- Dig them out.
- Mulch your lawn.
- Mow lawn regularly.
- Pour boiling water on weeds.
- Use baking soda.
- Make vinegar spray.
- Burn weeds with a heat gun.
- Use post emergent herbicide.
- Use pre emergent herbicide.
- Re-sod your lawn.
Are weeds slowly taking over your lawn? Don’t know how to get rid of them before it is too late? I came up with 10 weed infestation solutions for you to try! The 5th option worked for me when killing stubborn dallisgrass in my flowerbeds. So, one ought to work for you too!
I suggest you don’t wait any longer. Those weeds won’t go away on their own, even if it looks like they die in the winter! Let’s see how you can kill lawn weeds the right way!
10 Ways To Get Rid Of Weeds In Grass
Dig Them Out
Hand weeding is a tried and tested method of removing existing weeds from lawns, gardens, flower beds, pathways, and other places where they are not welcomed.
You can pull weeds from roots by gently pulling on the base of the stem. If there is resistance, wiggle the plant to loosen the hold. The goal is to leave no root system behind, since some stubborn weeds, like ground ivy, can reestablish themselves from the tiniest fragments left behind.
You can make hand weeding lots easier if you use a garden fork, scuffle hoe, or weeder tool specifically designed for this purpose.
Mulch, Mulch, Mulch
In my experience, mulching works wonders if done correctly! Mulching not only suffocates the unwanted plants but also introduces nutrients back into the deprived and compacted soil, so you won’t have to use weed and feed after mowing.
To get the best results, I recommend you hand-pull weeds first before mowing your lawn. Discard weeds in a garbage bin. Leaving shredded weeds on the turf can make weed seeds spread to other areas.
After that is done, you can go over your entire yard with a mulching mower. I like to leave only ¼ inch of fresh grass clippings on my lawn. I suggest you do the same! If you spread mulch any thicker, it won’t break down quickly enough and it will start to grow mold.
Mow Them Down
Mow your lawn frequently if you want to keep weeds at bay. Mowing will weaken the weeds and keep them from ever developing seeds. Use a collection bin on your mower to bag the grass blades and weeds.
In my experience, this weed control method can be very effective if you keep up with your mowing schedule. How often you need to mow to grow a healthy lawn truly depends on the type of grass you are growing.
Bermuda grass, for instance, likes to be trimmed every 5 to 7 days, while St Augustine can go without mowing for up to 2 weeks. Click here for more Bermuda grass vs St Augustine grass differences.
Pour Boiling Water On Them
Want a simple and cheap solution for your weed problem? Boil some water in a kettle and head out to your backyard! Pouring boiling water directly on the base of a weed will instantly kill it. It will also kill any weed seeds that are hiding dormant in the soil.
This is a very effective way to get rid of specific lawn weeds without using chemicals. I do have to warn you to be careful! Boiling water will scorch your grass, too, if you don’t pour it precisely.
Use Baking Soda
As if baking soda wasn’t already useful enough, you can now use it as a makeshift weed killer too!
Sprinkle some water onto the weeds first, to dampen their leaves. You can go ahead and evenly sprinkle baking soda over the wet foliage. Baking soda will stick to the leaves and cause irreversible damage to the entire plant. Repeat the same process again in 4 to 6 weeks if the weeds don’t disappear.
Target only a few weeds at a time! You don’t want to get any on your grass!
Make A Vinegar Spray
Vinegar is highly effective at destroying just about any plant thanks to the acetic acid. The higher the percentage of acetic acid is, the deadlier the vinegar is. You can use household white vinegar for your project or buy a more potent version from your local gardening store. Use it straight as it is, or make vinegar-dish soap spray with it.
In my experience, adding a little bit of dish soap to vinegar helps facilitate the process. That’s because dish soap eats through the cuticle of leaves so the vinegar can do its job better.
I do have to remind you to be very careful using vinegar on your lawn. Vinegar is a non-selective substance and will destroy anything it touches, even surrounding grass and those beautiful weeds that you want to keep!
Here’s what the cheapest white vinegar will do to the weeds :
Try Burning Them
You’ve heard it right! You can quickly get rid of the weeds by burning their foliage with a weed burner.
The blazing flame will quickly kill the above-ground parts of any type of weed, including broadleaf weeds and grass-like weeds. The targeted plant won’t be able to perform photosynthesis and will die eventually. To destroy the deep roots below the ground, I suggest you do a couple of treatments with the heat gun.
Use Post Emergent Herbicide
Sometimes the lawn weeds are so stubborn, you don’t have any other option but to use a post-emergent herbicide to destroy them.
Post-emergent herbicides are formulated to destroy weeds that are peeping out of the ground. They are used on already existing weeds and it is one of the ways to kill clover, dandelions, ground ivy, and crabgrass.
There are many types of post-emergent herbicides available in stores, so you should be careful which one you use. The most important thing is that you pick a selective herbicide, which will target only broadleaf weeds.
Based on the tests I’ve done, a 2,4D selective herbicide is safe to use on grass and is highly effective at killing annual and perennial weeds. I highly suggest you read my Ortho Ground Clear Vs Roundup and Spectracide Vs Roundup guides to get a better idea of what to look for in a herbicide!
Use Pre Emergent Herbicide
Pre-emergent herbicides will help you eradicate weeds before they pop their heads out of the soil. They are engineered to inhibit the germination of the weed seeds. They basically stop the growth of the shoot, root system, or both.
If you want the pre-emergent herbicide to work, you will have to apply it at the right time. To treat summer weeds, apply the chemical early in the spring, once the soil temperature is staying at 55 degrees or more.
To maintain a healthy lawn through the winter, apply the pre-emergent in the fall when the ground temperature drops to 55 degrees.
Re-Sod Your Lawn
If none of the weed control methods work for you, you can always re-sod your lawn. This is the last resort for lawns that have been neglected for far too long. Hire a landscaping company to tear the weed-infested sod off your land and replace it with new grass.
Bear in mind that this project can turn out to be pretty expensive depending on how large of a lawn you have and the type and quality of grass you pick. Re-sodding a â…• acre of lawn can cost anywhere from $7,840 to $15,680.
FAQs
What kills weeds but not the grass?
What kills weeds but not the grass is a selective herbicide. Selective weed killers are made to target specific weeds but not the grass. Tenacity herbicide is a popular option that can destroy almost any type of broadleaf weed.
Will Bermuda grass overtake weeds?
Bermuda grass will overtake weeds only if it is healthy. If watered, fertilized, and mowed properly, Bermuda grass will grow densely and rapidly. It will eventually choke out the weeds and take over affected spots in your lawn.
What home remedy will kill weeds but not grass?
A home remedy that will kill weeds but not grass is corn gluten meal. It can be safely sprinkled on the lawn early in the spring to prevent weeds from germinating and growing out of the soil. Cornmeal doesn’t kill established weeds.
Plenty Of Options To Try
I told you! There are many ways to successfully control weeds in the grass. I encourage you to try chemical-free methods first that won’t harm the beneficial bugs and plants in your backyard.
If none of the friendlier solutions work for you, you can always head out to the store and buy the weed killer you need.
Which weed control method will you try first? Let me know in the comments below, and feel free to ask me any questions. I would love to hear from you!
