Spending any effort on lawn care only to have crabgrass and other weeds pop up is the ultimate frustration of the warmer season. Sometimes it can feel like controlling those weeds requires a close watch on the calendar and an arsenal of treatment options. Keep reading for some helpful tips you need to know about weed and crabgrass control for your Reading, PA, lawn.
Pre-Emergent Weed Control
Many weeds, but especially crabgrass, drop their seeds for new weeds in the fall. While some weeds are annuals and die off in the cold weather, perennials will go dormant until spring. Pre-emergent herbicides work to control weeds that have not yet emerged from the ground. Once they begin new growth, the herbicide kills them before they mature.
Pre-emergent herbicide must be mixed in the proper proportion and sprayed thoroughly over the area for weed control. If it is not mixed correctly, it won’t be effective. Finally, the lawn with the pre-emergent control must be watered well for the herbicide to create a barrier for the weeds that have yet to sprout.
Related: A Guide to Year-Round Lawn Care in Berks County, PA
Post-Emergent Weed Control
Post-emergent weed control works on weeds that have already begun to grow, by attacking the leaves or seeping into the roots to kill the weed. They come in spray and granular applications, and you want to take care not to treat the non-weed areas.
There are herbicides that target specific weeds, and herbicides that kill all of the weeds and non-weeds, as well. Once again, proper mixing and application are a learned skill. The areas for weed control should be targeted carefully so that your healthy grass is not oversprayed. The post-emergent weed control should be applied on a sunny, mild day and allowed to dry for 24 hours before watering.
Related: Hire a Landscape Contractor to Transform Your Lawnless South Whitehall, PA, Backyard
Crucial Questions to Answer
There are some important questions you will want answers to as you begin looking into the treatment of any weeds in your Reading, PA, lawn:
What are the weeds you desire to control? It’s helpful to know because not all weed killers eradicate every type of weed. Some are weed specific.
Is this weed an annual, like crabgrass, that appears mid-summer and dies in the first frost? Annual weeds are controlled differently than perennial weeds that live all year, and simply go dormant when the weather is cold.
Are the herbicides safe for the plants you want to keep? Some herbicides will only kill the weeds that are selected, but others kill all of the plants and grass that are in the treatment area. You don’t want to eliminate your lush, green grass in the haste to remove the weeds.
What are your neighbors doing to control weeds in their yards? You can implement a treatment plan for your lawn, but if your neighbor is not working to keep a weed-free yard, seeds from weeds can blow onto your property to begin growing and spreading.
There are some key practices to do faithfully to produce the lush, healthy lawn that you want. Fertilizing with the right ratio of nutrients, mowing to a height that protects roots, watering deeply to a depth of 3 to 4 inches twice per week and removing the thatch by aeration are all components of successful lawn care. Weed control should be included in that list.
