One of the best ways to control weeds, of course, is to never let them get started. A good dose of pre-emergent weed control will keep seeds from germinating and dominating your lawn.
When Should You Apply It?
One of the main weeds that you are trying to avoid is crabgrass. You want to apply just before that starts germinating. If you do it earlier than that, it is quite likely that rains and snows will lessen the concentration or even wash it all away. If you wait until too late, you risk the possibility of crabgrass germination starting robustly and the chemical does not have a chance to affect the seeds, wasting the opportunity.
As Cornell University mentions, crabgrass germination is usually most successful when the ground temperatures are in the range of 59F to 65 F. You want to do your weed control just before this happens for the best results.
What About My Grass Seeds? Will They Be Affected?
This kind of herbicide works because it affects seeds during the germination phase. Grass seeds are not immune to this process and they will fail to sprout if you try to grow them when a pre-emergent has been applied. You should have at least a few months time in between reseeding and pre-emergent weed control. Fall is another good time to try patching up your lawn.
You could seed your lawn a few weeks before your herbicide application in the spring. Cornell also mentions that parts of your landscape with little or no plants will warm up sooner since they have one less layer protecting it. Patch up your lawn first and there should be enough time before the crabgrass starts that you can have a successful grass germination rate.
Why Do a Split Application of Pre-Emergent Weed Control?
If you try to do only one application, you may still have problems with crabgrass and other weeds. Seeds may be blown or carried into the area and germinate after the herbicide has been washed away. When you do a second application a few weeks later, you can catch these stragglers and keep weeds at bay,
Call us today to get your applications set up. We can help keep those pesky weeds away from your beautiful lawn.
Image by anneh632 under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
