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How much would you pay someone to place 30 bales of pine straw in your flower beds?
Posted on 4/6/26 at 12:50 pm
Posted on 4/6/26 at 12:50 pm
Our guy is attempting to charge us $1,700.00. It took his guys a little less than 3 hours. Could have done it in 2 had they not been throwing sticks to my lab the whole time. He is charging $35/bale and $200/hr. I'm normally oblivious to what my wife spends on these damn flower beds but even she thought the invoice was crazy and now I'm involved. Thoughts?
This post was edited on 4/6/26 at 1:01 pm
18
Posted on 4/6/26 at 12:54 pm to LSUballs
That's absurd. I pay $13/bale at my hardware store, which after tax would come out to about $430 for 30 bales. It would take me some time to spread by myself, but not $1,200 of my time.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 12:59 pm to LSUballs
I'm too cheap for that 
Last time I used pine straw I went and found a house in my area with a bunch of pine trees. Knocked on their door and asked if I could rake and bag pine straw. They said go for it and even sent their kid out to help.
Last time I used pine straw I went and found a house in my area with a bunch of pine trees. Knocked on their door and asked if I could rake and bag pine straw. They said go for it and even sent their kid out to help.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 1:04 pm to LSUballs
You went to someone who did not want to do it
Posted on 4/6/26 at 1:05 pm to BMoney
quote:
That's absurd.
I agree. I'm pretty pissed about the deal.
quote:
I pay $13/bale at my hardware store, which after tax would come out to about $430 for 30 bales.
Our local Lowes has them at $7/bale, which as I understand is not great pinestraw. The local Hardware store has the "good" pine straw at $14/bale. This fricker is marking them up to $35/bale.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 1:10 pm to Roy Curado
quote:
You went to someone who did not want to do it
One would think that but this is what this dude does for a living. She has used him several times for different jobs like this. He's always been kinda high on things but does a pretty good job. This shite here seems like highway robbery ..
Posted on 4/6/26 at 1:14 pm to LSUballs
That's absurd.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 1:33 pm to LSUballs
I wanna say gomez pine straw charges $10 per bale to install. But you're buying for them and they are already delivering it at that point.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 1:42 pm to LSUballs
Some baws tried hijacking my neighbor last fall. Strawed the beds and handed them bill for like $2500.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 1:47 pm to LSUballs
quote:Have you used him before? I ask, because this is a common scam. The Pinestraw Bandits tried to get $3,500 out of my wife while I was out of town. They mislead people on the size of the bails. I had to send my muscle-tigerfoot-over there to set things right.
Our guy
quote:
"Pine straw bandits" are itinerant scammers, often traveling in white or unmarked trucks, who operate a door-to-door landscaping scam across the Southeast, particularly in Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina. They falsely claim to have leftover materials, offering cheap prices before laying excessive straw and demanding thousands of dollars in inflated fees.
Tactics: They offer to spread pine straw at a low price (e.g., $5–$7 per bale), but often do not offer a total cost beforehand.
The Switch: After quickly spreading the straw, they claim to have used 10 times the intended amount—claiming to have used over 300 bales in some cases—and demand immediate payment, often becoming confrontational or intimidating.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 1:57 pm to LSUballs
I know it's not applicable with every type of home job, but I usually double or 1.2x cost of material for ballpark idea of labor.
$1,700 is crazy, as is $35/bale.
$1,700 is crazy, as is $35/bale.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 2:04 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
Have you used him before?
Yea, she has used him for several things in the past. He charges a pretty penny for his services, but is local and has done a decent enough job every time. This latest deal is just bonkers though. When I called him to discuss the invoice he got all offended. I guess he is basing his pricing model off of these "Pine Straw Bandits". I had no idea such a thing existed.
Posted on 4/6/26 at 2:22 pm to LSUballs
$56 a bale installed.
Obviously, get a quote in advance next time.
Obviously, get a quote in advance next time.
This post was edited on 4/6/26 at 2:26 pm
Posted on 4/6/26 at 3:01 pm to LSUballs
quote:There are a few neighborhoods close together in Ellic with people being members of multiple Facebook neighborhood watch groups, so I see pictures of similar trucks with the same style trailer every year. Our law enforcement is onto them and is pretty aggressive when they are notified.
I had no idea such a thing existed.
Posted on 4/7/26 at 1:56 am to LSUballs
quote:
You went to someone who did not want to do it
One would think that but this is what this dude does for a living
Yeah but it's pretty common to over quote a job that you don't want to do or think it would not be worth your time otherwise.
"I really didn't want the job but they agreed to my huge mark up".
A friend of mine works in a different field but has done this before. He says you would be surprised by what some folks will say yes to.
Posted on 4/7/26 at 5:23 am to AlxTgr
Pine straw scammers have been working Shreveport-Bossier for at least a couple of years. I've heard of them being very aggressive/intimidating about collection.
Bossier sheriff has warned about it.
LINK
Bossier sheriff has warned about it.
quote:
According to investigators, some companies are contacting homeowners to offer services like installing pine straw in flowerbeds for a fixed price per bale.
However, after the job is completed, these services often claim they used far more pine straw than was initially agreed upon.
This can lead to charges that are far higher than expected, sometimes reaching thousands of dollars.
Many homeowners have reported feeling pressured to pay these inflated amounts, even when they believed the work did not match the costs they were being asked to cover.
To avoid being scammed, the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office recommends that residents:
Get a written estimate before any work starts.
Ask for the total cost upfront to avoid surprises later.
Do not give in to pressure when asked for unexpected payments.
LINK
Posted on 4/7/26 at 10:12 am to LSUballs
A suspected pine straw bandit stopped his truck in front of the house last week and offered to "clean the beds and lay straw" for $9 a bale. When asked his name he just said Rodney. He wouldn't give a last name or a contact number. I passed on it. For skilled garden work I pay two experienced American guys $60/hr + supplies.
Posted on 4/7/26 at 10:29 am to White Bear
quote:I’ve heard of this happening to. They ride around neighborhoods, and knock until someone agrees. Then say they can’t give a quote until they assess everything and before you know it they’re already putting the straw down and they think they got you for quadruple the cost.
Some baws tried hijacking my neighbor last fall. Strawed the beds and handed them bill for like $2500.
A quick police call will scare them off. After they call you racist of course.
Posted on 4/7/26 at 8:37 pm to LSUballs
What kind of pine straw was it? Regular or dyed? And was it square bales or the big round bales? If it was round bales and died those are 30-35 a piece. A regular round bale I can get for 18. Square bales are 8. 30 bales on normal open beds with trimmed bushes I can do by myself in about 3.5 hours. Im charging pinestraw plus about 550-600 labor.
Posted on 4/7/26 at 9:11 pm to Firedude204
I like pine bark better than straw.
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