Killing lawn weeds can be very simple if you stay away from the products and practices that are a waste of time and money.
Broadleaf weeds can spread rapidly and suffocate your lawn. The longer you wait to combat lawn weeds, the harder it is to defeat them. If you want a green, uniform lawn, then managing lawn weeds should be a big part of your lawn care program.
The main problem I have with fertilizer companies and their step programs is they convince you that the best way to kill weeds that are already established is to apply one of their fertilizer and granular herbicide mixtures.
In my experience these products very rarely work. While companies like to sell you the convenience of fertilizing and controlling established weeds with the same application, it’s not the best way.
If you already have broadleaf weeds in your lawn it is very unlikely that one of these mixes will kill them.
Why Don’t Granular Herbicides Work on Established Weeds?
Granular post-emergent herbicides are herbicides you apply to established weeds. Granular post emergent herbicides are commonly found in products like Weed & Feed, or other 4 step programs that fertilizer companies promote.
Under perfect conditions these products sometimes work. But perfect conditions are hard to come by.
For starters the lawn needs to be a little wet to get the granular herbicide to stick to the weed leaves. Even then, most of the herbicide ends up bouncing off the weed leaves.
If you are lucky enough to get the correct moisture for the herbicide to stick to the weeds leaves, you have to wish for some additional luck that you don’t get any rain for at least 24 hours. Otherwise the herbicide will wash off the leaves and this will all be for nothing.
Also, broadcasting a post-emergent herbicide over your entire lawn is a waste. Chances are there are just some specific areas that require herbicide so I recommend spot treating those problem areas instead of putting expensive chemicals over your entire lawn.
Spot Treat Lawn Using Liquid Herbicide
Spot treating your lawn means going around your lawn with a liquid herbicide and spraying just the weeds. There are a lot of products that are safe to use on your lawn. A lot of these products even come with an applicator.
I really like Ortho Weed B Gone for spot treating lawn weeds.
It is designed to disrupt the growth of a lot of different kinds of broadleaf weeds including dandelions, clover, and crabgrass. It also comes with an easy applicator and doesn’t require mixing.
To treat your lawn, I recommend walking your lawn frequently (every week) and spraying any lawn weeds you see. This will help you stay on top of weeds and will prevent them from spreading.
Prevention with Pre-Emergent Herbicides
Unlike granular post-emergent herbicides, granular pre-emergent herbicides can work very well in preventing lawn weeds from becoming established. I strongly recommend using pre-emergent herbicides at 3 specific times during the year. Check out my custom lawn care program to see what pre-emergent to apply and when.
Pre-emergent herbicides prevent crabgrass, as well as other broadleaf weeds from germinating. Prevention is definitely the best method for dealing with broadleaf weeds.
Blanket Spray If There’s a Lot of Weeds
What if you have so many weeds that spot treating isn’t an option?
If you have a lot of weeds mixed in with your lawn it might seem ridiculous to go around and spray each individual weed.
Instead, you’re better off blanket spraying your entire lawn. Blanket spraying is done with a tank sprayer. You simply mix a liquid herbicide with water (according to the instructions) and walk your entire lawn while spraying.
Tenacity, is a great herbicide for blanket spraying. It can also be used to spot treat. Using tenacity is going to save you a lot of money since you get more mileage out of it then the Ortho Weed B Gone. So if you have a more serious weed problem then I definitely recommend using the Tenacity.
Are There Any Chemical Free Ways to Kill Weeds in Lawn?
There’s always the manual way, which is actually the most effective way. There is a great weed grabbing tool that many people use to pull weeds completely out of their lawn, including the weeds root system.
It is especially effective for removing dandelions since dandelions have a long tap root that can be hard to rip out.
Renovate Lawn to Combat Weeds
If your lawn is overwhelmed with weeds you might be convinced you have to rip everything out and start over. Before doing so, consider core aerating and overseeding. Core aerating and overseeding, can drastically improve your lawn.
If you want to go a step further, top dressing your lawn, in addition to core aerating and overseeding is the ultimate lawn renovation.
As usual the best recommendation I can give for combating lawn weeds is sticking to a good lawn care program and maintaining a healthy lawn.
Check Out These Posts Next
Lawn Care Schedule Using 3 Products
Top Dressing Lawn: Benefits and Advice
Leave Grass Clippings on Lawn or Not
Follow Me
Join my free email list!
Where do i find the product “Tenacity” ?
Tenacity Link
I appreciate you helping me to understand there are plenty of safe products that can be used to remove weeds. I haven’t paid enough attention to my lawn this summer, and now it is overgrown with weeds and other undesirable plants. It would probably be a good idea for me to get some kind of weed spraying equipment so that I can get my lawn looking good again.
I just rototilled my lawn and started over. A major task, just for the neighbors weeds to blow over. My lawn is full of clover, and what I believe to be wild violet as well as several others. I haven’t used any chemicals as of yet due to living on a wild life habit. I’ll have to use some preventer if I want a lawn, hand pulling for hours and hours to get an inch is defeating.
feel free to check out my post about getting rid of clover… Also if you think it’s really bad instead of using a rototiller, rent a sod cutter. A sod cutter cuts through the root system so you can easily rake up the clover. It’s way less labor then a rototiller or hand pickingl