A common struggle homeowners face is to eliminate weeds without damaging the surrounding grass. It is rather unpleasant to see weeds from dandelions, thistles, or clovers popping everywhere.
However, getting rid of them sometimes comes at the cost of harming nearby plants. This blog lists a few weed killers that will not damage the grass surrounding it.
Effective Weed Killers
To avoid lawn damage, it is best to use selective herbicides that suit your grass type. General-purpose weed killers that are non-selective often kill everything. This will end up ruining your well-maintained turf. Therefore, it is important to choose a weed killer that is selective and does not damage the lawn.
Ortho Weed B Gon
This works on lawn grasses like buffalo grass, all types of fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and zoysiagrass. To use this, you will need to purchase a suitable tank or hose sprayer.
It might take around 6 days to see the final results, and even longer to kill weeds like clover and ground ivy. This should be sprayed when there is no wind, with a temperature somewhere between 50 to 90 degrees.
Celsius WG Herbicide
This works best for lawns with broad-leaf and grassy weed problems. It comes in granule form, which should be mixed with water to get a spray solution. This targets over 150 weed species. It can be applied to warm-season grasses like St. Augustine, Bermuda grass, etc.
Avoid mowing the lawn immediately after the application. You will have to wait at least 2 days after spraying the solution.
Compare-N-Save Weed Killer
This spray solution kills over 250 weed species. This has to be applied when air temperatures are below 90°F. Precautions like waiting for 2 days before mowing should be considered.
For 1000 square feet of cool-season grasses, mix four fluid ounces of product per gallon of water. For warm-season grasses, decrease the product quantity to two fluid ounces.
Change Up
You can use 0.75 ounces of this selective herbicide per gallon of water, and mix it with a tablespoon of the non-ionic surfactant. This solution can kill most of the broad-leaf weeds in your yard. It is primarily used for all kinds of warm-season grasses and some of the cool-season grasses.
Tenacity Herbicide
This is made for cool-season grasses, which can be used as both pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides. These do not work on a few grass types like Bentgrass, Kikuyu grass, Zoysiagrass, Seashore Paspalum, and Bermudagrass. Take this into consideration before going ahead with the application.
Southern Ag Amine 2,4-D
This herbicide works well on all kinds of tough weeds except for certain lawn grasses such as Bentgrass, St. Augustine, carpetgrass, centipedegrass, and dichondra. The weed killer solution must be diluted in water before the application.
Preen Crabgrass Control
This works primarily as a pre-emergent, which controls the sprouting of crabgrass. It does not work on weeds like dandelions, but suppresses the growth of other common lawn weeds. It is safe to use on all kinds of lawn grasses, including St. Augustine.
SedgeHammer Herbicide
This solution takes around 21 days to show desired results because it doesn't kill grass, so it may take more time. This is meant for cool-season grasses. It works well on stubborn weeds like yellow and purple nutsedge, kyllinga, and a few broad-leaf weeds.
For 1000 square feet, mix one level scoop in one gallon of water. For extreme sedge problems, you can mix this with Tenacity herbicide.
Weed Killers to Avoid
There are some popular methods to kill weeds effectively; however, this may also end up killing the grass. It is better to be wary of such methods and products.
There are five things in particular that you need to stay away from in order to prevent any damage to the grass. Roundup, horticulture vinegar, boiling water, salt water, and gasoline. These can be used in spaces like driveways, back alleys, or rock patios where you will hardly find any grass.
Additional tips to kill weeds
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While choosing your herbicide, make sure to check for the ingredient called 2,4-D. This is an active ingredient in most of the selective herbicides.
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Weeds can be removed manually by pulling them out from the root using hands or a suitable removal tool. Using a tool designed for this might help in uprooting it completely.
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Mow your lawn regularly. This will also help in eliminating the weed, but not from the root.
Conclusion
With the right products and approach, it is indeed possible to maintain a beautiful lawn without any weeds. If not dealt with properly, weeds can ruin your grass and take over the space. Make sure to choose those selective herbicides that work well with your grass type while addressing weed problems.
