I've never dealt with this before so I just looking up some articles. From what I read online, Celsius should kill sand spurs that have already emerged, and Prodiamine should be used as your pre-emergent. Anything you see as the spurs, that plant has already gone to seed an is in is last state, so your pre-em treatment is going to be critical to stop the process from happening again.

It looks like Celsius should be safe for centipede grass, but I am sure the experts can give you more information than I have.

 

I have some Celsius on the way. If I can control it purely with pre em or pre em and celsius that's fantastic!

Unless I'm mistaken, the existing plants will continue to come back each year it they aren't killed also, right?

Maybe I can experiment with perfecting my sprayer setup and calibration in the back while working on the spurs before I tackle my sod in the front.

 

At least from what I read, the battle plan should be similar to that of crabgrass. Killing the plant is one thing, but the plant will drop seeds that will cause it to come back next season and start the process over again. The plants you see now are the results of previous problems. To stop the cycle, you need to kill the current plant, and then use pre-emergent to block everything thats in the ground waiting to pop back up. Otherwise it's just a giant game of whack-a-mole. The article said sandspur does best in open areas, so work hard on making sure to get grass coverage as well. This is probably why you haven't seen it in your newly sodded areas.

 

What kind of grass do you have?

 

Oh yes, I knew pre emergent needs to be part of the plan or they'll just come right back. I'm absolutely putting out pre emergent. I just wasn't totally sure whether pre emergent over time will take it out or not. I was only maybe 70 percent sure the established plants will continue coming back without eradication.

I have centipede, but the back yard is left from when this was just a wild unused lot. It's centipede, but really a little of this and a little of that. I'm not well versed enough in turf grasses to really tell. This is very sandy soil so it's all running grasses. This area was mostly sand after construction was complete, and it filled back in naturally over the course of several months.

 

Check your pH. Sand Spurs like an acidic soil (low pH). Instead of just throwing chemicals at it, why not try to get the soil to a point where it won't like to grow. Lime does take some time to raise the pH, but in the long run I think that is the best option. JMHO

 

Doesn't Centipede also like acidic soils?

How basic can the soil be and still let centipede thrive?

 

I believe Clethodem or Sethoxydim will kill them. As others have said, 1 or 2 shots of Prodiamine in the early spring will do wonders.

 

I will definitely use a pre em! I want to do that over the entire lawn. I have a soil test kit ordered from Clemson, so I'll find my ph while I'm doing that regardless, and I'll research more what raising the pH will do to the centipede. That sounds like a good long term preventive measure.

 

It's getting close to time, and I'm getting ready to purchase some prodiamine. I don't know why, but I thought it was granular and I'd have to broadcast it.

No big deal, I've bought a Ryobi 4 gal backpack recently, but I've yet to try to calibrate it, or get a teejet nozzle or anything.

Anyway, I have roughly 13,000 square feet of lawn, but total I've got about .8 acres I want to treat with prodiamine just for sand spur control.

I only have the means to water in the 13,000 square feet where I've laid sod around my house.

How important is it for this stuff to get watered in right away?

Important enough that I should carefully plan it around projected rainfall?

I guess it's not impossible that I can water it all in, just time consuming and laborious.

I have 12 impact sprinklers that I use to water my lawn, and I have a couple of 100' hoses spare I could use. Maybe I could spray in sections and water in after I spray one portion.

One of the problems is I work 6 and sometimes 7 days a week. I only have so much free time available to devote to stuff like this. So, ideally, if know it all out one Saturday afternoon/Sunday.

 

...How important is it for this stuff to get watered in right away?

The Prodiamine 65 WDG label calls for 1/2" of rainfall or irrigation before weed seeds germinate and within 14 days following application.

 

It shouldn't be too difficult to make that happen.

 

I don't reckon that, while I'm covering the lawn with a sprayer, I could sneak am insecticide in there too? Specifically for carpenter ants. They're terrible!

 

If you don't mind, will you double check my nozzle choices?

I think I want to mix my prod for 1 gal of mixture applied per 1000 square feet. It recommends a MINIMUM of 1/2 gallon. I figure diluting it a bit more might be good for me for now since I'm new to spraying. If I happen to spray/spill a lot on a spot maybe it won't be as bad?

Anyway, I think I want to mix for 1 gal/1000 square feet.

I think it's a good idea for me to plan to make two perpendicular passes, calibrated to apply approximately 1/2 gal/1000 on each pass.

However, since teejet nozzles are cheap, I want to buy one for .5 g/1000, and one for 1gal/1000. If I get good at it and gain confidence I may go to one pass and apply all 1 gal/1000 at once to save me some time.

All that said, my sprayer is rated for 60 psi (Ryobi 4 gal backpack). It supposedly fits teejets directly, and actually includes a nozzle that looks like a teejet to my untrained eye.

At 60 psi, applying prodiamine, with a target goal of 1/2 g/1000 or maybe 1 gal/1000, and my walking speed of about 3 mph, I'm thinking I need to pick up the aixr 11002, AND the aixr 11004.

Would this be a good choice for a soil app like this, 60 psi, and 3 mph?



I'll start on areas that are NOT in front of my house. Lol

 

Well, I had my mind made up I was going to use a granular prodiamine that I could broadcast with my spreader. I knew it would be less cost effective.

But, after shopping on DoMyOwn for a few minutes, I just couldn't bring myself to spend SO MUCH more for granular. Not when I need to treat nearly an acre. So I picked up the Prodiamine 65WDG. You can't beat the cost effectiveness of that, especially with the 10% coupon!

 

I just ordered an assortment of nozzles to meet the minimum price requirement. I suspect I'll settle in on one that I like and use, but there will be a couple for me to play around with.

 

I hope to spray my first area tonight. It will be in my back yard inside the fence, sort of a test area. I think I'm going to go for broke and try to cover back here in one pass, instead of two perpendicular passes.

I'll calibrate my sprayer, figure out how many gallons per 1000 square feet I spray with the nozzle I decide to use, and mix my solution accordingly.

 

Prodiamine is down, over the whole property. Fingers crossed this greatly reduced the spurs next year!

 

The prodiamine worked well for a season.

However, further research taught me that prodiamine is really too harsh a root pruner for centipede, especially new centipede.

So I only applied the one dose, and they are back! I've learned what rh plant looks like and I see them everywhere. The fun begins again!

 

Thanks for the update. I'm thinking about tackling the sand spurs in my MIL's yard.