Today you’ll learn how to spray lawn for weeds without hurting healthy plants. Whether you want to work on a small area of your lawn or you want to treat the entire landscape, the tips shared here will help you get the job done right.
There are two ways to remove weeds from your lawn.
The first option is to weed them out with a gardening rake or something similar. But that can be tedious because it’s often more repetitive, especially if the weeds have the tendency to sprout back fast.
The second option is to use herbicides that kill weeds fast and keep them from sprouting back too soon.
Spraying your lawn may be the last resort, but it yields the best results if done right. With the tips we’ve shared in this guide, it should be easy to spray and keep weeds away from your lawn without hurting the quality of your grass.
Contents
- Identify the Class of Weed in Your Lawn
- Broadleaf weeds:
- Sedge weeds:
- Grassy weeds:
- Determine the Type of Weed in your Lawn
- Choose the Right Type of Weed Killer to Use
- 1. Liquid herbicides:
- 2. Granular herbicides:
- 3. Selective herbicides:
- 4. Non-selective herbicides:
- Pre-Emergent vs Post Emergent Herbicides: Which One Should You Use?
- How to Spray Lawn for Weeds- Important Tips
- Author
Identify the Class of Weed in Your Lawn
The first step to spraying weed on your lawn is to know the type of weed you’re dealing with. Is it broadleaf, sedge, or a grassy weed?
Broadleaf weeds:
As they emerge, broadleaf weed produce wider leaves and branched stems. Examples of these weeds include poison ivy, white clover, pokeweed, and dandelion.
Sedge weeds:
They produce one seed leaf triangular in shape, but do so in cross section.
Grassy weeds:
These often produce just a single seed leaf and resemble turfgrass. Examples include rushes and crabgrass.
The weeds you wish to spray from your lawn can be either perennial or annual. Annual weeds have only one season, which is why they are easier to control.
Perennial weeds, on the other hand, will recur every year form the same root system, which means they’re a little more challenging to control.
Determine the Type of Weed in your Lawn
Knowing the class of weed you’re dealing with isn’t enough. Once you’ve established the class of weed and its season, you have to identify the specific type of weed in question.
Doing so will make it easy for you to know the type herbicide to choose.
Generally, every herbicide package has a label that lists the types of weeds it can kill. This information is particularly useful in helping you identify the right solution to use to spray weeds in your lawn.
This, along with safe application can kill weeds without hurting your lawn.
Choose the Right Type of Weed Killer to Use
There are different types of weed killers that you can use to get rid of weeds from your lawn.
Available options include liquid, granular, selective, and non-selective herbicides.
1. Liquid herbicides:
You need to mix them with water in the recommended ratio, pour the mixture in a handheld sprayer, and then spray the content directly to the weed.
Also read: Can I spray roundup before rain
2. Granular herbicides:
This is a good option to consider if you need a solution that you can mix with an inert carrier such as lime or clay.
3. Selective herbicides:
All broadleaf herbicides are selective in kind. The most important thing to know about these ones is that they kill specific plants.
It’s best to go for selective herbicides that kill weeds without touching grass such as Bermuda in your lawn.
4. Non-selective herbicides:
Non-selective herbicides are the most lethal types of weed killers in the market. That’s because they can kill whatever they touch.
As such, you will need to use a spray bottle and be careful enough with your aims.
In addition to choosing a suitable herbicide for the job, you need to make sure you use the right type of spraying to get the job done right.
Depending on the type of herbicide you choose, you may broadcast or spot spray.
1. Spot spraying:
You will need to use an applicator such as a pressurized sprayer to apply the weed killer directly to the weed so that you don’t affect other plants.
This is particularly important if you’ve chosen a non-selective herbicide, which often kills anything it comes to contact with.
Also read: How long to wait to mow after spraying weeds
2. Broadcast spraying:
This is where you apply the week killer across your entire lawn.
Make sure you use a selective herbicide if you choose this option.
That’s because the lawn can often stand up to such herbicide.
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Pre-Emergent vs Post Emergent Herbicides: Which One Should You Use?
Pre-emergent herbicides are good for killing weeds such as crabgrass and it’s also a helpful option to consider if you’re dealing with weeds that often pop up year after year.
Manufacturers recommend that you use pre-emergent herbicides for weeds that sprout from small-seed weeds.
Timing is an important factor to consider when it comes to applying pre-emergent herbicides. They don’t work well when the soil temperature reaches 52 degrees Fahrenheit.
That’s often the moment when crabgrass and other weed seeds start to germinate.
For that reason, consider applying the pre-emergent herbicides before the soil temperature gets to that level.
Post-emergent herbicides, on the other hand, are useful for killing already existing weeds.
It’s best to use them when the weeds are still small to keep them from growing and producing seeds.
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How to Spray Lawn for Weeds- Important Tips
Just because a certain herbicide can kill weed doesn’t mean you should use it blindly.
You need to follow the best practices so that you can kill weeds such as dandelion without ruining the grass quality of your grass.
- Read the instructions written on the label and apply the herbicide exactly as directed by the manufacture.
- We strongly recommend that you target only the weeds that you want to kill from the lawn. Consider using an applicator or spot spraying to get this right.
- Always spray in the right weather condition. That means not spraying in windy or rainy conditions because doing so could send the herbicide drifting in the wrong direction and killing nearby plants
- You should maintain a spraying height of at least 2 feet above the weed. Doing this ensures maximum coverage so you never have to worry about potential drifts.
- Make sure you wear protective clothing before you start spraying herbicides and clean all the equipment used once you complete the job.
Now that you know how to spray lawn for weeds, it should be easy to do so without hurting the quality of the lawn itself.
Also, remember to level up your lawn care habits. That means making sure you water, mow and fertilize properly to keep weeds away.
