How do I control weeds in my lawn

All proud lawn owners know that there are times of the year when uninvited weeds turn up and spoil your lawn. You’ll also know that your efforts to control them can be hit and miss. The same chemical, applied in the same way doesn’t necessarily equal the

There are many chemicals that will selectively control weeds in lawn. The type you choose depends on the lawn you are spraying and the weeds you have in it. Typically, there are herbicides for winter grasses, summer grasses and broad leaf weeds, each of them registered by a government regulatory authority (APVMA) to kill weeds without killing the lawn. What can seem like random results are not as a result of the efficacy of the chemical but rather a bunch of other factors which can play havoc with how well they work. There are many factors which can affect how well a selective herbicide works. Environmental factors like the temperature on the day of application, the time of day you spray, rain and dew all effect your results. As does what strength you mixed the chemical at, how much of that mix you applied, and how much of the weed you managed to spray with the chemical. Then, lastly some weeds are simply hard to kill and need several, well timed applications to do the job.

All this may make you think that weed killing is tough to get right but with some understanding and simple tips, it’s much easier for you to get reliable and consistent results. Here are my tips for getting the best out of your spraying:

•  Make sure there is no rain or dew expected for 24 hours proceeding the application
• Spray in the morning rather than the afternoon to ensure maximum daylight hours after application
• Aim for a day which is warmer rather than cooler
• Always mix the chemical exactly as recommended on the label. More of the concentrate doesn’t equal a better result. Often mixing a more concentrated batch reduces the effectiveness of the chemical
• Always spray the mix over the recommended area. For example, if the label says mix 30mls of concentrate with 5 litres of water and spray over 50 square metres, make sure you actually spray the 5 litres of mix over 50 square metres. I often see people spraying the mix over a much smaller area, which in effect applies more of the chemical than is recommended.
• I would recommend spraying your whole lawn rather than spot spraying if you have a heavy infestation of weeds. Spot spraying can lead to applying too much chemical on each weed and it can lead to only spraying part of the weed. Often creeping weeds can get quite large and it’s easy to miss parts of the weed if you’re spot spraying, leaving the missed parts to keep on living.
• If you have a tough weed like creeping oxalis of clover, try adding a wetter and spreader to the mix. It ensures even penetration and helps stick the chemical to the weed thereby getting a better result
• Expect to spray several times to clean up your lawn as while some weeds die quickly, others are as tough as nails and will need some convincing to exit your lawn.
• If you have had weeds in your lawn for a while, you’ve no doubt got a lot of weed seeds lurking under the surface. Don’t be surprised to see a resurgence of weeds as the seeds germinate. Vigilance is the key here – Keep spraying as required. Better yet, consider a pre-emergent herbicide which is designed to stop the seeds from germinating in the first place.

We'd recommend the following weed killers to safely control weeds in lawn: