Learn how to control crabgrass in your lawn this summer.
Beautiful, warm weather is finally upon us! While this is great for gardening and spending more time outdoors, it’s also ideal weather for weeds like crabgrass to grow. If left unchecked, crabgrass can take over your lawn and suffocate your landscaping. There are a few key ways to prevent and control crabgrass in your lawn, so it’s important to identify it early on. Here are some of our tips for identifying and controlling crabgrass in your lawn this summer.
Identifying Crabgrass
Once you know what to look for, it’s easy to spot crabgrass in your lawn. This weed will start to become noticeable in the summertime, thriving during the hottest time of the year. It’s crucial to spot crabgrass before their peak season to prevent it from taking over your lawn. It is known for flat tillers (as opposed to tillers that grow upright) that resemble a crab with gangly legs. Crabgrass blades will also tend to be lighter in color, flatter, and wider than the average grass in your lawn. While you may be dealing with other weeds across your landscaping, it’s important not to treat all of them the same- even lookalikes. Crabgrass will require individualized treatment, so don’t be fooled by weeds that look similar.
Prevention
Crabgrass germinates quickly, so prevention is one of the best ways to control it. Preventative herbicides can be applied in the spring in order to prevent crabgrass from growing and germinating across your property. Crabgrass will grow newly in the spring, but it will also leave dormant seeds throughout the winter ready to take over when the weather heats up. Keeping your lawn healthy can prevent this from happening. Be sure to keep the grass a consistent length, watering regularly and fertilizing annually to allow your lawn to thrive and discourage pesky weeds from growing.
Control
If crabgrass has already established itself in your lawn, there’s no need to fear. In addition to your regular lawn maintenance, use a pre-emergent herbicide that will kill seedlings as they germinate. This method works best when the temperature is between 60 and 90 degrees since the herbicide will be absorbed faster in higher temperatures. If crabgrass is totally out of control in your lawn, maintenance may not cut it. For a lawn completely overgrown with crabgrass, you may want to wait for fall to remove it and start anew with a healthy foundation.
Choose Edwards Lawn & Home
For the past ten years, Edwards Lawn and Home, located in Linthicum Heights, MD has been offering premier residential and services to improve your property all year long. The options are endless from a new patio to a backyard fire pit, let the winners of Angie’s List Super Service Award serve you! If you’re interested in finding out more about our services or getting a quote, you can contact us online or give us a call at 443-341-6539. For more information about our services or DIY tips and tricks follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Houzz.