Get rid of crabgrass in the summer using effective methods like burning or baking soda and free your garden from invasion. Crabgrass is a green, icky annual plant that produces many seeds when it reaches maturity.
The crabgrass can outgrow your wanted plants if not controlled in time, so it would be best to tackle this problem as soon as possible.
This article will assist you in getting rid of crabgrass in the summer and preventing them from growing back.
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How To Get Rid of Crabgrass in the Summer
Using tools, baking soda and corn gluten are some effective ways to get rid of crabgrass in the summer.
Crabgrass can be considered a weed that is difficult to control. This weed can outcompete the lawn grass for nutrients. Crabgrass also suffocates the lawn because it can spread quickly such that it covers the wanted grass. In this section, we will show you the methods that you can use to completely get rid of crabgrass without damaging your lawn.
– Use Hands or Tools
You can use your hands to uproot the crabgrass when the infested area is small. In cases where a whole large area has been affected, a pitchfork or claw weeder can be used to dig up the crabgrass.
You should be careful not to damage the lawn grass when using mechanical tools. After removing all the weeds, you can reseed the lawn to cover the open spaces where you removed the crabgrass.
If the soil is dry, you need to water it and wait for 30 minutes before uprooting or digging off the crabgrass. Water will soften the soil so that you can easily remove the crabgrass with enhanced ease. Wet soil is easy to work on, and you will minimize the risk of destroying wanted grass.
– Use Baking Soda
Use your baking soda and do not mix it with anything for effective results. You need to water the crabgrass a little bit and then sprinkle the baking soda on the weed. After a few days, the crabgrass will start to dry up. Uproot the dead crabgrass and destroy it; you can also fill in the gaps by planting a new lawn.
Do not spray the powder all over to avoid destroying all the grass as baking soda is not selective. It kills everything, including your desired plants.
– Use Gluten
Apply corn gluten to kill crabgrass in summer. The corn gluten prevents the crabgrass from developing roots, and the weed will eventually die soon after germination. This method also hinders the production of other seeds as the crabgrass will not have the chance to reach maturity.
The corn gluten meal can be used as a pre-emergent herbicide to stop the growth of the crabgrass in spring.
You can also use the corn gluten on other different types of weeds to prevent their growth and development. The corn gluten meal also provides the needed nitrogen to the lawn grass, thereby allowing the latter to grow vigorously enough to suffocate the crabgrass.
– Burn the Weeds
You can buy a heat gun or weed burner to kill crabgrass in summer. The heat from the gadget will destroy the leaf and stem cells of the crabgrass weed. The burnt crabgrass cells will instantly stop functioning so they won’t be able to photosynthesize. The grass will die as it does not have stolons that can develop from underground to form another crabgrass.
The burning method can only be used if the weed is standing on its own or when the area only has weeds so that you will not damage the turf as well. Remember not to burn the weeds when the lawn is dry to avoid the risk of fire spreading.
Make sure you have a garden hose connected to the water source so that you can put off the fire in case it starts to spread.
– Grow a Thick, Healthy Lawn
You can apply lawn fertilizer like turf builder after every six to eight weeks during the summer so that it will outgrow the crabgrass. Do not stress your lawn by underfeeding it so that it can grow lush and thick.
If the lawn is growing well and spreads covering the whole area, there will be no space for crabgrass to develop after germination. You can also achieve a densely populated lawn by over-seeding so that the crabgrass will not germinate as there will be no space available for it.
You should always try to maintain healthy, thick turf grass to fight competition from the crabgrass by watering the lawn once every week. The moisture will enable the lawn to grow strong roots that can grow deeper. Do not overwater your lawn to prevent the growth of other harmful weeds.
This method will only limit the extensive development of crabgrass in your lawn. It does not completely stop the crabgrass in summer. The few crabgrass plants that might remain are easier to handle. You can now easily hand-pull them and destroy or burn the weed using a heat gun.
How To Control Crabgrass Using Chemical Methods
Preventers and killers are the two types of chemicals that are used to get rid of crabgrass, and knowing which one to use is vital for a successful procedure.
You should know the cycle of the crabgrass so that you will know what herbicides to use at the right time. The chemicals for destroying this weed exist in two categories, which are the preventers and the killers.
Please note that some of the chemicals that are used to manufacture herbicides are harmful to the needed grass, so be careful when choosing the type of herbicide you will be using for your garden.
– Preventers
Preventers are used prior to germination of the crabgrass seeds. You should know the time the crabgrass germinates so that you can use the chemicals to destroy it at the right time.
The germination of crabgrass seeds usually starts during early spring to late summer, at warm temperatures of 55 F. This temperature should be experienced for four to five days for the crabgrass to germinate.
Buy a thermometer to test the temperature every day so that you can apply the herbicide at the right time. Preventers can also be called pre-emergents as they hinder root and stem development.
You can use granular lawn care material as a preventer. You should apply the lawn-care material in spring.
The granular lawn-care material is dissolved so that a thin layer can be formed near the soil surface. The crabgrass will be left with no choice but to stop growing. This is the best way to kill crabgrass in summer as its development is highly restricted.
The best preventers to use are those that contain fertilizers so that the lawn will get enough nutrients for needed growth while the harmful weeds are being controlled.
– Killers
Killers or post-emergent chemicals can be used for treating crabgrass in summer. In case you fail to adopt pre-emergent ways to stop the weeds from growing, there comes the need to use crabgrass killers for lawns.
We recommend that you use liquid herbicides to control the fully grown crabgrass. Killers are not as effective as preventers, but they help you to put the crabgrass under control.
There are many types of herbicides that are being sold around the world. Use the types of herbicides that have more quinclorac or mesotrione than any other ingredients used in the production of the herbicide.
Good examples of such herbicides are Primesource quinclorac liquid crabgrass killer and Tenacity Turf herbicide. Also, consider using selective herbicides so that you destroy only the unwanted crabgrass and leave the turf unharmed.
Products That Can Be Used
These herbicides are used to stop crabgrass in summer from dominating in your garden. These can be used whether or not you have grown grass on your turf.
– Roundup Ready-to-Use Weed and Grass Killer III
Roundup is always ready for use, and there is no need to mix it with water before spraying. There are wands that are used so that this can be applied directly to the crabgrass to avoid killing the lawn. In three hours’ time, the effectiveness of the solution will start to show.
Interestingly, the chemical also becomes waterproof after 10 minutes of spraying, so rest assured that it will not be washed away by rain or irrigation water.
– Scotts 26003 Turf Builder Triple Action
This herbicide serves two purposes. It adds fertilizer to the soil while also destroying the weeds. This crabgrass killer for lawns is active for up to four months, during which it stops the new crabgrass growth and kills the already-grown ones. This herb acts as a preventer and killer at the same time.
This herbicide can save your money as you will buy one chemical for two functions.
– Spectracide Weed Stop
This herbicide is effective on about 250 different weeds, so your summer crabgrass control can be done using this herbicide. The herbicide is also good as it does not harm your turf if the application is done the correct way. After eight hours, you will start to see the signs that the crabgrass killer is working.
The herbicide cannot be rinsed by water or rainfall after three hours of being applied, and it will continue to perform correctly and effectively. Always read the instructions to capture the application procedure, dangers, as well as to find out whether the chemical is a selective herbicide or not prior to using it.
Other Useful Information
Here are the answers to some of your burning questions.
– How To Kill Lawn Weeds in the Fall?
During the fall, temperatures usually become extremely low and you do not need to use herbicides to destroy the crabgrass since the plant can easily die if it is exposed to frost temperatures. The weed will die without your intervention.
If you apply pre-emergent herbicides in the fall, do not grow lawn seeds immediately. The herbicides will affect aeration in the soil and the seeds will not develop to become a plant. You should wait for at least eight weeks after using the weed control before planting any crucial seeds.
Kill the crabgrass during early fall to improve soil aeration so that the wanted grass seeds will germinate well in summer.
– What Is Crabgrass?
Crabgrass weed is an annual plant that thrives well in hot, dry conditions and prefers high-temperature ranges of 80 F to 100 F. The crabgrass grows, matures and dies in one year but if not controlled you will have it again during the next season as the seed can lie dormant in the soil, waiting for the coming season to grow again. Each crabgrass weed produces a maximum of 150,000 seeds.
Crabgrass stems do not grow very long but they grow outwardly from the center of the weed clump. The way the stem grows eventually makes the grass look like a crab’s legs. This explains the origins of this plant’s name. The seeds of the crabgrass sprout when the temperatures reach 55 F in mid-spring.
The crabgrass’ blossoming time is July, which is when it produces seeds. Cutting the crabgrass as low as one or two inches tall will not stop it from producing seeds as long it is still alive. The grass belongs to the Digitaria family and it grows commonly in gardens and yards, mostly in lawns.
Conclusion
Crabgrass can be a huge nuisance in your garden or yard because these weeds can compete with your turf for much-needed nutrients. Before you tackle this problem, just have a quick glance at the summarized main facts below.
- You can use pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides to control crabgrass like Scotts 26003 turf builder triple action.
- Natural methods like the use of tools can be used to stop crabgrass during the summer.
- You should use selective herbicides so that you will not harm the turf when killing the crabgrass.
- The crabgrass grows well in hot temperatures ranging from 80 F to 100 F and can be controlled effectively during the summer.
- Crabgrass can be difficult to control as the seeds can be so many that they can spread easily. One crabgrass can produce up to 150000 seeds at a time.
Now you can apply the methods you learned from this article to get rid of the crabgrass in your lawn. Choose your favorite method and start to enjoy the beauty of your garden without the interference of crabgrass!
