Why should you worry about weeds right now? Now is the best time to prevent big weed infestations and reduce your use of herbicides in the summer. You will get better control and more bang for your buck with pre-emergence weed control products than you will if you wait until June and July, when weeds are larger, harder to kill and have set a new crop of seeds that will keep you in weeds for years to come.
You know what I am talking about: Crabgrass and goosegrass that take advantage of any patch of bare soil and grow taller than your lawn, or spurge that spreads overtop of your grass, and a slew of other summer annual weeds that are nearly impossible to kill once you notice them in June. They start germinating much earlier than you notice them! Summer annuals live during the summer and die in in fall when freezing temperatures arrive. Your best strategy for preventing summer weeds is to plan for a pre-emergence herbicide application between late February and early March before soil temperatures reach 55 degrees.
What is a pre-emergence herbicide? Pre-emergence weed killers will not kill existing weeds. They work when they are taken up by tiny plants that have just germinated from seed and prevent them from growing to maturity.
When you see weeds in your lawn, it is too late to apply a pre-emergence herbicide. If you act now, this group of herbicides will control many summer annual weeds. Pre-emergence herbicides are available in granular formulas that are easy to measure and spread safely and pre-emergence herbicides will not harm your established lawn or other established landscape plants.
Where can you use them?
Pre-emergence weed killers are safe on well-established lawns, but you should not use them on newly established grasses or on lawns you plan to reseed or overseed this spring or summer. They will prevent your grass seed from growing just like they do the weed seeds. Many herbicides cannot be used on every turfgrass species. The product label is the best reference for safe and effective use of any herbicide. Always read the label prior to using turfgrass herbicides. With any pesticide, the label is the law.
Learn more about Home Lawn Weed Control
Timing is everything and the time for weed control is now! Planning your lawn care calendar carefully is an important part of having a beautiful lawn all year round. Apply your spring pre-emergence weed control soon and mark your calendar in Paulding County for a fall application between late September and early October. For more information on weed control in lawns, visit the UGA Extension Publications website at https://extension.uga.edu/publications.html and search for “Weed Control in Home Lawns”.
