Top 5 Products for Weed Control in Your Lawn

Introduction

Do you ever feel overwhelmed when you look out into your lawn and see nothing but a bunch of weeds?  With so many different products on the market, I know that choosing the right products for your lawn, to target the right weeds, can be intimidating.  Here are a few products that I recommend.

But first, a few assumptions.  All the following products are intended for use on the lawn.  If used properly, they will not harm your lawn.  They will just kill the weeds. Secondly, the suggested rates for mixing the products are based on a one-gallon sprayer, assuming one gallon will cover 1,000 square feet.  Third, it would take multiple pages to list every single weed controlled by these sprays, so the weeds listed underneath each chemical are just a few of the many that these products will control.  And lastly, most of these chemicals recommend repeat applications for hard to kill weeds, so make sure that you always read the label before you begin mixing any chemicals to know what you’re getting into.

Weed Free Zone by Fertilome

This product is a combination of a few different chemicals; therefore, it kills a wide range of broadleaf weeds.  Some of the most common ones include Dandelion, Chickweed, Clover, Spurge and Dollarweed.  Use this chemical at a rate of 2 ounces per gallon of water.  Per the label, do not use Weed Free Zone on a St. Augustine lawn during “spring green-up.”  Meaning during the time when your lawn is coming out of dormancy. [which is pretty much right now, so maybe hold off on applying this chemical for a few more weeks; to St. Augustine grass, that is.]

Atrazine by Hi-Yield

Atrazine is special because while it does take care of Clover, Chickweed, Dollarweed, Henbit and more weeds that are already popping up in your lawn, it is also working “behind the scenes.”  Atrazine has some pre-emergent qualities to it. Which means that it stops some weed seeds from germinating.  Use this chemical at a rate of 8 ounces per gallon of spray. And use it during early spring for best results.

2, 4-D by Hi-Yield

This one is a simplified version of Weed Free Zone.  2, 4-D is one of the active ingredients in Weed Free Zone.  So, if you are trying to control Thistle, Dollarweed, Carpetweed, Wild Garlic or Poison Ivy on a larger scale, you might try using this chemical. Mix up this chemical at a rate of 4 ounces per gallon.

Image

The first three chemicals listed offer great control for broadleaf weeds, but what if you have more grassy type weeds?   Use Image to control Nutsedge, Annual Bluegrass, Wild Onion, Virginia Button Weed and young/small patches of Crabgrass (again, just to name a few – many more listed on the label).  Mix up to 4 ounces of concentrate per gallon of spray.

Sedge Ender by Bonide

This product is great when trying to control pesky nutsedge, or “nut-grass.”  If you’ve ever pulled nutsedge from the lawn or garden, you know how important it is to get it down to the root.  If a piece of it breaks off in the ground, then you know it is going to come right back.  Sedge Ender will kill nutsedge and crabgrass down to the root.  It offers post and pre-emerge control of a nice range of grassy type weeds.  Mix up this chemical at a rate of 4 ounces per gallon of water.

Happy Lawn Care!

Written by John MacMillan