No matter what kind of mower you use, you’ll have saved potentially many hours from not mowing your lawn for a month
• Your yard could be teeming with life by the end of No Mow Month

Cons

• If your lawn consists of turf species that don’t flower, there’s really no benefit to letting your grass grow unmown for a month
• You could have your homeowners’ association (HOA) or municipal code enforcement department breathing down your neck if you let your grass grow and grow for a month
• Snakes, vermin, ticks, and other creatures you may not want in your yard could decide to move in
• Weeds and other plants, including invasive species, might start growing in your yard if it’s not maintained for a month
• As weeds grow in your yard, they may shade out the turf grass you want to keep — this can lead to fungal disease
• After not mowing your yard for a month, cutting your grass short again could shock it, causing browning or yellowing of your lawn
• What happens to all those pollinators in your yard — including their eggs and larvae — when you mow again for the first time in (at least) a month?

Pollinator-Friendly Alternatives

I’m neither suggesting you take part in No Mow Month or not take part in it. I’ve participated in No Mow Months before. But I also see the concerns that can come with not mowing your grass for a month.

But the ultimate hope with No Mow Month is to help pollinators thrive.

Is No Mow Month the only way we can do this? Of course not!

One of the best ways to help pollinators is to stop using herbicides. But what else can you do?

Grow A Biodiverse Lawn

Next? Let different kinds of grasses and plants grow in your yard, whether you mow it or not.

Letting a variety of green plants grow in your yard, including those that flower, provides pollinators with nectar and adds diversity to your landscape. This can make your yard heartier, too.

Grow Permanent Pollinator Gardens

It seems one of the main concerns about No Mow Month is that the inherent short-lived nature of having a temporarily unmown lawn confuses pollinators. They find a place to feed and even live or lay eggs, only to have that habitat suddenly removed. This can lead to a bevy of problems for them.

But creating permanent pollinator gardens in your yard can give bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects places to feed, nest, and live all throughout the year. My wife and I have permanent pollinator gardens in our yard. They consist of native perennials, and we love the many insects that visit — and lay eggs — each year.

Replace Your Lawn With Native Pollinator Plants

Here’s a radical idea: remove your lawn and replace your landscape with all-native plantings that pollinators love! Granted, we have not done this. We like having plenty of lawn space for family gatherings and such. But we have neighbors who have replaced their yards with native plants. The results are pretty stunning!

However, this isn’t always a feasible avenue for those who live under the thumb of restrictive HOAs. So, before you rip up your lawn, be sure to check with your HOA or municipal code enforcement office.

What’s Right For You?

The bottom line? You’ve got to decide for yourself if taking part in No Mow Month makes sense for you and your yard.

Scientists and garden experts may disagree with each other on the pros and cons of not mowing your yard for a month — whether it’s March, May, or whenever. But we can all agree on this: we need to do better when it comes to taking care of our pollinators!