Weed Control For Everyone

Weed control is something every lawn owner has to deal with, because weeds are hardy plants that spread easily and are difficult to eradicate once they get a foothold in a lawn. Sometimes property owners may feel that they’re fighting a losing battle against weeds, but it is possible to do an effective job of weed control on the average lawn. Here are some tips for doing that.

Get an early start on weed control

Get an early start. Weeds germinate later than grass, so if you get started early you can kill weeds before they start to spread. One way to do this is by making sure you plant grass seed and fertilize in the early Spring, so that you have a lush, thick lawn that will offer no opening for weeds when they start to appear.

Pull them up one by one. This may seem like an old-fashioned method, but quick action when you see weeds appear will keep them from spreading. You can dig them up with a hoe if you don’t want to get down on your hands and knees, but make sure you pull the weeds up by the roots.

Water deeply but infrequently. Weeds have shallower roots than grass, so when you irrigate deeply but not often the weed roots can’t get at the moisture deep in the soil, and they waste away.

Weed control with herbicide

Use an herbicide. There are herbicides you can use before weeds appear (pre-emergent) or after they appear (post-emergent). Putting down a pre-emergent herbicide early in the growing season is a favored method for killing large numbers of weeds in a lawn. Many post-emergent herbicides are used only on specific types of weeds that have appeared, and are ineffective against other types. Always read the label on the product to see which weeds it will kill, and which flowers and vegetables it will not damage. Applying post-emergent herbicides can be tricky, and you must be careful that none of it gets on your garden plants. The best method is to apply post-emergent herbicides on days when there is no breeze, to prevent the herbicide from drifting on to nearby plants or flowers.

Have stamina. Effective weed control takes a lot of patience. You may think you’ve conquered your weed problem, but a single weed can produce thousands of seeds, which can be carried on the breeze to germinate in other parts of your property. Successful weed control takes time, and just because you’ve eradicated weeds in one growing season doesn’t mean they won’t come back the next year. Stick with it!