Weed Control Tips For Keeping Ugly Weeds Out Of Your Lawn

Weed control is necessary if you want a beautiful lawn. However, keeping weeds under control can be a difficult job. You might hire a lawn care service to apply herbicides at the right times during the year, but you'll probably still have leaves that pop up now and then. Here are some tips for keeping weeds out of your lawn and away from your landscaping.

Pull Weeds Up By The Roots

If weeds are growing in an area where you don't want to use herbicides, or if you just have a few isolated weeds, get rid of them by pulling up the weeds by the roots. To do this, grasp the weed close to the soil and gently wiggle it loose. Otherwise, you might snap off the weed and leave the roots to grow another weed later.

Use Edging And Mulch

If you have plants around your foundation or along a walkway, keep weeds away by putting down mulch. Mulch controls weeds by blocking the sun and weighing down the weeds, yet mulch is beneficial for your plants.

Also, put down edging along the border of your plants. The edging holds in mulch and makes it easier to mow and trim along the border of the row of plants or flowers. This helps control weeds that take advantage of spaces where grass transitions to soil.

Keep Your Grass Healthy

Weeds have difficulty growing when your grass is healthy because thick grass crowds out the weeds. If your lawn has bare spots or dying grass, weeds will start growing, spread, and become a big problem. Keep your grass healthy through regular mowing, watering when needed, and applying fertilizer.

Use Pre-Emergent Herbicide

Pre-emergent herbicide is usually effective for weed control. You can apply this yourself or have a lawn service do it before your grass starts growing in the spring. The herbicide doesn't bother your grass, but it keeps weeds from growing. Some pre-emergent herbicides are mixed with fertilizer for your grass, and applying both helps your lawn get a healthy start to a new season of growth.

Apply Post-Emergent Herbicide

If you have a problem with weeds springing up during the growing season, you may need to apply post-emergent herbicide. First, you should identify the type of weeds you have so you can choose the right product. Some herbicides kill everything, and you don't want to use them near valuable plants or broadcast them over your lawn.

You can use a sprayer so you only hit the weed when you apply it or you can buy a herbicide made for the type of weed you have and that doesn't harm your grass or landscaping plants.