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What Is The Most Effective Lawn Weed Treatment?
Every effective lawn care plan must include a proper method for weed control and maintenance, for weeds can be a frustrating, perpetual problem. From wildflowers and dandelions to weed tree saplings, these unwelcome guests might destroy the look of your lawn and the health of the plants that you intended to grow. But what is the best course of action to treat weeds?
You can contact a lawn care specialist through LawnCare.net, and you can devise a plan together for tackling whatever weeds you have in your lawn. Determining the most effective weed treatment depends upon what sort of invaders you have on your lawn. Knowing the weed can help you determine an herbicide that’s specific to the weed you’re trying to kill.
Determine the needs of your house when selecting an herbicide, for some are toxic and not pet or kid friendly.
Organic Lawn Herbicides
These products are contact, non-selective weed killers. They are best applied to young weeds, often in repeated uses, to tackle the problem plants. They can discolor turfgrass temporarily.
The active ingredients in these herbicides include vinegar, clove, cinammon, rosemary, potassium salts and HEDTA iron.
Corn gluten functions as a pre-emergent herbicide, effective against weeds that pop up every year, like crabgrass, but corn gluten is not as effective as conventional pre-emergent herbicides. It is a source of nitrogen, so it is important to measure how much of it you can legally use in your area.
Synthetic or Chemical Herbicides
These weed killers are not organic and are effective at tackling all kinds of problem plants.
Pre-emergent chemical herbicides are used for crabgrass and Japanese stiltgrass. They can prevent chickweed, which is a broadleaf weed. Post-emergent herbicides can target bermudagrass, nimblewill and Poa trivialis.
Products going by the trade names of Dimension, Halts, Barricade and Balan are among the most popular pre-emergent herbicide brands.
When using pre-emergents, here are some tips:
- Weed and feed products are on the market without nitrogen fertilizer. Avoid using them. They are in farm supply and independent hardware stores. They can lead to overfertilizing your lawn, for they are applied in spring.
- Apply the pre-emergents prior to seed germination, which occurs when soil temperatures are above 55 degrees Fahrenheit for a week.
- Follow label instructions regarding watering and application times.
Post-emergent herbicides – such as Drive or Acclaim Extra – have fewer options, particularly when addressing perennial grass weeds like bermudagrass, roughstalk bluegrass or nimblewell. The choices that target grassy weeds can also injure the turf.
Conventional post-emergent treatment involves spraying the weedy area using a non-selective herbicide, containing glyphosate, which targets all of the vegetation. Double spraying may be necessary from late summer to early fall.
Glyphosate
This kills both grass and weeds. It may not be the option you need for your lawn. Consult an expert to formulate a plan.
Herbicides for Broadleaf Weeds
Gallery is a trade name of a pre-emergent herbicide used to treat broadleaf weeds. Broadleaf weeds are notoriously more difficult to control, so products used to treat them are often combination herbicides featuring more than one active ingredient.
Post-emergent herbicides for broadleaf weeds use chemicals ingredients like carfentrazone, triclopyr, Dicamba, MCPA and MCPP.
There are several tips for using these:
- These target the weeds but do not kill the grass.
- They should be applied when the temperature outside is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Do not use these when it’s supposed to rain within 24 hours.
- Check the label for application and overseeding details.
- Do not mow your lawn immediately before or after using these herbicides.
If you need help finding the best weed control plan for your lawn, LawnCare.net can lead you to experts with knowledge of your area and provide services specifically tailored for you. Together, you can come up with the best lawn care plan for your outdoor space.