This article is about WEED control. It will explain why weeds are a problem and what needs to be done for controlling random growth.

UNDERLINED IN THE TEXT BELOW. Most of your questions will be answered in the article. Be sure to read all of it before you call in for technical support.

If you are looking for information on some other garden topic, insect or animal, go to our article archive section by following the link below where you will find in depth articles and information on just about any pest.

Weeds are plants which grow in areas where they are not wanted. One mans "weed" is another man's "flower “so there is no definitive physical characteristic or quality that makes any one plant a "weed". Clearly there are many cases where a "weed" is something desirable and not a true weed; conversely there are many times when flowers, vines, or grasses may grow where they are not wanted and thus referred to as a "weed". The purpose of this article is not to categorize or to pass judgment on plant life. The purpose of this article is to explain treatment strategies and then list options available to put those strategies into action. These actions will allow you to get growing "what you want where you want".

Anyone who has attempted weed control knows this subject is both subjective and confusing. Just take a trip to your local nursery or home center and walk down any of the many aisles they commonly have for yard and garden weed control. There are thousands of active ingredients available. To further complicate matters, there are thousands of manufacturers sharing many of the same chemicals. This leads to many products as being somewhat similar yet inherently different. And since so many are targeting a wide range of weeds, it is virtually impossible to determine which active ingredient would be best suited for any one application. The result for many people is to try several and hope that one works as advertised. Well, the author of this article intends to take away this "guesswork". He intends to enable you to make sound decisions based on what it is you want to accomplish. In this article you will find the best materials available for any given job; all you need to do is decide what you want to do and then choose what level of protection you want to employ. As you will soon see, there are many, many products available. Some will prevent weeds, some will kill weeds, some will be able to target specific weeds, and yet others will be able to kill certain weeds without impacting other plants that are directly sprayed. For most situations, there will be a choice or two that needs to be made but these choices will be based largely on what you are targeting and how long you want to keep it targeted.

First, there is some basic language or verbiage commonly discussed when discussing weed control. Understanding these words will make comprehending product labels easier. The following is a short list of the more common words you may expect to find while reading product labels.

Square Footage: This refers to a measurement, generally calculated in "feet", and is critical when determining how much of a particular product will be needed for any given application. You must first know the "sq/ft" of the lawn, garden bed, island, etc. which is being treated if you intend on doing a good job. This number is acquired by multiplying the length times the width of ground involved.

An area having a 10 foot length and a 10 foot width would have 100 sq/ft of area. Yards around the home are commonly in the 5,000 to 10,000 sq/ft range. An acre is approximately 44,000 sq/ft and though homes commonly sit on 1/4 or 1/2 acre, it is important to realize that

the house, concrete, and other structures take up some of this space. When measuring grass, flower beds, or other turf, you need to do just that: measure it. Don't think that just because it says .5 acre on your property deed you have 1/2 acre of grass. Most areas are much smaller than people imagine which can lead to over applications. Over applying herbicides can be deadly for turf and other plants so don't make this mistake. Measure before you treat and once this data is recorded accurately, keep it logged somewhere for future reference. If you don't feel like dragging a tape measure all around, use a MEASURING WHEEL which adds up distances as you walk. Once you acquire the length and width of turf involved you can calculate the sq./ft.

Broadleaf Weeds: This type of general categorization refers to the type of plant being targeted. Most plant life falls into one of two types; broadleaf or grassy type. Broadleaf is generally the type that looks like it is described; they tend to have a leaf that is flat and wide. Shrubs, trees, most flowering plants, and vines in general all are susceptible to weed killers that target broadleaf plants. These types of herbicides are commonly referred to as "broadleaf killers".

Fungicide: A type of Herbicide used to control fungus on plant life. Grassy Weeds: This type of weed tends to grow more like grass.

The structure of the plant will be long and slender, like a blade of grass, and is somewhat harder to see when it grows in the lawn. Crabgrass is an easy grassy weed to see. This is true because it grows in a flat circular pattern. Other grassy weeds like "goose grass" or "wild fescue" is not so easy to see and sometimes gets well established before protective measures are put in place.

Growth Regulator: Product that controls the growth of plants. Fertilizers can impact growth patterns and generally will cause plants to grow faster than normal but fertilizers are not considered to be growth regulators. Most true regulators are used to help slow growth patterns. This keeps targeted plants alive and healthy but not out of control.

Herbicide: General term used to categorized most anything that is applied to plant life. Pre Emerge: A type of chemical that is applied to turf which prohibits the proper development of seeds. Essentially "birth control" for plants, the use of pre emerge can be the single most powerful tool for weed control. Applying this product during the "off season" can many times prevent weeds from ever growing and in the long run save time, money and cost.

However, pre-emergent materials are rarely used by home owners.

Post Emerge: A type of chemical that works on targets which are currently growing and above ground. Though selective active ingredients are available, it is important to make sure you don't apply a post emerge over a plant which may be susceptible to the material being applied. In most cases the targeted weed will be but there could be other nearby plants also vulnerable so care must be taken when used.

This is clearly the most common type herbicide that home owners will use. Most people use the "wait and spray" thought process hoping they weeds won't find their yard.

Once seen, aggressive post emergent material is acquired to knock out the unwanted growth. Over Spray: What can happen when spraying? Generally a bathing, if overspray gets on non- target plants, they could die or at the very least be adversely affected. One should do applications while attempting to minimize overspray.

This can be done by spraying when wind is either light or non-existent. Special equipment can also be used that will help prevent such misapplication. For example, the use of a FOAMER will enable you to apply precise amounts of herbicide to a specific plant thus minimizing the chance of overspray and cross contamination. This is a very effective tool and will enable the applicator to treat weed problems without jeopardizing the health of his"good" plants. Just "foam" the weed and leave all other plants alone.

Total Vegetation Kill: Something like Roundup would be a material that can produce a "total vegetation kill" but there are other materials that can accomplish such results.

In fact, there are better working less costly alternatives so if you are someone that finds themselves applying a lot of Roundup during the course of any growing season, pay attention to this article. Chances are the author will identify several choices for any one target site that will be both fast working and longer lasting then using the old standby most people know as "roundup". Soil Sterilents: Like pre emerge type products but different in that the soil is being affected instead of the seeds from which plants grow.

Selective Weed Killer: A product that targets a specific weed or type of weed. Spreader Sticker: Also known as adjuvants or surfactants, Spreader Sticker is almost always needed when treating plants. It will enhance the performance of your effort so you can get the "most bang for your buck". By adding

Spreader Sticker to your tank mix, you can get applications to coat targeted plants more effectively.

Once you have a basic understanding of the terminology that will be used while considering weed control options, you can then start to analyze the different treatment sites or locations where you plan on doing applications.

In most situations, there will be a mixture of materials needed for any one treatment location. The exact combination used will depend largely on what you are targeting. However, the

range of products available may be limited. For example, crab grass control in parking lots along cracks and seams in the cement can generally be accomplished with almostcrabgrass any material.

Such treatment sicrabgrassghts are prime locations for soil sterilant and total vegetation kill.

However, if you wanted to kill this same type of weed (crab grass) in your fescue or Bermuda lawn, you wouldn't want to use these same products! That's a recipe for disaster. So sensitive are some plants to certain materials that it is often best to have at least two types of sprayers available. One can be used for total vegetation killers and the other for selective products. Such a strategy can oftentimes minimize the risk of cross contamination which can occur even if sprayers are rinsed.

DIFFERENT TREATMENT SITES THAT COMMONLY NEED WEED CONTROL

There are many types of sights that commonly need weed control. Though most people think of their grass first, common sites include the following:

1)        DRIVEWAYS

2)        PARKING LOTS

3)        FENCE ROWS

4)        PINE ISLANDS

5)        FLOWER BEDS

6)        GROUND COVER LANDSCAPING

7)        GRASS (YARDS)

The above listed areas can all be subject to unwanted weed growth. Fortunately there are many products available for keeping weeds under control. Let’s take a look at some of these options.

PARKING LOTS AND DRIVEWAYS

Though parking lots and drive ways are mostly made of either cement or asphalt, they do not provide a shield through which weeds cannot grow. Cement will crack, seams will appear and weeds will prosper. If you have a small area like a front stoop, patio or small walkway, you may be able to keep the weeds under control using a ready to spray product likeKNOCKOUT AEROSOL WEED KILLER. Its fast acting, will kill anything sprayed and is very easy to use.

However, it won't prove efficient or cost effective for most jobs around the home. Anytime there is a lot of ground to cover and a lot of weeds involved, you will get better results using a concentrate. The key is choosing the right one and with all the options available today, this can be a hard choice. One of the best is PRAMITOL. It will work on any weed living aboveground but its real strength lies in it’ ability to work as a Soil Sterilent. This means that whenapplied at the right rate, you can stop anything from growing on treated areas. Depending on the region where you reside, this residual could last 6-12 months.

If you have a really bad population of established weeds, use a couple of products in your spray tank at the same time. Add Pramitol for long term control but then add some

ERASER to the tank. This product is similar to Roundup but includes a Spreader Sticker so you get better performance.

Remember, Spreader Sticker is what should be mixed with any turf product enabling the treatment to work that much better. If the current weed growth is minimal and you are only going to use Pramitol by itself, add SPREADER STICKER  to the mix. This will insure the Pramitol does its job on both the above ground weeds and the soil below. Use one of our SPRAYERS for the job.

If the drive way is more of a dirt type with gravel or loose stones, weeds can still be a problem. Though liquids can be applied over such areas, granules will do better as they won't get absorbed by the loose rock or gravel. If you have a lot of above ground growth, you still should use the Eraser for a fast kill. Next, apply PRAMITOL GRANULES if you want long term protection. Use a GRANULE SPREADER  to make the application. If this area tends to be moist and you are fighting moss or algae growth, the best material to apply will be MOSS AND ALGAE KILLER. Apply it as needed, which is generally twice a year, to stop unsightly moss or algae growth.

FENCE ROWS

Since cutting the grass up against fence rows is hard, such locations are ideal for weeds to grow if left unchecked.

If your fence row is removed from turf which is growing grass, flowers, shrubs or anything important, you may choose to apply both Eraser and Pramitol. Again, the Eraser will provide the immediate kill of everything growing and the Pramitol will keep the soil plant free for long periods of time. However, if you have sensitive plants close by, the chance of runoff, overspray or leaching could make such applications not worth the risk.

There are specialized chemicals which may be work better under these conditions.

If the area along the fence row is currently growing wild plants that serve to prevent ground erosion, you shouldn't kill them. However, since most wild plants will grow out of control if left unchecked, the use of a growth regulator may be warranted. EMBARK is such a product. Applied to the ground this product will slow the growth of most any plant including both broad leaf and grassy plants. It's ideal for use on plants that tend to grow fast and uncontrollably. It will work on Kudzu and other vines too.

If the fence row runs through Pine Isles, Flower Beds or Ground Cover which you want to keep healthy, proceed to one of the sections below that best describes your environment. The following sections will detail many other treatment options currently available. There are several choices that will both kill and slow fence row plant growth and if needed, specialized chemicals that can be used that will eliminate the need to jeopardize the health of your other nearby plants.

PINE ISLES

The term Pine Isles is being used by the author to describe any type of island where nothing is generally growing or where maybe only a tree or two exists. For the most part, established trees will have root systems in place making them largely unaffected by the treatments discussed in this article. Though concern is warranted, it is generally not easy to adversely affect a tree unless you spray their leaves or inject material deep into the ground. Ordinary top soil applications discussed here will rarely go more than a few inches down in the soil and therefore won't threaten healthy large trees.

Clearly saplings, diseased and small or newly installed trees will be more vulnerable and care should be taken if and when you need to treat around them. Use common sense and if you are unsure, give us a call or e-mail to get any question you may have before you proceed.

Many people will have islands around their home. These are sometimes referred to as "wild areas" or "mulch" and almost all will grow weeds if left untreated. If this growth is not wanted and erosion is not an issue, Pramitol may be applied to keep it plant free. Though the use of a "weed barrier" may seem like a good choice, rarely do they last more than a season. Most will do an OK job of keeping the roots of plant growth from reaching the dirt below. However, the mulch above the barrier can easily serve as soil. Plants will be quick to take root in this covering. Pine straw, wood chips and even stone will prove more than adequate for the growth of most weeds so don't be surprised if you have spent a lot of time and money laying a weed barrier only to find plenty of weed growth over these areas a few months after you did your install. This is to be expected. The real question here is what product will best keep the area free of this unwanted growth.

If these islands are barren and bare, the Pramitol may be the best long lasting material to apply. If you have a lot of weed growth, add the Eraser to help knockdown the established growth. You may even want to give a "face lift" to the mulch by adding some MULCH MAGIC to the tank mix. This brown "paint" is perfectly safe and completely bio gradable so it won't hurt any living plant

However, its brown color is natural and bright making even the oldest pine straw or wood chips look new again. If you don't feel like replacing all your mulch just yet, use the Mulch Magic to brighten up the area. It will certainly extend the life of what you have out and postpone the cost of new material. Now if you have a lot of ground cover or flowers in these islands, read the next section which will list several more products that can be used when such plants are present and you don't want to risk hurting them while treating for the weed growth.

FLOWER BEDS/GROUND COVER ISLANDS

Since most islands or mulch have some type of plant growth besides weed, it is important to use products in such areas that will target the weeds and not the plants you want to keep. There are several options available for such applications. Some will target broadleaf plants while others will only affect grassy weeds. The unique quality of these specialized herbicides is that they can be applied over established plants such as flowers, shrubs and other beneficial plants without harm. Lastly, there are Pre Emerge products that can be applied throughout the year so weeds can never start to grow. These Pre Emerge products will last many months,

stop all weed seeds from growing and yet established flowers and other plants will not be affected.

It is strongly advisable to use such materials whenever possible. Such products are less acutely toxic to plants in general so the risk of overspray or danger to other beneficial plants is kept minimal. Treating established plants will require stronger more costly products in the long run take more time to employ.

If you have established shrubs like Azalea or any other common low growing bush or plant, care must be taken if you want to spray some type of weed killing agent. Products like Pramitol or Eraser would be deadly on such plants and cannot be used. However, there are special chemicals, called

Selective Herbicides, made specifically for such applications.

For example, BASAGRAN can be sprayed directly on many shrubs like Holly and other commonly found ground cover. Amazingly, it won't impact the ground cover you want to keep but it will kill off the weed. It can even be applied over many types of flowers so if you have a lot of broadleaf type weeds, Basagran would be a selective herbicide that could be used.

If the unwanted weed is some type of grass like Bermuda or Crab Grass, POAST would be the Selective Herbicide of choice. Poast will target just the grass and like Basagran, won’t impact most flowers or ground cover shrubs. With both Basagran and Poast, you can now spray weeds that are growing in established flower beds or pine isles without presenting any risk to the beneficial plants. To get the best results, be sure to add some Spreader Sticker to the tank mix as this will allow the active to better adhere to targeted weeds.

Another product you should consider adding to the tank mix when using either Poast or Basagran is some SURFLAN.

This material is a true Pre Emerge. Pre-emergent products are used when you want to stop seeds from germinating.

In other words, Surflan won't do anything to growingweeds but by stopping their seeds, new ones won't be able to start. What’s even more important is that you can use it in flower beds where you either have flowers growing or where you intend on planting some seasonal color. Even new shrubs, old shrubs, new trees or old trees won't be affected. Surflan won't hurt anything already established.

Since it will stop all seeds from growing, you don't want to use it where you will be planting seeds in the near future. Most Surflan applications will remain active for 3-4months so take this into consideration when deciding where to use it.

GRASS LAWNS LIKE FESCUE, BERMUDA and BENTGRASS

Anyone that has attempted to grow grass knows that weeds are a constant threat. They're unsightly, persistent and fast growing. Each spring they magically appear and seem to want to "take over". If given the chance, several species are capable of this feat. They will systematically kill off the beneficial grass. This will happen gradually and over time as they steal vital nutrients and water your native grass needs. Within one season their presence will become well established and some species can become the major plant in as little as three years. There are many reasons why weeds, both grassy and broadleaf, are able to "muscle in “and take over but these reasons are beyond the scope of this article. What's important to realize is that if you want green, healthy grass that is mostly weed free, you will have to care for it accordingly. The factors that allow for a successful lawn include four maintenance programs and is commonly known as "integrated turf management". Keeping a healthy green lawn will be easy if you adhere to the guidelines set forth in our articles. If you haven't already read these articles, the author strongly advises you to spend the time reading through them as soon as possible. Once you understand what it will take to get your turf looking as good as possible, it will be easier to know where to start, what to do and if you are even willing to do the work in the first place!

The Four Steps to a healthy lawn....

To get your grass looking as good as possible, you must first have good soil in which the grass can grow. You can cover a slab of rock with 10,000 sq. /ft. of the finest Bermuda and though it may look good for few days, rest assured it will all die within a short time. The kind of grass we like in our yards starts with the soil that lies underneath the sod. And to know how to best prepare and maintain that soil, you need to read our on line article about PH Control.

This article can be found here:

Once you have the PH of the turf in check, you need to understand what it will take to feed and nurture the grass you want to grow. This is a big investment of time and effort so be prepared to work. Our on line article about Fertilizers and Lawn feeding explains all you need to know and can be found on line here:

Now once you have the right soil in place with the proper PH, the right food fed to grass should yield a good healthy lawn. However, most any lawn will be vulnerable to fungus so you need to protect it against this common enemy. Fungus loves to attack healthy well fed grass and if you are in a region that seems to have an ongoing fungus problem, you’re not alone. Fungus is one of the more common reasons why people struggle with keeping their grass looking great and once the fungus moves in, weeds commonly follow. Since fungus tends to make the native plant weak and vulnerable, other plants are able to prosper - especially species which aren’t too affected by the local fungus. To learn how to keep lawn fungus under control, read through our on line fungus control article featured here:

CLICK HERE FOR OUR ON LINE ARTICLE ABOUT LAWN FUNGUS CONTROL Once you have the above handled and addressed, weed control will be easy. In fact, if all

yards had ideal


PH, excellent soil and food and were kept fungus free, few if any weeds would be given the chance to grow. The author is so sure of this because over the years of keeping a yard, he has

learned that healthy turf with healthy grass tends to keep weeds at bay. There simply aren’t enough spaces for weeds to grow since the native grass is using all the soil. He was able to notice that any section of his yard that had a fungus almost immediately gave birth to several types of weeds. These weeds were clearly not susceptible to whatever fungus was growing and active. Sections of the lawn that didn't have enough water or food would dry out and all the grass would die off. These same areas would somehow become infested with yet some other type of weed.

Clearly these were species that were drought resistant.

And if the soil had a PH that was out of whack, grass won’t stand a chance at growing right. Yet this same soil can be ideal for many other weed species just waiting to take advantage of the offering. The bottom line is that one of the most effective forms of weed control is weed prevention. The regular maintenance programs detailed in our Lawn PH, Fertilizer and Lawn

Fungus articles will obviously help to enable your grass to look as good as possible. What isn't so obvious is that these same programs will create environments in which weeds don't stand a good chance of growing. By implementing these programs and sticking to them throughout the growing season, weeds will find it hard to move in and take over. Ultimately this leads to less weed control chemicals needing to be applied, less work to get rid of weeds and healthier grass. Clearly following a good maintenance program for your grass makes sense.

Yet even the most cared for lawns will have outbreaks of some type of weed from time to time. There are various methods available to both prevent weeds and to kill them off once they start growing. The key is identifying what approach you would like to use and then stick to it.

For some people, they prefer to do their work ahead of the problem. They would rather do what they can to prevent weeds from ever growing. These people are more apt to follow maintenance programs and probably have their soil PH in check, fertilizer applied on a fixed schedule to insure the grass is fed and little to no problem with any lawn fungus. For these people, the use of a Pre Emerge like Surflan fits their approach. Surflan can be sprayed over most any grass and won't hurt established turf. The only time you wouldn't want to use it would be in the fall just prior to seeding the yard. Most Fescue lawns are seeded annually and

Surflan will prevent these seeds from growing if applied before the seed has germinated and established itself.

However, after the newly planted seeds have hatched and begun to grow, Surflan can be applied. Do this late fall to early winter, usually November or December, and your application will help to prevent spring outbreaks of many types of weeds. It's generally smart to apply some more in the spring and then again during the beginning of the summer. 2-3 treatments a year will probably keep all weed growth in check and should stop virtually all species.

If you are of the other mind set of people that seem to wait till the problem is prevalent and established, the use of post emergent materials will be required.

Fortunately there are many products available for just this need. Just which one to use will depend largely on what type of weed you are targeting? For example, if you have nothing but excessive crab grass, the use of MSMA and some Spreader Sticker would be all that is needed. This combination is excellent for crabgrass, goose grass and several species of grassy weeds and MSMA can be applied over most any type of grass. However, St. Augustine and Centipede are two types of grass which are sensitive to this materials don't use MSMA on either of them. Instead, opt for ATRAZINE as the active; it’s the best general material for Centipede and St. Augustine and though mostly targeting grassy weeds, Atrazine will work

on some broadleaf species as well. Be sure to add some TURF to the tank mix so you can see just which weeds you have sprayed and which ones you missed.

This blue marker will fade in a day or two so its blue hue won't linger long. However, it's really handy at letting you know exactly where you have sprayed.

Knowing this can help to prevent you from spraying a weed two or more times? Such over spraying or over applications can be damaging to Centipede or St.

Augustine grass so take extra care when doing weed control on this species of grass. Turf Marker will take away any doubt and make sure you get where you need to treat and at the same time make sure you don’t carelessly over apply something. For selective broadleaf weed control on the more common Bermuda or Fescue lawns, there are a lot of options as well. For small yards, some BROADLEAF WEED KILLER RTS will do the job. It will

target any leafy weed and not hurt the grass. If you have large areas to treat, basic 2-4 D is the old standby. However, it won't work on all broadleaf weeds so you may need to go for some

TRIMEC. This formulation has 2-4 D but it also includes Propionic


Acid and some Dicamba. This trio of weed killers are enough to handle most any broadleaf weed. And if you have some grassy weeds in the mix as well, go for the TRIMEC PLUS. It uses the basic Trim ec formulation and then adds MSMA so it will also work on grassy weeds like crabgrass, goose grass, etc.

Use some Spreader Sticker with any of these products to help promote better coverage and faster results.

Remember, selective weed control takes longer. It is not uncommon for treated weeds to look fine 1-2 weeks following an application. Wait at least three weeks before re applying any of the products listed above.

This ensures you don't hurt any of the "good grass".

Weeds are everywhere. They are opportunistic, fast-growing, generally unattractive, and unwanted. Yet they seem to appear anywhere we attempt to grow our gardener grass. There are many weed control options available in this day and age so almost any problem has a resolution.

The key is identifying just which product to use for any given situation. Pre-emerged products will prove tube the most efficient material since they address the problem before it ever grows. Once weeds are established, it will take stronger products which could cause a hazard to beneficial plants so be careful when making applications.

Avoid overspray and run off and generally less is more.

Remember, you can always go back and retreat any weed that you missed the first time spraying. However, you can’t go back and regenerate dead plants you have killed by application so don't do it. Be sure to have good soil in place to help native or desirable plants grow healthy and strong. Good soil means soil that is properly balanced, has a good food supply for the plants you are trying to grow, and is free from fungus. Such soil will enable desirable plants to prosper which in turn will keep unwanted weeds away. Match the right product to your target sight and weed control is easy. The products listed above should allow you to do just that but if you find you need something not listed, please give us a call. Chances are we can get whatever you need if we don't have it already.