Do you know where the cesspool is?

[Steve]

Did you hear the story about how a landscaper died when he was mowing and he broke through the top of the cesspool and fell in with his mower on top of him?

Do you ever think about asking where the cesspools are in the property you maintain?

Landscaper dies after fall into cesspool (http://www.amny.com/news/local/ny-licess0613,0,1308329.story?coll=ny-tennis-headlines) - A Central Islip landscaper died Tuesday of his injuries after falling into a cesspool while cutting a Deer Park lawn and being crushed by the quarter-ton mower, police said.

Around noon, Sergio Reyes, 34, was mowing the backyard of a Commack Road home while another employee from PM Landscaping of Central Islip worked on the front yard, police said.

[Steve]

Here is another angle.

[S.P.Martin Lawn Care]

I have it in my contracts for the customer to perform a walk through of the property with me for that very reason as well as pointing out any other obstructions and hazards.

[Steve]

Oh Wow! I am glad to hear that. How do you handle mowing over such hazards?

[S.P.Martin Lawn Care]

Depending on what the customer has to say, I've gone as far as digging up the cover to see how far underground it is, see what its made of, and the condition of the cover and the holding tank round the cover. If the leach field is cause for concern, I'll look it over real good as well.

If I'm leery of mowing over it, it gets trimmed instead. If its visibly leaking, I won't go anywhere near it. So far I've turned down just one customer due to my safety concerns.

Its more of a problem with older properties. Newer homes as more up to date with code and far safer.

[tiedeman]

I read about that yesterday. That is horrible!