Making Your Lawn Weed Free

Get Your Lawn Ready for Summer

We’ve all been there, during the winter months you dream of sitting in a lawn chair sipping lemonade while sinking your feet into a lawn of lush grass. But come warm weather you find instead a yard full of clover and fuzzy dandelions.

It always seems like the weeds come back in Spring and Summer at a much greater rate than your grass. First it’s one dandelion, then it’s a whole yard full. Next thing you know your yard is full of weeds and not looking like the perfect place to have a cook out.

Luckily you can bring your yard back to life and save Summer by ridding your yard of weeds and helping boost your lawn’s overall health. Let’s take a look at how to get your yard back into shape.

Why Do Weeds Thrive in My Yard?

Although they are certainly a nuisance, weeds are also just plants. They are no different than your grass, flowers, or even shrubs. If the environment is right for them, they’ll run wild in your yard, just like grass will.

So what you need to do is to make sure your lawn is not an ideal environment for weeds. If you keep your lawn mowed too low, have compacted soil, and your turf is water deprived, your lawn is an ideal environment for weeds. So to get rid of them, keep your grass a healthy height, keep your yard watered, and aerate the soil of your yard. If you keep your yard healthy and watered, it’ll be a lot harder for weeds to take up residence there.

How Do I Kill Weeds Without Killing My Grass?

To kill weeds without killing your lawn, you need to look to pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides. Both are made specifically to kill weeds without damaging your yard. If applied correctly, pre-emergent will handle your crabgrass problem, while post-emergent will handle dandelions. Neither of these will hurt your lawn, if you use them correctly.

How Do I Get Rid of Weeds Naturally?

If you prefer not to use harsh chemicals on your yard and prefer natural methods, you can still keep your lawn healthy and weed free. However, it will take more time and effort.

To get rid of weeds naturally, pick a vinegar that contains more than the standard 5% acetic acid. If you go to your local home improvement store they should have vinegar with 10 – 20% acetic acid. 

Once you have the vinegar, put it in a spray bottle and spray the weeds with them. This method will dry out the plants leaves and kill what’s above ground. If used properly this method will kill 80 – 100% of the weeds’ top growth.

It should be noted that this method works best for small groups of weeds. For larger spreads, we still recommend using a herbicide.

Four Steps to a Healthier Yard

If your yard is more weeds than grass, here are four steps to a healthier lawn:

1 – Check your yard carefully and figure out which weeds you’re dealing with. Since there are specific treatments for different types of weed, it’s important to know what problem you have, so you use the appropriate solution.

2 – Make sure you get the correct treatment for the stage the weed is in. For example, if you plan to go after weeds in the Spring before the growing season, you’ll need to use a pre-emergent herbicide. If you are going after established weeds you will need a post-emergent herbicide.

3 – Very carefully apply the herbicide, following the instructions on the package. Be very careful and make sure to thoroughly read the instructions. If improperly applied, some herbicides can also damage your grass.

4 – Set a lawn maintenance schedule and follow it to keep your lawn weed free.

• In the fall you need to seed and aerate your lawn.
• Give your turf a final short mow and fertilize before winter.
• In Spring, use a pre-emergent and pull any lingering weeds.
• Mow your grass regularly in the Spring and Summer. However, be careful and don’t remove more than a third of the grass at a time.

Lawn Maintenance Doesn’t Have to Be a Chore!

As you can see, proper lawn maintenance is essential to keeping the weeds out and keeping your lawn a comfortable place to relax in the warm months. But if you don’t have time to take care of it, or you just want more time to cook out instead of working the lawn, contact us. We have a team of lawn care professionals that will keep your yard looking great all Summer long. That way you can spend less time worrying about the yard, and more time enjoying your cookout.