How to Kill Winter Lawn Weeds in Bermuda
This year winter has been a late comer. Many lawns have green Bermuda shoots coming up all over. So we need to take a step back and figure out a plan to kill winter lawn weeds in our Bermuda lawn. In this video Doc gives you some ideas about not only killing winter weeds, but also using a small amount of pre-emergent to help stop more that are coming.
Product links are listed throughout this page as well as at the bottom.
Winter Lawn Weed Video
Step #1 Read the New 2020 Lawn Guide
Just about every lawn care subject, including winter lawn weeds, is covered in the new guide. Click the book to read it. The guide also includes the 2020 Bermuda Lawn Calendar as well.
General Summary for Winter Weeds
You are either going to spot treat weeds (tank spray) or treat the whole lawn (hose end bottle). If you have severe winter weed issues or past crab grass / goose grass / dallisgrass issues, you may want to also include some pre-emergent. This liquid pre-emergent treatment is NOT the spring treatment FYI. But rather a HOLD OVER that will last about 6-8 weeks. Only use the pre-emergent if spraying the entire yard. (Not tank / spot treating)
Watch the Weather
We generally avoid applying winter lawn weed products during certain weather events. FREEZING cold temps keep most weed killing products from working well. The plants are not active. So watch your 10 day forecast and wait for a WARM front to move in. I like to see highs in the 60s.
Most weed killers work on the foliage of the plant, not all, so apply when there is no rain coming for 3 days if possible. Poa Annua is mostly killed via the roots, so don’t expect to see results for 2-3 weeks. Poa Annua dies off SLOWLY and will start to yellow in 5-10 days.
Figure Out Lawn Weeds You Have
Here is a link to a very good WEED ID if you are not sure. There are 3 BASIC groups of weeds to deal with. Broad-leaf weeds, grassy weeds, and then grab / goose grass.
Calculate Your Lawn Square Footage
Here is the lawn square footage map that Doc talks about in the video. When coming up with your winter weed killing plan this is the first step.
Understand spray coverage of the new bottles.
(Click bottles to buy on Amazon)
The new spray bottles are a 20:1 ratio. They spray a little heavier mix than other bottles. You will get roughly 2000 sq ft of coverage out of each bottle. So if you have 10,000 sq ft of lawn, you need at least 5 bottles. Each bottle holds a QUART of liquid and there are FOUR quarts in a gallon. Pretty simply math if you slow down and think.
Adding Dye and Super Juice?
If you’re using a TANK sprayer the definitely add dye. It will help you keep track of every weed you spray. TRUST ME… it gets confusing. Most people put a LITTLE dye in when using spray bottles to make sure they know the bottles are not clogging. The light green spray lets you know PRODUCT / chemicals are coming out FOR SURE.
I add a little Super Juice because of its bonding action to the soil and the fulvic acid will also stimulate the ROOTS of weeds to pick up more of the treatment. It does SLIGHTLY act as a surfactant as well. You only need to add a little, maybe 1/2 cup of dry mix per gallon.
Spot Treating Weeds
Click Spray Tank to Buy on Amazon
If you simply need to treat a handful of weeds, then get a decent spray tank like the one shown and mix based on the products label. READ THE LABEL.
Winter Weed Killing Products
General Broadleaf Weed Killer Concentrate
Grassy Weed Killer for Poa Annua, onions, and other grassy weeds.
Liquid Pre-Emergent BULK We will also this later in the spring as well.
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Winter Weeds in Lawn Pictures
