How Can I Kill Weeds In My Lawn

Using A Lawn Weed Killer

If you have a lot of weeds to get rid of, then using the best weed killer for lawns is the most effective method of control.

Lawn herbicides are selective. This means they target weeds without killing common types of turfgrass.

Theyre formulated to be effective at killing:

• Broadleaf weeds such as dandelion, clover, and chickweed
• Grassy weeds such as foxtail, quackgrass, and crabgrass
• Grass-like weeds such as nutsedge, wild onion, and wild garlic

But you still have to be careful when using them. Not all products are safe to use on all grass types. So check first to make sure your grass is recommended.

Also, stay away from non-selective weed killers containing ingredients such as glyphosate. These kill all vegetation, including your grass.

Herbicides are easy to use. Just mix the concentrate with water and add it to a good weed killer sprayer. Then make sure you soak the target weeds as you spray your lawn.

The weeds should turn brown and die. But, depending on the herbicide, the time taken can vary.

Systemic weed killers are best for killing the plants to the root and preventing them from growing back. But you have to be patient when using them, as they can take from 2-4 weeks for a complete kill.

After the weeds have died you can use a rake and tilling fork to clear the leftover plant from the soil in preparation for reseeding the area or laying sod if necessary.

How Do I Kill Weeds In My Lawn Without Killing The Grass

Another common question that we receive is how do I kill weeds in my lawn? More specifically, homeowners are often curious about how weeds in the lawn can be addressed without harming the grass.

The answer comes down to understanding the two main categories of weed control products: selective herbicides and nonselective herbicides.

Whereas nonselective herbicides are designed to kill all vegetation its applied to, there are selective herbicide products that are only designed to kill certain weeds.

Within these two main categories, there are a number of different products. Its important to recognize that different weeds will require different treatments. Certain weeds, like nutsedge, might require specialty products. This is why a one-size-fits-all approach to weed control is not going to be effective. You want to find a company that will offer a customized weed control program that is specifically designed to target weeds on your property.

Mowing Properly And Regularly

Your grass should be cut every week during the Spring, and at least every ten days during the summer. Mulching the grass back into the lawn helps spread grass seed and increase turf thickness. Your blades need to be sharpened yearly and never cut the grass more than 1/3 of its total length. Every time your mow your lawn, you also mow the weeds which takes them out of the picture of a couple days, but dont forget that the roots are still alive and well and they will try to grow back.

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How To Get Rid Of Oxalis In The Lawn

Oxalis, or wood sorrel, is a common weed found in lawns. If youre battling oxalis in your yard, heres how to control it.

Oxalis, or wood sorrel, is a common weed found in lawns. While young plants can be removed by hand, applying a weed killer ensures the plant is killed down to the root. If youre battling oxalis in your yard, heres how to control it.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Artificial Turf

The toxins in artificial turf threaten our health via contact, consumption , and inhalation. As the turf degrades over time, larger quantities of chemicals are released. When worn-out synthetic turf is replaced, the old pieces will likely end up in landfills, and that can lead to toxic water runoff.

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How Long Does Crossbow Stay In The Soil

In laboratory tests, Crossbows primary active ingredient has been shown to have a half-life of 333. This means that after about a year, that active ingredient has decayed by half. This can be reduced to as little as 95 days in highly mineralized soils. The concentration of Crossbow in the soil may reduce more quickly in regions with more rainfall as this active ingredient tends to decay more quickly when exposed to water.

Use A Selective Herbicide

You want to choose a weed killer which has been engineered to kill the weed but not that the grass you have. The term selective means that it selects what it should kill and disregards all other vegetation. 2,4-D is the more common selective herbicide which has been researched for decades on its safety and effectiveness. Using it properly has minimal risks and is extremely effective at killing weeds without killing your grass. Consult our blog about safety of weed control to learn more about how to properly apply herbicides in general. Selective herbicide works by entering the leaf of the weed and changing the way the plant handles nutrients. It causes it to literally grow and age itself to death. Selective herbicides typically take 4-14 days to see very strong results but can literally start to work overnight. It is an effective way to kill 99% of broadleaf weeds down to the root so that same weed shouldnt be a problem in the future. If you want to do this yourself the products we recommend would be either Weed B Gon or Killex. These products can be purchased at a local hardware store such as Home Depot or Lowe’s.

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• Mow your grass when it needs it; one-third above the ideal cutting height.
• ;Pro Tip: If you dont know your grass type, take a plug of turf to a garden center and ask the staff to help with the identification.

Cool Climate Grasses

• Bent grass: 1/4- to 3/4-in.
• Chewing hard or red fescue:; 1-1/2 to 2-1/2-in.
• Tall fescue: 1-1/2 to 3-in.
• Kentucky bluegrass: 1-1/2 to 3-in.
• Perennial ryegrass: 1-1/2 to 3-in.

Warm Climate Grasses

• Bahia grass: 2- to 3-in.
• Bermuda grass: 1/2- to 1-in.
• Blue grama grass: 2- to 3-in.
• Buffalo grass: 2- to 3-in.
• Carpetgrass: 1- to 2-in.
• St. Augustinegrass: 1- to 3-in.
• Zoysia grass: 1/2- to 1-in.

Lawn Care & Maintenance

If you dont take good care of your turf, its not unusual to see weeds take over your entire lawn.

The most important thing you can do to keep weeds out of your lawn is to make sure it grows in perfect health.

A thick, lush lawn leaves less opportunity for weeds to establish themselves. And crowds out any that start to grow.

Here are some lawn maintenance tips that help to keep weeds away:

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Clearing Out Pretty Weeds: Moss And Wild Violets

You may appreciate certain weeds, such as moss and wild violets. Some gardeners even cultivate moss plants as an alternative to grass lawns and consider wild violets as wildflowers.

But if you wish to kill the moss in your lawn, it helps to learn more about why it’s grown in your yard in the first place. It may be an indication of deeper soil problems, such as poor drainage and circulation, low soil fertility, and unbalanced levels of pH. Learn how to fix the problems and you’ll be able to kill these weeds permanently.

Though wild violets may appeal to some, you may want to eliminate these purple or white dots from your lawn. Spray the violets in autumn with a triclopyr-based herbicide.

Use Boiling Salt Water

Pour Boiling Salt Water Make sure you wear oven mitts! While many plants thrive in direct sunlight, they dont fare so well when boiling hot water is poured on them!

This option works best for edges of your lawn like the separation from driveway to lawn or dirt bed to lawn.

Simply pour the water onto the weed-filled area and allow the heat and salt to strip the outer membrane and leave them to dry out & die.

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Overseed Every Spring & Fall

Your lawn is an organic entity which means it grows and it eventually dies. Overseeding your lawn is the process of spreading grass seed across your property to ensure new life is constantly being replenished within the soil. For best results, seed right after you aerate your lawn and use the same type of grass seed that your lawn currently is. Water generously as your lawn will thank you!

Can I Implement Weed Control On My Own

Now that you understand how these products work and what you can expect out of them, you might be wondering whether you can just implement a DIY program. After all, there are weed control products sold at the big box stores.

While theres certainly nothing stopping you from handling weed control on your own, youre not going to get as good results as you would with a professional program for several key reasons.

• Product effectiveness: The weed control products sold at the store to homeowners are simply not as good as the professional-grade products used by a licensed technician.

• Being able to mix products properly: Many times your professional lawn care technician will mix products together in order to give you the best possible combination. Homeowners likely dont know which products to mix nor would they want to be dealing with mixing product at their home. There are also some additives that professionals will use at times for better results. For instance, Master Lawn adds surfactants, which is a wetting agent that helps materials not to bead up and roll off of leaf blades. This enhances results for some weeds.

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The Chemical Way To Remove Grass Weeds Without Killing The Lawn

If you are set on trying some specialised products for eliminating the unwanted plants in your lawn, then you will need the right herbicide. There are basically two types:

• Selective herbicides These are meant to kill specific kinds of weeds. Such are the broadleaf herbicides, which provide control over dandelion, bindii, clover and the likes.;;

• Non-selective herbicides As the name suggests, these are more generic products. They can kill everything and usually work down to the root.;

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Withhold Sunlight From Low

One simple way for how to kill weeds and not grass is to keep the unwanted weeds out of direct sunlight. Just like other plants, weeds need sunlight to thrive and develop properly. If you have low-growing weeds like crabgrass, one way to do this is by covering the plant directly.

This method works by using something as simple as a newspaper to lay over them. Eventually, the weed will die out and stop spreading. Shredded paper is also a tremendously useful recyclable material for mulching.

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Choosing A Lawn Weed Service In Memphis Tn Or Northern Mississippi

In addition to avoiding a DIY approach to weed control, you also have to be selective about which company you choose to work with. Even amongst professional companies there are ineffective approaches to weed control. Unfortunately, some companies take a one-size-fits-all approach that isnt going to provide you with the best possible control.

Your wise choice of lawn care companies in Memphis, TN or Olive Branch, MS will make a big difference in your battle against stubborn weeds. By selecting a lawn care company that will take a customized approach to your lawn, while also focusing on improving its overall health, youll be able to get better control over your lawn and start seeing the results that you desire.

If a lush green lawn is important to you, then you shouldnt feel as though youre stuck in a never-ending battle with weeds. By allowing an experienced professional to handle your weed control, you can take back your lawn and finally start enjoying it to the fullest.

Do you want weed control that really works? Talk to a lawn care expert, choose from 3 program options, and become the master of your lawn.

What Are Weeds And Why Are They A Problem

Before you can go to war with weeds, youve got to understand what they are, how they infiltrate your property, and what kind of damage they do.;

Here are a few working definitions of a weed:

• Any plant that grows out of place, or was not intentionally planted.
• A plant that is competitive or that interferes negatively with human activity.
• A plant that interferes with the activity of desired plants, flowers, or vegetables.

No matter how you define a weed, theyre strong competitors in the natural environment. Weeds reproduce rapidly due to factors like abundant seed production, long-term dormancy and survival of buried seeds, and their ability to occupy sites that cultivated plants wouldnt grow in.;

Currently, there are an estimated 250,000 species of plants around the world, with about 8,000 behaving as weeds.;

The most common weeds that affect homeowners in the US include the following:

• Common lambsquarters

Here in California, the most common weeds are:

• Grassy weeds such as annual ryegrass, blanket crabgrass, witchgrass, and creeping bentgrass.
• Broadleaf weeds such as alligator weed, alsike clover, Asiatic hawksbeard, and annual sowthistle.

Left unchecked, these weeds can decimate lawns and gardens, choke out ornamental plants, act as hosts for pests and plant diseases, and negatively impact the appearance of your outdoor space.;

Fortunately, the team here at Smiths knows how to tackle and eliminate all of these common weeds and more.;

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Chemical Or Natural Treatments

The automatic choice for many people when trying to kill weeds is to grab some chemical weed killer and pour it all over the lawn.

The bad part about this is that you are spraying chemicals in the ground, the water, and the air.

This is dangerous not only for the ground, but also for pets and people!

Eventually this can also create a weak environment for the lawn to thrive, and you may kill the grass you want in addition to killing the weeds you dont want in your lawn.

Spread The Grass Seed

Spread grass seed over the prepared area using a lawn spreader. Follow the recommended spreader settings for the type and variety of grass seed youre overseeding your lawn with to ensure youve put down enough make your turf thick and full the next season.

Pro tip:;Spread a thin layer of straw to cover grass seed;and prevent birds from causing damage. You can also use bird deterrents if you dont want to cover the grass seed.

For the best results, plant one-half of the grass seeds in one direction and the other half in the opposite direction. I recommend using a lawn spreader for even distribution of the seeds.

Also, you need to make sure the seeds have a good contact with the soil because this helps with proper germination and enhances growth. You can use a water-filled roller or the back of metal rake to establish the recommended contact between the soil and your grass seeds.

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Add Salt To The Weed Wounds

Though a higher concentration of vinegar typically kills weeds after a couple of applications, there are other ingredients you can add to make the solution even more successful. Some plants dont automatically soak up the vinegar, making it difficult for them to absorb the harmful spray.

Using dishwashing soap is the perfect way to break up the surface tension and allows the vinegar to stick to the plants. For best results, use this spray on a sunny day to dry up weeds even faster.

• 1 gallon of white vinegar
• 1 tsp dish soap

For killing weeds in gravel driveway or anywhere else they shouldnt be, mix the ingredients in a large bucket, and transfer part of it to a spray bottle for more accessible application. Spray the plant, soaking the leaves and soil surrounding it.

When selecting the right type of salt, make sure that you use table salt or rock salt instead of Epsom salt. Epsom salts provide nutrients to the weed, allowing it to increase even faster than before rather than drying it out.

For how to get rid of nutgrass and other weeds permanently using this formula, spray the area at least once a week until the plants are completely gone. Repeat applications are usually necessary to reach the roots. Add grass seed to the bare area or create a new garden spot where the weeds once were.

Herbicides For Weed Removal In Lawns

If your entire lawn is completely overtaken with weeds and nothing has seemed to work in terms of pulling up weeds, fertilizing, keeping the grass at 2-4 inches, and watering properly, the final resort is herbicides.

Beware of roundup, as it is not only toxic to other plants, but extremely toxic for humans and pets.

According to thisoldhouse.com, Some herbicides work only within a certain temperature range; others work only when applied at a specific time of year.

So always make sure to always follow the instructions carefully, and confirm that the grass you are growing can grow well utilizing that particular herbicide.

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Overpower Weeds With Healthy Grass

A healthy lawn or garden will fight weeds for water and nutrients in the soil, and the strongest plants will survive. Keeping your lawn lush and healthy will;keep the weeds in your lawn at bay. And for your garden, plant flowers and garden crops that will naturally fight the weeds in your garden and overtake them.