So about two weeks ago, he mailed letters announcing price increases tied to the rising cost of gasoline.

“You kind of have to get your customers aware that this is going to happen and let them feel it out a little bit,” Jones said. “Then you just have to sit back and hope for the best in terms of weathering the storm.”

Darker clouds could soon be on the horizon for Jones. Price increases ranging from 3 to 5 percent might not be enough to patch the hole that fuel costs are burning in his pocket. His lone, diesel-powered truck drinks a minimum of $420 in gasoline each week. And then there’s the cost of filling up gas-powered mowers and weed trimmers.

“When you’re talking about a 3- to 5-percent increase, that doesn’t even begin to cover the cost of living,” he said. “In order to really stay afloat and just break even, I would probably need a 20-percent increase. That’s obviously not realistic in terms of remaining competitive, but without a major increase, I’ll probably soon be forced to sell the business.”

But before the bell tolls on his operation, Jones said he might consider a new game plan — ramping up his base in Johnston County. It’s a strategy John Reid, owner of Even Cut Lawn Care in Selma, implemented months ago.

At one point, about half of Reid’s business came from customers in Raleigh and Durham. But as gas prices spiraled upward, Reid retreated to his home base of Johnston County, although he still travels out of county to serve longtime customers.

“I hated to make the move,” he said, “but I had to bite the bullet.”

The retreat from the Triangle cost Reid some customers, and so did price increases ranging from 5 to 10 percent. But by aggressively wooing new customers in Johnston, he has made up for about a third of the customer base he lost.

While he tries to make up the other two-thirds, Reid is being stingy with his money. When gas prices were low and profits high, he replaced his lawn-care equipment every two or three years. Now, with fuel costs high and profits stretched then, Reid plans to replace his equipment every five years.

Meanwhile, lawn-care companies that are replacing old equipment are choosing moderately-priced machines, said Chris Reynolds, manager of outdoor power equipment at Hudson’s Hardware in Clayton. Commercial lawnmowers, for example, can range in price from $1,600 to $13,000. Reynolds said most lawn-care companies are steering clear of the most expensive items, opting instead for mowers that cost about $7,500.

“As long as they can afford to stay in business, these guys are still going to have to buy equipment,” Reynolds said. “The grass doesn’t care if we have a dollar or not; it’s going to grow regardless.”

This spring, Jerry Morgan, owner of Morgan’s Lawn Mowing Service in Benson, bought his first new mower in five years. Meanwhile, Morgan does what he can to maintain mowers and leaf blowers dating to the late 1980s.

“It’s a challenge,” he said. “Somehow we all have to try to keep pace. That’s hard when you average $500 a week in gas alone. I don’t know how long I can keep going like I have been, but I also don’t see things changing a whole lot as far as the economy goes.”

Neither does Jones of CJ’s Lawn Maintenance. “It’s sad, because very few of us in this business have been able to survive as long as I have,” he said. “But there’s always a breaking point. In the end, if the price of gas doesn’t go down, all of us, especially the small guys, will be adversely affected because people won’t be able to afford us.”