Pick The Right Herbicide
Many types of herbicides can be used effectively to kill clover, but without the right product, this weeds aggressive growth habit means that it will likely recover and regrow quickly. The type of herbicide you should use depends on what type of grass you have:
For cool-season grasses, the best type of herbicide to kill clover is triclopyr. Triclopyr can either be purchased on its own or as part of a blend of other herbicides. While the blended products are capable of tackling more weeds, it isnt recommended to use them on lawns with exposed roots. Most herbicide blends contain an ingredient called Dicamba that can cause severe damage to trees if taken up by their roots.;
For warm-season grasses, you should never apply triclopyr as you would on cool-season grasses, as this type of herbicide is not suitable. Instead, use a herbicide that has been specially formulated for southern or warm-season grasses.;
There are some granular herbicides on the market, which are usually sold in combination with fertilizer as a weed and feed product. However, these products are notoriously unreliable at providing effective weed control in the same way that a liquid herbicide does.;
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Natural Ways To Get Rid Of Lawn Grubs
You can pursue two organic options for getting rid of lawn grubs before turning to chemicals. These are safer for the environment and wont harm beneficial insects, but they will take longer to be effective. In some cases, it may take years for the natural treatments to fully eradicate a lawn grub colony.
Pick The Right Spreader
Chemical herbicides require a sprayer for the safe and even application of the product. Sprayers come in a variety of shapes and sizes:
For small lawns, use a small, hand-carried pump sprayer like this Vivosun Handheld Garden Sprayer Pump. ;
For medium lawns, use a backpack sprayer like this Field King Backpack Sprayer.
For large lawns, use a push sprayer or tractor-pulled sprayer like this Streamline Industrial Cart Mounted Sprayer.
Regardless of the sprayer that you choose, the most important aspect when trying to kill clover is making sure that the device is equipped with a high-quality fan-tip nozzle.;
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What To Do After You Get Rid Of Clover
Now that you know how to get rid of clover from your garden, the task should be easy enough for you. You can give microclovers a shot as well if you dont mind your lawn looking slightly less than pristine. It will also be beneficial to the lawns soil. Lay down grass seed in the bald patches left after the clover patches are eradicated.
Do not forget to follow the advice Ive already given you about keeping clover at bay. Feed your lawn correctly, water adequately, dont mow too low, and so on. While youre laying down seed, you can try over seeding. This strategy gives your grasses the upper hand when it comes to fighting weeds. Also, if your budget allows, you should totally buy high-quality grass seeds that have little to no weed seed mixed in.
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Apply Neem Oil Homemade Grubworm Killer
Neem oil has insecticidal properties and is effective in repelling grub worms in lawns and gardens. This natural pesticide deters grubs from feeding, laying eggs, and growing into adults, thus breaking their cycle and helping in their control and stopping lawn damage.
To use neem oil recipe to get rid of grubs naturally, mix neem oil with water and spray it on a grub-infested lawn using a hose-end sprayer. Apply generously over the areas with dead patches of grass to make sure you target the larvae.
Another common homemade recipe for getting rid of grubs naturally is dawn dish soap. While it is not 100% effective at controlling grubs, it can help control mild infestations in your lawn.
To get rid of grubs naturally using dish soap, mix dawn soap with water and spray it over the infested area. The dish soaps solutions smothers and suffocates grub worms and Japanese beetles, killing them in the process. This DIY solution can also kill adult beetles and prevent them from laying eggs in your lawn.
According to the Clemson University College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, Insecticidal soaps kill by suffocation, they appear to disrupt the cellular membranes of the insect, and they remove protective waxes that cover the insect, resulting in dehydration.
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How Short Should I Cut My Grass
Some people think that cutting their grass shorter is better because they wont have to mow as often. The problem is, cutting off more than one-third of the grasss height is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. In fact, the more often you mow, because you arent cutting much off, results in a thicker, healthier lawn.
Physical And Chemical Moss Removal
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The Legal Products In Ontario
Ontario prohibits the use of Class 9 pesticides;on home lawns and gardens, because of potential threats to health of children and others. Its important to familiarize yourself with this list, as well as some Class 7 pesticides that require reading an information sheet and recording how much you purchased. The Class 5, 6, and most of 7 pesticides are allowable; some of these help to remove poisonous weeds like poison ivy, so it is good to know which might be helpful in your weed control efforts.
Control Crab Grass With A Crab Grass Preventer In The Spring
- Apply a crab grass pre-emergence preventer between the first and third mowings in the spring.
- Preventers usually come as granules that you put on the lawn with a spreader.
- Make notes in the fall about where your crab grass seems to thrive and treat those areas in the spring.
- Once crab grass shows up in your lawn, you have three options:
- Hand-pull the clumps to prevent the plant from reseeding itself.
- Let the crab grass go until the following spring and then use a preventer at the right time.
- Treat clumps with a post-emergence crab grass killer.
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Cut The Grass Regularly
If you do nothing else to your lawn, just cut the grass regularly.
This is by far the most important part of lawn care.
Mowing the lawn regularly prevents the grass from growing too tall. Grass has to grow, and if it cant grow upwards it will be forced to grow sideways, creating new shoot and new grass leaves. This is what creates a thick, dense, lush lawn.
If you cut the grass every 6 weeks with a rusty old lawnmower youll have patchy grass that goes brown every time you cut it. This is the type of environment that weeds thrive in.
So cut the grass at least every 10 days between April and September.
Read:;How to Mow the Lawn Like a Pro: Everything You mowShould Know About Grass Cutting
Protect Animals And Insects
It is important to protect birds, beneficial insects, earthworms, and other organisms that play an important role in keeping your lawn healthy.
- Birds and predatory insects feed on grubs and other pests.
- Insects, earthworms, beneficial fungi, and other micro-organisms break down thatch and aerate the soil.
The best way to protect these beneficial animals and insects is to only use insecticides and fungicides when absolutely needed. See Understanding your lawn’s lifecycle for more information.
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Summer Lawn Care Tips
When it comes to lawn care, the majority, if not all, of us do it with summer in mind. It is during this season that lawns are used intensively as nearly everyone is spending more time outdoors and having lots of fun. As you can imagine, your lawn also is likely to suffer the most during this time due to the longer and drier days as well as increased foot traffic. But donât worry as weâre about to show you easy tips to help you keep this space in its best possible condition.
Mow Your Lawn Regularly
Cut your lawn at least once a week in summer and once every two weeks during spring, autumn and warm winters. Regular trimming encourages the roots to spread, which will help to fill gaps and block out weeds.
In summer, raise the cutting height of your mower to leave the lawn longer around 5-10cm as this will make it less prone to going brown in dry weather. Keep your mower well maintained and the blades sharp.
Learn the benefits of a range of mowers including electric, battery and petrol powered machines, in Alan Titchmarshs No Fuss Guide to choosing a lawn mower:
For help on choosing the right lawn mower for your garden see our Buyers Guide videos and expert lawn mower reviews:
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Are Eggshells Good For Your Lawn
A Eggshells contain a goodly amount of calcium as well as smaller quantities of nitrogen and phosphorous. However, these materials are of little benefit to plants until the shells break down. Because of their calcium content, eggshells have a mild liming effect and tend to sweeten the soil over time.
How To Get Rid Of Grubs In Lawn: 6 Effective Ways + Natural Control
If there are grubs in your lawn, youll start to notice a change in the shade of your turfgrass. Browning of grass during summer and early fall is a likely sign of white grub worms causing the damage. The key to getting rid of lawn grubs is first identifying their signs, and then applying the best control method as I am going to show you here.
The white grub worms in your lawn are a larval stage of scarab beetles. As soon as winter ends, these worms become active when warmth kicks in. They start to damage your lawn by eating grass roots;at a high rate.
If you fail to identify and kill lawn grubs on time, theyll develop into pupae, and later into full-grown beetles. The beetles will later start eating lawn grass and other foliage in your yard, causing even further plant damage.
But how do you know youre dealing with grubs in your lawn and not a disease or other problems?
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Dispose Of Lawn Clippings As Needed
It’s acceptable to leave grass clippings on your lawn unless they begin to form a thick thatch layer. Then remove the clippings and dethatch your lawn as needed.;
Tip: If you use chemicals on your lawn, do not add the clippings to a compost pile.;
Effective DIY lawn care during spring can save you time and effort later in the year. Follow these lawn care tips to make sure that your grass is greener.
When determining how much grass seed or mulch you need, don’t guesstimate, calculate. Know exactly how much you need with our project calculators.;
Tools
My Take On Organic Fertilizers
Organic fertilizers are becoming more popular with lawn owners because of the idea that they are more environmentally friendly. Quality organic fertilizers will contain meal-based nutrients or some may contain poultry litter. A complete natural organic lawn food will have low NPK numbers, most always below 10. Its best to apply these fertilizers during the warmer growing months, from May through September, depending where you live. Organics help feed your lawn by stimulating microbial activity in your soil, creating a healthier medium in which your grass can grow.
They are safer to use and will not harm your lawn like some conventional fertilizers will, especially during the hot summer months. They work a bit slower, however, so youll need to be patient.
Youll also discover they are much more expensive. All that said, give them a try!
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Dethatching And Aeration In The Spring
Remove any leaves and twigs that might have accumulated on your lawn over the winter using leaf rakes and similar tools. Cleaning up these old debris paves the way for easy application of herbicides and fertilizers.
Also, donât forget to aerate the soil on a day when soil is slightly damp but not soaked. This helps to ensure that oxygen, water, and nutrients from feeds reach roots for healthy lawn growth.
Deprive The Clover Of Sunlight
If you use this method, you will also be sacrificing your grass. Simply get a large plastic sheet and put it on top of the lawn. Secure the perimeter of the sheet so that the wind will not make it fly off. Let it stay covered for a few weeks. Since it is not receiving sunlight or oxygen, the clover will die naturally. You can then start on new grass.
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Lawn Service Pro Or Diy Lawn Care
Although this lawn care guide is as lengthy as it already is, the expertise of a lawn service professional may be more helpful and efficient. An experienced lawn service pro identifies lawn diseases more quickly and possibly diagnoses the needs of your lawn with more accuracy.
They are also often equipped with effective herbicide, pest-control, aeration and other lawn care tools. If you rather not pay for a $100 plus core aerator and avoid all the labor, then hire a lawn service pro. However, you might have to deal with a few issues when you decide to hire lawn care services. One, pros tend to overuse chemicals during lawn care, and two, they are usually not too flexible with your immediate needs. After all, other customers are waiting for them. Regardless, choosing either this or DIY lawn care simply depends on your needs.
How To Have A Healthy Lawn
Like many Canadians, you probably take pride in having an attractive lawn. Find out how to care for your lawn as easily as possible, while reducing the need for pesticides!
Many people use lawn care products like herbicides and insecticides to maintain their lawns. But “cosmetic” pesticide use is now restricted and even banned in many communities across Canada.
There are ways to have a healthy lawn without using pesticides. And when you do have to use pesticides, there are ways to use them safely.
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Feeding In The Spring
After winter, your lawn may begin to turn greener, but donât apply fertilizer just yet. According to the University of Connecticutâs Home & Garden Education Center, you should wait until your grass actually grows before you can start fertilizing it. The reason for this is that its roots still store enough carbohydrates from last fall to facilitate early spring growth. As a general rule of thumb, fertilizer tends to be more useful after a plant has exhausted its own resources.
For the best results, go for organic or light, slow-release types of fertilizers to ensure youâre not burning your possibly weakened lawn . Besides, liquid feeds and tonics are more recommended than granular fertilizers for quicker absorption by the plants. If youâre unsure about the most appropriate fertilization schedule to use for proper lawn care during spring, donât hesitate to consult a professional lawn care professional for advice.
When To Use Compost
Compost does more than feed grass; it also builds and feeds soil. Compost contains microorganisms, micronutrients and organic matter items that nourish soil and foster a healthy underground environment in your lawn. When should you use compost? Spread a thin layer over lawns in early spring to fuel strong growth. Any time you plan to aerate, spread compost after aerating to improve soil and give roots a boost. It’s also a good idea to apply compost before overseeding thin turf. Add compost to a lawn by the shovelful in several places.
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Treat Clover With Herbicide
There are herbicides on the market that have been specially formulated to kill clover and other weeds without harming or killing the surrounding grass. Spraying a selective weed killer on the problem patches in your lawn will get rid of the clover without weakening the grass, giving the grass a better chance of outcompeting the clover in growth. We recommend using the Ortho WeedClear Weed Killer, as it promises to get rid of clover along with a number of other weeds, all without harming the surrounding grass.
