crab grass taking over... just a rant

[LIcenter]

Originally Posted by fresnochili

I just looked this up according to your link...and it says it's not available in my area, within a 100 mile radius.
And no shipping available.
Why do you think that is?

ETA: i'm in the central valley...california.

You said a mouthful when you mentioned 'California'. Very strict rules when it comes to yard chemicals.

[gunslinger256]

Most pre-emergents note that you shouldn't apply more than twice a year, but if you live in a warmer climate, the temperatures can get high enough during the winter to get weeds to germinate.

I try to apply whatever non-fertilizer brand I can find to my lawn 3 times a year but I always avoided the mulched beds because I figured the mulch would stop it.

Luckily, it pulled up fairly easily but those seeds did drop all over the place.

[CGab]

Originally Posted by KathrynAragon

I had a crabgrass problem at my previous house. Honestly, it took three years but I got it under control. And each year it was a lot better, so there's that hope.

I used a combination approach of pre emergent weed control, and then a type of crab grass killer that you spray right on the crab grass, and then (my least favorite method but it was effective), I'd wait till after a rain and while the soil was still moist, I'd dig up each clump, being sure to get the "core."

Each year I had less and less of an issue, but no one approach was 100 percent effective. With the three combined approaches I did manage to get rid of it completely.

We have the same problem and have done exactly what the poster above did. We're getting less and less now.

[NC211]

If you really want it dead and gone for good, and have plenty left over for the next few years, then you need this:


Drive XLR8 Herbicide Crabgrass Control - Crabgrass Killer | Do My Own


You'll also need something like this to mix it with (only takes a couple table spoons to mix a couple of gallons worth):


https://www.amazon.com/Southern-Ag-M...V3HYA16D4SPDVB


And finally, you'll probably want something like this:


https://www.amazon.com/Rain-Maker-70...2Bsprayer&th=1


If just mulch beds, hand pump sprayer should do the trick. If you want the entire yard in one pass to be cleared of all crab grass and other obnoxious weeds, then a 4 gallon backpack sprayer is the ticket. Whatever you get, make SURE you get it with a "fan tip" nozzle. Fan tip, is a little piece of plastic that goes into the sprayer wand that makes the spray go left-right only in a 1-dimensional fixed "fan" pattern. You do NOT want to use the orbital tip (usually metal with a point) that lets you adjust from mist to stream. Like what you normally see on say a bottle of Windex or 409 or what not. You don't want "stream" and you don't want "orbital". You want fan.


Just put in 1 ounce of Drive XLR8 and 2 tablespoons of surfactant per 1 gallon of water into the sprayer, pump it up, and make ONE pass over the crabgrass, and that's it. In about 10 days, you'll have 0% crabgrass. It doesn't kill the lawn either. In fact, you can actually use it when you're seeding at the same time.


I discovered it this time last year, when my new-to-me lawn had become 40% matured crabgrass. Lawn is .38 acres. Bought backpack sprayer, Drive XLR8, surfactant, and did one pass over the lawn with it, then immediately followed with an overseeding application. 10 days later, no crabgrass, and new tall fescue coming up from the bare spots the dying crabgrass had created in the lawn.