[Kustrud]

Alright guys, so last year ai got a reel mower and with the help of you all had the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. Followed watering, fertilizer, etc. and it looked perfect! Now obviously dormant along with everyone else's and still looks the best! However, I put out my pre-emergent like I was supposed to (Scotts blue and white bag crabgrass and leafy weed preventer) twice a year and am having a major weed problem already. Here's pics of what it is, and it's really only on the hilly areas. I need to fix this now before it's too late! I really do not want to use a company either, I'd like to do it myself. Is this feasible? What can I do? What should I use? What'd I do wrong?

**Also curious about those spots on my yard? Nobody else reel mows/cuts short and nobody else has those. They're really only apparent after a rain.**

At the end of grass-cutting season last year there was not a single weed in my yard. Now this! Again, mainly that picture of the small side hill along with a large hill in the back.

 

[Kustrud]

 

[Kustrud]

 

[high leverage]

Top pic I think is Cudweed. Is the underside of the leaf grayish or white in color? The bottom pic is Carolina Geranium. You'll need a three-way herbicide containing (2,4-D, MCPP, DIcamba) or alternate three-way containing (2,4-D, Fluroxypry, Triclopyr). Go ahead and blanket pray the entire yard. No sense playing wack-a-mole or hide and go seek with these weeds. If spot spray more will probably show up by next week.

 

[Kustrud]

Thanks for the quick reply!

2,4,D safe for Bermuda?

 

[Movingshrub]

2,4,D safe for Bermuda?

2,4-d is a yes for Bermuda.

Triclopyr can be used during cool/dormant Bermuda.

 

[J_nick]

Thanks for the quick reply!

2,4,D safe for Bermuda?

Yes, under 85-90° you're good to go. Above that it can cause some damage.

 

[Kustrud]

So wold Crossbow be my best bet? Just spray the whole yard?

https://www.domyown.com/crossbow-specialty-herbicide-4d-triclopyr-p-4545.html

 

[Kustrud]

Or any ideas on something I could pick up locally?

Thanks again for all the help - what a great forum!

 

[J_nick]

I would personally stay away from Triclopyr on even dormant Bermuda. It's been down in the single digits here this past week with an overall cold winter and I can look into the canopy and see green.

 

[high leverage]

You might have issues with the control of Cudweed unless you have something spiked with Triclopyr. It's really nothing to be afraid of when used at lowers rates on warm season turf.

In fact check out Battleship III. The list of broadleaf weeds controlled is outstanding and it's labeled for warm season turf as long is it's cut above 1/2 in.https://www.domyown.com/msds/Battleship III Selective Herbicide Label.pdf

 

[Kustrud]

Alright so I'm gonna knock this out this weekend! Three questions!

What should I use exactly to kill this stuff, a 2,4-D mentioned above I guess? I mean, which one is the best deal and most effective overall post emergent? Typically once it warms up too hot to use, weeds should all be choked out anyway enough for me to pull what does pop up. So I need to use a surfactant or whatever it's called mixed in? If so, what?

What is the best pre emergent I can get? When should I use it? I was using Scott's once in Sept and again before March 1. This clearly didn't work. I can spray or spread so that doesn't matter. What should I get??

What kind of sprayer tip should I get and where do I get it for my back back sprayer?

Sorry for being kind winded and I greatly appreciate the help!

 

[Ware]

I would spray some generic 2,4-D that you should be able to pick up anywhere, then hand pull anything it doesn't kill.

I would not expect 6 months of control out of Scotts Halts. If you only want to apply pre-e twice a year, I would look to Prodiamine 65 WDG.

Any fan tip should work. If you want to get technical, I use XR or Turbo TeeJets for contact products and Air Induction (AI) for pre-e. The most important part is calibration - it is imperative that you know exactly how much product you are applying.

When you get a chance, update your profile with your lawn size.

 

[Movingshrub]

Do you have any ortho weed-b-gon on hand? I am trying to keep you from buying something new if you already have stuff that will do the job.

 

[J_nick]

Do you have any ortho weed-b-gon on hand? I am trying to keep you from buying something new if you already have stuff that will do the job.

+1, that's what I was thinking also. I'm sure that Battleship III would work better but $188 for 2.5 gallons of it is a steep price to pay

 

[Mightyquinn]

I don't think anyone has mentioned about the "spots" in the lawn. I get those too in my lawn, I think they could be LDS(Localized Dry Spots). They usually go away once the lawn greens up but if you continue to have issues you may want to look into a wetting agent.

 

[Kustrud]

I don't think anyone has mentioned about the "spots" in the lawn. I get those too in my lawn, I think they could be LDS(Localized Dry Spots). They usually go away once the lawn greens up but if you continue to have issues you may want to look into a wetting agent.

Understood - thanks!

 

[Kustrud]

I have tried the Weed B Gone and it just does not seem to work! Also seems like it it just rolls off the weed. So here's where I am at.

1. I'll get some generic 2,4-D to try and kill what's there.
2. I def need a better pre-emergent, can I get Prodiamine 65 WDG anywhere locally?
3. What should I or do I need to use as a surfactant with the 2,4-D?

 

[Movingshrub]

I have tried the Weed B Gone and it just does not seem to work! Also seems like it it just rolls off the weed. So here's where I am at.

1. I'll get some generic 2,4-D to try and kill what's there.
2. I def need a better pre-emergent, can I get Prodiamine 65 WDG anywhere locally?
3. What should I or do I need to use as a surfactant with the 2,4-D?

To your question on where to get prodiamine 65 WDG, I purchased from pestrong.com which is out of GA, there's also www.lawnandpestcontrolsupply.com , domyown.com , and many others. Usually the smallest amount is going to be a 5LB container and it will have to be mixed with water and sprayed over the lawn.

When did you apply the weed-b-gone? The weed-b-gon product is an amine version of three way which is going to have a hard time during cool weather (below 65F).

Before you go buy something, lets make sure you get the right product.

Options:
If only a few weeds - hand pull them or snag a paint brush and brush them with glyphosate.
If more significant amount of weeds where you will definitely want to spray:
Three way Amine, containing 2,4-D, MCPP, and Dicamba - most effective 65F+; can be used year around but also have to be careful during warm weather. You could probably get a three way amine and combine it with
Three way Ester, containing 2,4-D, MCPP, and Dicamba - more effective kill as the ester formualations tend to penetrate better, except more likely to cause harm to good plants in hot weather
Items like crossbow (which is an ester) will probably totally smoke it due to the triclopyr and 2,4-D combo, however, you're not going to want to use that when your Bermuda greens up as triclopyr can suppress Bermuda grass.

With that all being said, out of the above, the only thing that's going to kill the poa annua is going to be glyphosate.
So, you can hand pull it, brush it with glyphosate, or use something else.

You can try Celsius combined with either a methylated seed oil or crop oil concentrate? ( @high leverage - Can you help me out on that one?) which should get rid of many of the weeds and maybe your poa annua.

My 0.02 would be, get crossbow or a three-way ester, spray everything that's broadleaf and then glyphosate or hand pull the poa annua and anything that survived. That solution would probably cost you $20-$30 depending on the size of the container. If you have a bunch of poa, we're going to start looking at simazine (what about a blanket spray of this? It's cheap and might knock out the poa and should control all the broad leaf, right?), katana, monument, revolver, celsius, and certainty.

 

[high leverage]

It really comes down to how much money your willing to spend. There are many options. The one thing I wouldn't do is buy more traditional three way (2,4-D, MCPP, DIcamba) products if you already have Weed-B-Gone on hand. I can also tell you since there are already weeds present more are on the way. There just not visible yet.