How Can I Control Weeds In My Yard?

Do you have a weed problem in your lawn?

Would you describe the weed problem as serious, with your lawn being over 50% covered in weeds?

Would you estimate that the weeds have grown on somewhere between 20% and 50% of your lawn?

Would you estimate that the weeds have grown on less than 20% of your lawn?

Do you have a weed problem in your flower garden?

Do you have trouble with annual weeds like Yellow Foxtail or Goosegrass?

Do you have a weed problem in your vegetable garden?

In cases where there is more weed than grass in the lawn, the only working solution is to use a non-selective herbicide and start growing your lawn from scratch. You can use any herbicide with glyphosate as an active ingredient and follow the instructions on the package. Avoid using it on windy days. When your lawn starts turning brown, mow it as short as you can and collect all debris. Over-seed the lawn and then water 2 to 3 times a day, every day, for 2 weeks.

In this case, you can kill the weeds but still let the grass live. Using a selective herbicide that kills weeds but not the grass will help you accomplish this. Three weeks after herbicide use, patches of your lawn will start turning brown. At that point, mow the lawn as short as you can and collect all debris. Over-seed the dead patches and then water 2 times a day, every day, for 2 weeks.

In this case, you are usually dealing only with broadleaved weeds, so you can use a selective herbicide that kills just those plants. Three weeks after herbicide use, patches of your lawn will start turning brown and dying. At that point, plant fresh grass over the patches. There should be no need to over-seed the lawn.

If there are hardly any weeds in your lawn a hand weeding tool is all you need to weed them out. After using it, just let the grass fill in the holes left by the weed.

There are a few effective ways of controlling annual weeds in your garden. The first thing you can do is to minimize the soil disturbance as a way of preventing weeds from emerging. Mulching your flowers will also prevent weed seeds from receiving enough sunlight to germinate. Pulling annual weeds each time you visit your garden will help you keep their numbers low. Try to get rid of the annual weeds within the first 3 weeks of their emergence, before they have a chance to develop seeds.

Perennial weeds like dandelion, poison ivy or thistle, are a lot harder to remove than annual weeds. Pulling them requires a weeding tool because it makes it possible to cut weed roots down 4 to 5 inches below the soil surface. The best way of controlling perennial weeds is to use selective herbicides. All perennial weeds can be controlled like this, and there is a plant-specific herbicide for almost all kinds of weeds, so make sure to know what weed species you are dealing with.

There are a few effective ways of controlling annual weeds in your garden. The first thing you can do is to minimize the soil disturbance as a way of preventing weeds from emerging. Mulching your vegetables will also prevent weed seeds from receiving enough sunlight to germinate. Pulling annual weeds each time you visit your garden will help you keep their numbers low. Try to get rid of the annual weeds within the first 3 weeks of their emergence, before they have a chance to develop seeds.

If you have trouble with weeds emerging from sidewalks and driveways you can try several different methods like using a weeding tool for less severe weed problems, or non-selective herbicides for more serious problems. If you don't like using toxic chemicals on your property, there is also a weed burner tool that burns weeds using butane gas.