Invasive Weeds – How to Kill Crab Grass (crabgrass)

Crab grass (also spelled crabgrass) is an invasive weed that can take over a lawn if not properly controlled. I know that most of us are familiar with crab grass, but many of us are not sure how to kill crab grass and keep it from returning next season. If you have a lawn then I’m sure that you would just love to learn how to kill crab grass. The good news is that crab grass is pretty easy to kill if you use the right approach. The first and most import thing that you must understand is how crab grass grows.

Crab grass will germinate in the early spring when many bushes are blooming, or when the ground temperature is around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It then will grow through the summer and die from the first freeze in the Fall. Crab grass seed is all over the neighborhood during mid summer, since this is when the crab grass weed will produce the most seeds. You can not keep the seeds from finding your lawn. You can, however, keep the crab grass seeds from germinating in your lawn if you keep the grass cut long and lush. It is important not to allow your lawn to have bare spots for long. Whenever a bare spot appears sprinkle on Scott’s Turf Builder to cover the area and keep it well watered.

As I mentioned earlier crab grass is not difficult to kill if you have the right approach. Once the crab grass has germinated (early spring) and is growing in your lawn it is time for what is called a post-emergent spray, such as Bayer All in One Weed Control. Since this is an all in one weed killer you may benefit from killing other weeds in your lawn. Crab grass may also be controlled from the use of pre-emergent weed killers, but as the name suggests you must spray prior to germination.

If you don’t have a bad back and only have a small area of crab grass you need to kill, then simple hand pulling of the crab grass will do the trick. Crab grass is a shallow weed so it will not be difficult to pull up. Due to the shallow root system of crab grass it is also helpful to water your lawn deeply and water less often.

During the crab grass life cycle a single plant can produce thousands of seeds so remember to kill your crab grass before it goes to seed in mid summer.