Crabgrass Management Starts Now

Crabgrass is a pesky annual grassy weed that loves irrigated lawns here in the Central Valley. It gets really large and very apparent in lawns by mid-summer, but by then it is much more difficult to control. Left unchecked, crabgrass can rapidly take over a nice lawn in a matter of a few years.

Here’s the problem.  You will not find an effective product for controlling existing crabgrass or dallisgrass on your store or nursery shelf.  MSMA, found in Weed Hoe and Trimec Plus, is no longer available to homeowners and was the only product that actually worked on the removal of unwanted crabgrass unlike the products offered now.  There are several products now on the market for homeowners for post-control of crabgrass and they all contain quinclorac.  I have not had good success at all in the Central Valley of California getting any significant control using these.  Maybe you will be lucky and make one of them work, but my guess is that they won’t and you will be out both the time and expense you have invested. 

Prevention is the key to crabgrass management especially without a reliable product for managing actively growing crabgrass plants.  Ideally, a pre emergent herbicide should be applied at the proper rate prior to Valentine’s Day.  There are a number of products out there (some better), but unless they are applied before seed germination at the right rate and uniformly the results could be less than desirable. We actually apply two applications to ensure better results.

What is the future for crabgrass control?  There are some products in development and a few that could be useful in certain cases.  There is a product called Tenacity that has some decent early post emergent control of crabgrass, but it is only recommended for cool season turf as Bermuda will turn temporarily white following application.  Other herbicides have also shown some respectable control of 1 to 2 leaf crabgrass (tiny) as well.  A sharp knife works well, too unless you have hundreds or thousands of plants. 

Why risk your lawn to crabgrass invasion when the cheapest and most effective solution is prevention with pre emergent herbicides.  Have your lawn treated either by yourself or a professional today.