We would all like to have a weed-free lawn, but unfortunately Mother Nature sometimes has other plans, no matter what we do! We may have been treating your lawn for years, and weeds still occasionally pop up. Rain carries weed seeds from other lawns or fields, wind blows weed seeds around, squirrels and mice carry them around, birds eat them and poop them out on your lawn! You see? Mother Nature at work. Our job at Fairway Lawns is keeping weeds under control.
Here are some key points about how weed control works. At the bottom of the page, you can click on individual weeds to learn a little more about them and what they look like. But it's more helpful if you read the following first. And remember, if you see weeds between your regular applications, just call us. Service calls are free to our full-program customers!
PRE-EMERGENTS
Pre-emergents are great! They go down into the soil and form a barrier (by preventing germination) for several months so that certain weeds don’t come up. Pre-emergents primarily target crabgrass and winter grassy weeds like poa annua. The bad news is that there ARE no pre-emergents for many, many other weeds like dallisgrass, johnsongrass, dandelions, etc.
POST-EMERGENTS
Post-emergents work by eliminating weeds that are already in your lawn. The weed must already be present for post-emergent material to work. Post-emergents are used for broadleaf weeds like dandelions, henbit and chickweed. But post-emergents are as important as pre-emergents. You could say, in a way, that a post-emergent can act like a pre-emergent, in that it eliminates a weed that would eventually have turned into more weeds if left unchecked. If, in the fall, you have a yard full of dandelions that go untreated, you’re going to have a whole lot more in the spring—all those little weed seeds, just waiting for spring to germinate!
GRASSY WEEDS
Grassy weeds are the worst! Why? Because they’re grass, just like your lawn. Dallisgrass, for example, is the same type of grass as Bermuda. When you fertilize the Bermuda, the dallisgrass benefits. When you try to harm the dallisgrass, the Bermuda is harmed as well. This is why you may see yellowing after we spray dallisgrass and other grassy weeds in your lawn. Luckily, it’s just temporary, because with proper mowing and watering, your grass will recover quickly.
If you started our service too late in the year to receive both of the spring pre-and post emergent applications, or if your lawn has certain kinds of weeds in it, or if it’s just in poor shape to begin with, then we may recommend Grassy Weed Applications the first year of your service. These applications are timed shortly after a fertilizer application, and shortly before the next, possibly giving you 3 or 4 applications back-to-back. The reason for this is that these weeds are so stubborn that you have to spray them several times at certain intervals. If you don’t spray them again within that interval, you have to start all over again. We spray them when we do your fertilizer application, and then we come back for the Grassy Weed application and spray them again. We know that’s hard on your budget, but it’s the best way to more quickly get the weeds under control and get your lawn looking its best. And we know you want quick results!
If applications close together are a strain on your budget, please feel free to take an additional 30 days to pay, or call our office to make other arrangements. We’ll be happy to work with you. We would rather get the applications on your lawn at the correct time and wait a little while for payment, than have your lawn look poorly.
Rest assured that we will never do “extra” applications that you did not authorize when you started the service. Our main goal your first year is to get the weeds out! Grassy weed applications are for your first year of service, only. After that, if you should need any weed control in-between your regular applications, just call us and we’ll come out on a free service call.
NUTSEDGE
Also called nutgrass, sedge grass, or water grass, nutsedge is a terribly stubborn grass that grows from a nut in the ground. It is a water grass and becomes more prevalent when we’ve had a lot of rain, or in areas where standing water occurs on a regular basis. It looks bad because it grows quickly, so that after you mow, it’s higher than your lawn in a few days. The nut in the ground never really goes away. If you pull it, it looks like you’ve pulled up the nut, but you haven’t really. We attempt to smother the foliage and can usually obtain a measure of control over it, but nutsedge can recur year after year after year, increasing in prevalence in rainy seasons.
BROADLEAF WEEDS
Broadleaf weeds (dandelions, henbit, chickweed, etc.) typically show up in early spring and again in the fall. It seems like whenever your Bermuda is still dormant, or going dormant, here come the bright green dandelions and purple flowers of henbit, sticking out like sore thumbs. Not to worry – these are some of the easiest weeds to control, and our post-emergent will take care of them nicely. Just bear in mind that there is no pre-emergent for them, so we have to see them before we can treat them. And in the spring, it isn’t unusual for us to treat a lawn for dandelions and then see a whole new crop come up next week. (That’s why service calls are free! Just let us know if you see a problem.)
WILD VIOLETS & WILD ONIONS
These are both very difficult weeds, but can be controlled over time with special materials—you may never be totally rid of them. Word of caution – NEVER plant wild violets in your flowerbeds or anywhere on your property. They may have pretty little flowers in the spring, but they will get out of your flowerbed and into your lawn and you will never get rid of them. Ever! Wild Violets can grow on a speck of dirt on top of a rock. They will take over. (If you think we’re kidding, watch Day of the Triffids – like that.)
FERTILIZER AND WEEDS
Our fertilizer applications are crucial to your lawn’s benefit. Not only do they make your lawn lush and green, they also help control weeds. The best defense against weeds is a thick, lush lawn. Lawns that are thin and sparse are open season for weeds! It’s rare to find a bare spot of dirt that stays bare, unless it’s highly compacted (like under a swing, or in a dog run.) If no grass is there, you can bet weeds are coming in.
Many people think that just taking the weed control applications is sufficient. Who needs fertilizer? It just makes you mow more, right? If you are considering taking just the weed control applications, keep three things in mind:
1 – each time we do a fertilizer application, we spot spray the weeds, keeping them under control during the summer.
2 – if you take just our weed control applications, we highly recommend that you do your own fertilizing during the summer.
3 – your lawn must have fertilizer to be healthy. A healthy, thick lawn helps keep the weeds out.
MOWING AND WATERING
Believe it or not, proper mowing and watering are also part of the weed control process! Mowing your warm season grass lawn (Bermuda, zoysia, St. Augustine) frequently during the growing season will encourage the grass to grow sideways and spread, helping it to become thick and lush and thus more impervious to weeds. Watering will keep your lawn healthy so it can stay thick and lush. If you mow infrequently, your lawn will thin out and weeds will be allowed to go to seed. (Also, it will look brown after you mow, since you should never mow off more than one third of the grass blade at a time.)
While Fairway Lawns’ applications are not an instant cure for weeds, we will constantly strive to keep them out of your lawn to the best of our ability! When you start our service, you will notice a difference after each application, and we will advise you on your estimate if we think it may take some time to get your lawn turned around.
DRIVEWAYS, SIDEWALKS, PATIOS & FLOWERBEDS
Time and again, we hear the question “Why do I have weeds along the edges of my sidewalk and driveway and around the flowerbeds? Don’t they spray the edges?”
Yes, we really do spray the edges! Weed seeds germinate much more quickly next to concrete, because the concrete warms up faster than the soil. In the spring and fall especially, you will see weeds popping up next to patios, sidewalks, and the driveway first (as well as in thin areas of your lawn – see “Fertilizer and Weeds” above.)
As for weeds in front of the flowerbeds, we try to stay away from flowerbeds. Flowers and ornamentals are very sensitive to the weed control materials, and we don’t want to damage anything. We’ve heard customers say “Gee, I don’t care if you kill a pansy, just get rid of the weeds!” but we can’t assume everyone feels that way! We will get as close as we safely can.
Click on a weed below to see what it looks like and learn a little more about it!
Chickweed
Crabgrass
Dallisgrass
Dandelions
Henbit
Nutsedge
Wild Violets