Lawn Invasion – Crabgrass

Crabgrass is one of many fast-growing lawn headaches. Crabgrass stays low to the ground, and once it is there it can quickly get out of hand. It grows very well in hot and dry conditions, so summer time is when it really takes hold. Even though it dies in the fall, the seeds that it disseminates can measure into the thousands and are sitting idle until they germinate in the spring, where they can take over your yard and ruin your green lawn.

Preventing and Eliminating Crabgrass

Crabgrass is one of the most problematic weeds affecting Pennsylvania lawns today. That’s why it’s important to make smart decisions with regards to preventing and eliminating this difficult weed. The following are some tips for making a lawn free of crabgrass.

• Prevention – Prevention is an important part of controlling crabgrass. If you keep your grass at a slightly greater height it can shade out the crabgrass and make it difficult to grow. Another method of prevention is to water your lawn less often and deeply. This makes the roots grow longer, which improves thatch and drowns out crabgrass. You can also use aeration and overseeding to create thicker roots that will prevent crabgrass from growing.
• Controlling crabgrass – If you are not lucky enough to stop the crabgrass before it appears, there are still some remedies you can enact in order to banish this annoyance from your otherwise beautiful lawn. These include:
  • Herbicide – Because crabgrass can plant thousands of seeds, you need to be able to stop the seeds from germinating. One option to control it is to apply a pre-emergent herbicide. Pre-emergent herbicide is used before the crabgrass sprouts. If you want to combat already sprouted crabgrass, try using a post-emergent herbicide.
  • Corn Gluten – Using corn gluten as an organic option to controlling the crabgrass. You can scatter the corn gluten as a way to stifle the crabgrass so it does not germinate. As with many other organic option, it should be noted that it may not be as fact acting as an herbicide, but it is a possible alternative.
  • Pulling Crabgrass – While it’s not that effective, you can try to pull out the crabgrass by hand. This tends to not kill the entire plant but may decrease the severity of the crabgrass infestation.

Making Smart Decisions About Crabgrass

Whatever option you decide to use, it is important to get a handle on it before it gets out of control. If you need assistance dealing with this lawn menace, Green Lawn Fertilizing can help you figure out a plan of action and bring your lawn back to full health. Call us today at 855-469-0692.