Crabgrass Control

Efficient Methods of Crabgrass Control

Maintaining your lawn can sometimes seem like a never ending battle against wildlife, climate conditions and irritating weeds and one of the most common irritations in lawn maintenance is the weed known as crabgrass. A well maintained lawn is a natural deterrent for crabgrass but it may also become necessary to induce some additional levels of crabgrass control to prevent this weed from permanently becoming an addition to your garden. Many online guides or garden leaflets will offer multiple methods that can be used. Some involve store bought pesticides while others offer more natural methods that can be less damaging to both your garden and the overall environment.
Crabgrass is a naturally occurring weed that is heavily seasonal and growths at alarming rates in the warmer seasons of spring and summer. It reproduces with aerobically dispersed seeds and can be infuriatingly stubborn and resilient to many methods of crabgrass control.

Many garden retailers offer herbicides specifically designed to stop crabgrass seeds from efficiently germinating and these are often supplied at highly competitive prices. They come in either granular or liquid forms and can form a permanent barrier in your garden preventing the onslaught of another crabgrass infestation.

This form of crabgrass control is very seasonal dependant. You must time the application of your herbicides perfectly to coincide with the beginning of spring to prevent the first plants from germinating and reproducing. Most permanent herbicides such as those that contain the ingredient ‘Dithiopyr’ are ideal for this form of weed killing as they are incredibly effective and in no way hinder the growth of your lawn. They will not produce dry patches to you natural grass plantations and have no consequential effects on your flowers beds or shrubberies.

It is becoming increasingly popular for garden renovators to favour the use of more organic methods of crabgrass control. These methods are considered more natural and significantly less damaging to local wildlife or the general environment.

The most obvious way to prevent an infestation of crabgrass is to optimally maintain the healthiest lawn possible. A healthy, wholesome lawn of grass will act as a natural deterrent to crabgrass as it must compete with the already incredibly dominant root systems installed by your current lawn.

There are numerous tips and methods for maintaining the healthiest lawn possible. Firstly, fertilize you lawn with composts and fertilizers, especially in the autumn as the crabgrass begins to die out for the winter. Also, if you notice any ‘bald spots’ in your lawn deal with them as soon as possible as these will become crabgrass hot-spots once spring arrives. Over seeding these areas with grass seeds and watering them heavily will ensure that they become unnoticeable and a new patch of healthy grass. Finally, don’t over trim your lawn.

Try to maintain a grass length of around 2 to 3 inches as this also acts as a natural deterrent to crabgrass allowing your garden’s lawn to deprive any new crabgrass seeds from the vital sunlight they will need to germinate and reproduce.