Calling all lawn pros!!!!!!!!!

[Longdong]

I have crabgrass in my lawn! It is driving me nuts!!! How do I get rid of it???? I thought of spot spraying but the clump will still be there. Any thoughts!

[slightlybent47]

Scotts weed and feed should do the trick, you may have to keep treating it all summer in order to get a handle on it.

[CJM]

Originally posted by slightlybent47
Scotts weed and feed should do the trick, you may have to keep treating it all summer in order to get a handle on it.

Agreed, used scotts before with success.

[derekhonda]

It is my understanding that if you don't have crab grass preventer down early (like early - mid march, atleast for indianas climate) you missed the boat and you will have crabgrass all year long. Don't know how big your yard is, when I bought my house in august ( .15 acres) i waited for a real nice rain, went out the next morning with a 5 gal bucket, and just started pulling them. Doin that, and then putting a bag of scotts crab grass preventer early each spring has made my yard look good!

I think there are some liquids that will help tame crab grass, but don't think any granular will do the trick, atleast not for this year.

[Longdong]

Does the Scott weed and feed prevent or kill? O I have about 1.5 acres of yard!

[OldGuyonaQuad]

Give me your address I will come do donuts on your lawn with my quad, I'll get that pesky crab grass ;)

[grassman]

I dont know the climate where your at... But around here I put a pre emergent down in feb... I doesnt kill existing weeds, it just stops new ones from coming in. Weed and feed works good for a granule, or you can get Lesco's 3-way spray.... The spray works faster but doesnt last as long. If you have neighbors with weeds it will be harder because alot of weeds have seed heads that will spread across lawns... Dont know if it helps but thats what I do for my customers...

[grassman]

Originally posted by Longdong
Does the Scott weed and feed prevent or kill? O I have about 1.5 acres of yard!

It kills most broad leaf weeds and fertilizes the grass....

[Longdong]

Originally posted by grassman
It kills most broad leaf weeds and fertilizes the grass....

Is crabgrass a broadleaf? I spray my lawn with 2-4d in the fall but it doesn't kill the crabgrass.

[grassman]

Crabgrass is a "grassy weed". Its harder to kill. You really need to treat it in the spring or fall... You can try Ortho's weed b gone with crabgrass control...

[Longdong]

Thanks for the info!!!!!!

[Lasher]

Weed Hound!

http://www.amazon.com/Hound-Dog-Products-HDP1-6-Weed/dp/B0000DI835

Best $20 I spent. Even have neighbors that went out and brought it after seeing me use it.

Step on center of crabgrass, slight twist of handle and pull. If your aim is good, the whole crabgrass plant comes out. Push the button on the top and the thing pops out.

[wilkin250r]

It might help you to understand the DIFFERENCES between crabgrass and your regular lawn, and take advantages of those differences to control crabgrass growth.

Your lawn doesn't die over the winter, it just lays dormant. Basically, it sleeps. Crabgrass doesn't sleep, it actually dies, and the seeds sprout again the next year. THIS is the key you want to take advantage of.

By the time you have crabgrass, it's almost too late. If the seeds have sprouted, you'll have those plants for a while, and it is very difficult to kill those plants without also killing your lawn around it.

So the REAL key is to get there before they sprout. There is a type of product called a preemergent, of which several people have already mentioned specific brands earlier in the thread. A preemergent doesn't kill plants (so it won't kill your lawn), it just prevents new seeds from sprouting.

So you put down this preemergent early in the year, before your lawn wakes up, and before those new crabgrass seeds can germinate. Your lawn isn't sprouting from seeds, it's already a developed plant, so it pops up as good as ever, the preemergent won't affect it at all. But since the crabgrass actually has to grow new plants from seeds, the preemergent will prevent that. No new crabgrass plants!

Basically, it's almost too late this year. If you already have crabgrass plants, they are difficult to control. You could certainly put down a preemergent, and you'll see an improvement later in the year (because they will germinate and grow all season long), so you can prevent new ones, but it's difficult to kill the existing ones. But it's REALLY easy to control them for next year by not allowing them to grow in the first place.

[Longdong]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
It might help you to understand the DIFFERENCES between crabgrass and your regular lawn, and take advantages of those differences to control crabgrass growth.

Your lawn doesn't die over the winter, it just lays dormant. Basically, it sleeps. Crabgrass doesn't sleep, it actually dies, and the seeds sprout again the next year. THIS is the key you want to take advantage of.

By the time you have crabgrass, it's almost too late. If the seeds have sprouted, you'll have those plants for a while, and it is very difficult to kill those plants without also killing your lawn around it.

So the REAL key is to get there before they sprout. There is a type of product called a preemergent, of which several people have already mentioned specific brands earlier in the thread. A preemergent doesn't kill plants (so it won't kill your lawn), it just prevents new seeds from sprouting.

So you put down this preemergent early in the year, before your lawn wakes up, and before those new crabgrass seeds can germinate. Your lawn isn't sprouting from seeds, it's already a developed plant, so it pops up as good as ever, the preemergent won't affect it at all. But since the crabgrass actually has to grow new plants from seeds, the preemergent will prevent that. No new crabgrass plants!

Basically, it's almost too late this year. If you already have crabgrass plants, they are difficult to control. You could certainly put down a preemergent, and you'll see an improvement later in the year (because they will germinate and grow all season long), so you can prevent new ones, but it's difficult to kill the existing ones. But it's REALLY easy to control them for next year by not allowing them to grow in the first place.


Thats the info I was wanting! Thanks

[bbender85]

great info wilkin. with that being said, if you do a preemergent, don't plan on seeding your lawn soon after if it's thin and you want to thicken it up... cuz it'll do nothing more than feed the birds, lol.