Does Not Mowing Your Lawn for a Month Really Help Pollinators? Conservation Experts Weigh In

If you've noticed that some of your neighbors have been letting their grass grow taller, it's possible they're participating in the no-mow trend that has taken off in recent years. The movement is simple—spacing out your mows gives more time for flowers to bloom, which is believed to provide pollinators, like bees and butterflies, with a more abundant food source. Oftentimes, people try the approach for a month, but is that really enough time to truly benefit pollinators? Ahead, conservation experts explain what the no-mow trend is and how helpful it is to local wildlife.

What Is the No-Mow Trend?

The idea behind not mowing your lawn for a month is that it allows time for flowers to bloom, giving pollinators a more accessible food source. Pollinators drink nectar from plants for its carbohydrate-rich sugars, which fuel their flight and nest construction or egg laying. Additionally, bees collect pollen (which is packed with protein, lipids, and micronutrients) from plants to take back to their nests to feed their offspring, says Matthew Shepherd, director of outreach and education at Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

With that in mind, the efficacy of the no-mow trend depends on what's growing in your yard. "If your lawn is only grass, that’s all you’ll end up with—but it’ll be long," says Shepherd. "If your lawn already has flowers—white clover, selfheal, bird’s-foot trefoil, violets, thyme—you have the chance that they’ll grow and bloom."

Benefits of Not Mowing Your Lawn for One Month

Some anecdotal evidence shows that one month free from mowing will allow flowers to bloom and create foraging opportunities for some bees, says Shepherd.

Provides Food for Bees

A number of studies have found that many species of bees forage on flowers in lawns, says Shepherd. One study conducted in Kentucky found that 37 types of bees forage on white clover and dandelions. Another study conducted in Minnesota found around 10 species of bees on lawns growing white clover and more than 50 species on lawns with a greater diversity of flowers.

"The most commonly observed species was the honey bee, a non-native exotic that is able to forage on a wide range of flowers—and is not at risk," says Shepherd. "Many lawn weeds are also non-native exotics, so the finding that honey bees forage on such flowers shouldn’t be a surprise." Other flowers that benefit from lawn flowers include mining bees and mason bees.

Gives a Boost to Butterflies

In addition to pollinators, longer grasses also benefit a range of insects. "One recent study from Britain showed a connection between the presence of long grass in gardens was positively related to both the diversity and abundance of butterflies—that is, if you have long grass, you see more variety of butterflies and greater numbers of them," says Shepherd. In fact, the study found that 93 percent of butterflies benefit from letting your grass grow long.

Decreases the Amount of Unwanted Insects

Not mowing your lawn may also decrease the number of unwanted insects in your yard. A meta-analysis of multiple studies noted a decrease in the abundance of centipedes, millipedes, spiders, ticks, and mites in landscapes with taller grass, says Shepherd. The study concluded that “manicured lawns disproportionately favor the abundance of 'pest' species."

Starts a Conversation About Pollinators

Perhaps the biggest benefit of not mowing your lawn for a month is that people start talking about what you are doing and why your grass is long, says Shepherd. "It opens up all sorts of opportunities for conversations about lawns and what we need to be doing to help bees," he says.

Cons of Not Mowing Your Lawn for One Month

While there are some pros associated with the no-mow trend, a month isn't a long enough period of time to truly benefit pollinators. This is especially true if your lawn is primarily composed of non-native grasses, which provide very little benefit to pollinators. "The greatest benefit is accrued by changing lawn care intensity (mow less often, cut higher) through the entire growing season," says Shepherd.

What's more, if you have a grass-only lawn, the amount of growth in a month may be more than your mower can handle when you eventually do mow your grass again. "You may also have weeds that are invasive," says Shepherd. "Those will need managing even if you don’t mow." Additionally, your neighborhood may have homeowners association rules about grass length and landscape maintenance, so it's important to reference those before not mowing your lawn, or you may be fined.

Other Ways to Make Your Yard Pollinator-Friendly

There are many ways you can make your yard more pollinator-friendly that go beyond not mowing for a month. For example, Shepherd recommends mowing every two to three weeks, mowing higher, avoiding pesticide applications, and managing irrigation to prevent runoff. But these changes need to extend beyond just a few weeks. "If all we do is leave the mower in the shed for a month, after which we power it up and continue as if nothing changed, there will be little if any benefit," says Shepherd. "We need to change how we are managing lawns all year."

Another key way to boost pollinator populations is by growing native plants in lieu of turf grass. "Pollinators benefit from a diverse range of native flowering plants that bloom throughout the season, and host plants for their larval stage," says  Mary Phillips, head of native plant habitat strategy/certifications at the National Wildlife Federation. "Planting a pollinator garden with these elements is more beneficial than letting your grass grow tall." Native plants also have more nutritional benefits for pollinators than the weeds growing in your grass, which have been likened to fast food for bees.