The scourge of the well kept lawn! In
reality
it's the scourge of the "not Well
Kept" lawn. A well kept lawn that has it's soil properly aerated,
is well fed and watered and cut to the correct height will
usually take care of the weeds on it's own! This is especially
true of the grasses that spread via rhizomes and develop a
thick interlaced mat. When at their peak they are very
competitive and will typically choke out most weeds before the
get a foothold. Hey areas to consider for natural weed
control:
Mowing - Aside from mowing the weeds
keeping your grass at the correct height will help control
weeds from growing by shading the "weedlings". Mowing
frequently will also remove the seed heads from weeds, keeping
them from developing and spreading themselves.
Soil quality - Aeration and Proper
fertilization will create an environment that is friendly to
your lawn grass but discourages weed growth. If you follow
good watering, cutting and feeding practices you should have
minimal problems with weeds.
However, If you have a serious weed problem
and are inclined to do so you can use herbicides and pre-emergents.
Herbicides are available as stand alone products
as well as in Weed and Feed type products (as are the pre-emergents).
Although convenient the multipurpose products sometimes
are not desire able as the right time to
apply herbicide
or pre-emergent may not coincide
with the
best time
to apply
fertilizer.
There are a variety of herbicides and
pre-emergents available, Ideally you should identify the weeds
that you are targeting and base your decision on which of
these to you based on manufacturers guidelines.
I have found an
excellent reference source of information on
This Old
House . They have information on
identifying the weeds that you may have and links to
manufacturers of various weed control products which are well
organized.
There
are a number of insects and grubs that
can affect your lawn and quickly turn a beautiful lawn
into a patchwork of browns pots. My preference on insect
control is a spray application every 4 to 6 weeks starting in
the late spring. I believe that a granular application is
more effective but the liquid application is generally more
economical. We keep dogs as well as cats so I am always
careful to make sure that the insecticide I apply will work on
ticks and fleas as well. Since I generally apply insecticide
to prevent fleas and ticks on our animals I seldom if ever see
any damage on my lawn.
If you don't use an insecticide like I do
you need to know what to look for on your lawn before treating
it. Wilted, Dead or dying grass would probably be caused by
soil inhabiting insects, white grubs and mole crickets are an
example of these. Grass that appears
to have been cut off close to the ground is
most likely caused by thatch inhabiting insect such as cutworms,
armyworms, and sod webworms. Other thatch inhabitants such as
cinch bugs and
spittlebugs may
cause damage of dead or
wilted grass,
similar to
soil inhabiting
insects.
Here is a link to a guide that helps in
the identification of these insects. Luckily most of the insecticides available for
lawn use or broad spectrum, the concentration varying
depending on the pest you are trying to remove. So choosing an
insecticide shouldn't be too difficult to overcome any
infestations that you may have. Please read the manufacturers
recommendations and follow them carefully!