Doing Battle With Weeds

Now that February is coming to an end, you are probably beginning to see some signs of spring.

Maybe you have already thought about preparing your lawn for spring. If you have looked closely at your lawn in preparation, you may suddenly notice that there are quite a few weeds growing with gusto. Those weeds did not just pop up overnight! They are cool-season plants that germinated from seed last fall that have matured during the winter. Many of them may even be flowering and going to seed at this time of year.

A few common winter weeds of lawns that you may be seeing right now include: hairy bittercress (Fig. 1), henbit (Fig. 2) and chickweed (Fig. 3). To identify other lawn weeds, take a look at the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Turgrass website. 

So what can you do about it? At this time of year, it is best to either remove the weeds by hand (Yes, this might be a lot of labor!) or just leave them alone. The weeds are so mature at this point that a chemical herbicide is not likely to completely kill them. Spending money on an herbicide that will not do an adequate job is just wasted money. These winter weeds do not tolerate the warm temperatures that are coming soon and they will die back as the weather heats up. 

With that said, if you really want to work on improving your lawn, instead of spending money now on an herbicide that may not kill mature winter weeds, you should consider investing in a pre-emergent herbicide to help prevent spring and summer lawn weeds. You might be surprised to know that right now is the time to combat the pesky spring and summer weeds that crop up in your lawn. Don't wait until summer to do battle with these weeds or you will face the problem of mature plants that do not respond as well to herbicides. Applying a pre-emergent herbicide as close to March 1 as possible can make a big difference in the number of weeds that you contend with later in the growing season. 

Pre-emergent herbicides work differently than weed killers that are applied later in the season. A pre-emergent herbicide is just what its name implies—an herbicide that kills weeds before they "emerge" or become large. Pre-emergent herbicides kill the weeds just after they have germinated from their seed. So getting this type of weed killer down at the right time is the key to its effectiveness. You can also apply pre-emergent herbicides in the fall to prevent the winter weeds that you see at this time of  year. 

Remember that with any pesticide, the label is the law. Read the label carefully and completely and follow all the label instructions. 

For more information on your lawn and gardening questions, contact Paulding County UGA Cooperative Extension at 770-443-7616 or look for us online at www.ugaextension.com/paulding.