Drivers aren't the only ones feeling the heat from high gas prices; some landscapers and golf course owners are fuming along with them.

High fuel costs have forced local business owners to limit service and raise prices.

Dana Smith, who owns Leisure Time Landscaping in Murrysville, said gas prices have forced her company to increase their rates.

"We have to continue our amount of work and hopefully try to make some money at the end of the day," Smith said.

Vicki Higgins owns Higgins Window Washing and Landscaping in Export. She expects most of her customer base to stay intact because of services her business can provide, even though she also raised prices.

"We haven't raised our prices in so long, that we had to increase anyway," Higgins said. "Now we have no choice."

Higgins said raised prices were only part of the issue. She said fuel costs have forced her to limit the business' service area.

"If someone wants their individual service, it's going to cost more because it's a special trip," Higgins said.

"We've had to let some of our customers go because they lived too far away," Smith said. "They've been understanding."

Brian Hunkley, interior manager at Lawn Sense in Murrysville, said they haven't lost customers, because they haven't made the same changes other landscaping businesses have done.

Hunkley said fuel conservation has always been a priority for his business.

"It's a manner of scheduling," Hunkley said. "(We) make sure everything is done on the same route to save fuel. In this business you have to do that."

Local golf courses are trying to cut fuel costs as well.

Vince DeAugustine, director of golf at Manor Valley Country Club in Export, said they have raised golf cart prices but won't cut down on mowing. He said maintenance is too important to the look and atmosphere of the club.

"It's affecting us," DeAugustine said. "But we don't want to pass that effect to our customers."

Well-maintained greens are essential to a golf course's success, said Bill Stowers, the superintendent at Westmoreland Country Club in Export.

However, Stowers said, they will limit mowing where they can.

This includes leaving almost 30 acres of the 300 acre golf course uncut, acres that Stowers said used to be cut once a week and are now down to once a year.

"We'll still do some maintenance to those areas," Stowers said. "We have to keep everything looking nice, even at 2 feet high."

Stowers said the maintenance is done by vehicles with alternate fuel sources, such as hybrid tractors and electric utility vehicles. He said this has helped in cutting fuel costs.

Barney Kistler, owner of Kistler's Golf in Penn Township, said those fuel costs won't be much of a problem as long as they are taken into account.

"We'll cut back a little on fertilizer (and) compensate by not mowing certain areas," Kistler said.

As gas prices increase, things will get worse for landscapers, Hunkley said.

"I think it's going to be a problem," he said. "I see inflation coming up with everything else. Everything relies on fuel."