Lawn Weeds: How to Kill Weeds



How to Kill Weeds

Weed Control at a Glance

Keeping your yard well maintained will really help the grass to ward off weeds and other lawn pests. However, every now and again our lawns need a hand in fighting off disease, insects and weeds.

Here are some valuable weed control and prevention tips:

  • Conduct regular fertilising to nourish your lawn 
  • Irrigate when little rain has fallen 
  • Perform yearly yard renovations to repair holes and imperfections in your lawn 
  • Water in the early morning rather than in the late afternoon or evening 
  • Ensure your lawn mower's cutting or mulching blades are sharp so fewer grass wound sites are made when cutting 
  • Consider doing a soil test once a year 
  • Don't mow too low - keep grass height above 2.5cm from the soil 

Additional information about lawn maintenance can be found in Victa's other Lawn Tips pages.

Unfortunately, Australian weeds will crop up even in the most well maintained lawns. Weed control, then, is essential. Read on to learn how to identify and kill lawn weeds like onion weeds, bindii, and clover in your 

Weeding your Lawn

As the old saying goes, 'prevention is better than cure' and that means ensuring your lawn remains in good condition. However, even the most pristine lawn can be targeted by weeds once in a while. Hand-dispersed weed killer tackle single instances of these troublemakers. If there are too many to hand-weed, apply herbicides - but always follow pack label directions regarding how often to apply them and how much to apply.

To be most effective, you need to kill weeds while they're young and growing. Otherwise, they'll rebirth the following year. Often, weeding is performed in the early spring and summer as a part of summer lawn care The five most common problem weeds for lawns are listed on the weed control chart below. Included in this table is information about how to kill each specific lawn weed

Weed Identification Chart


Bindii

What This Weed Looks Like

Bindii is a common broadleaf weed with 12 or so tiny delicate leaves per cluster. Bindii's have multiple prickly seed heads that are painful when stepped on.          

How to Kill This Weed

In order to kill bindii weeds, kill off young seedlings just before spring using an herbicide with active ingredient 'Bromoxynil'. 

Identify and Kill Bindii Weed by Victa

Clover

What This Weed Looks Like

A prolific broadleaf weed, clover has three leaves and creamy white flowers. Its leaves are soft and usually dark green. These lawn weeds are very common in spring and summer. 

How to Kill This Weed

There is a wide range of natural & chemical sprays available at nurseries and hardware stores designed to kill and remove clover.

Identify and Kill Clover Weed by Victa

Onion Weed

What This Weed Looks Like

Onion weed grows rapidly upwards with 3 to 6 long thin leaves coming from the one weed. It has pinky-white flowers and a deep bulbous root system that is extremely hard to kill. 

How to Kill This Weed

Check the labels on weed killer sprays to see if it is formulated to kill onion weed.

Identify and Kill Onion Weed by Victa

Paspalum

What This Weed Looks Like

Paspalum is a tall coarse-leafed grass-like lawn weed with distinctive sticky seed heads. It establishes itself in thinned areas of lawn in spring and summer. 

How to Kill This Weed

Herbicides with DSMA are ideal for killing paspalum. Hand-weeding of established plants is also an easy, effective option.

Identify and Kill Paspalum Weed by Victa

Wintergrass

What This Weed Looks Like

This grass weed is light yellow-green in colour germinates in the colder months and then emerges in spring. Wintergrass usually dies out in the heat of summer but its prolific seeding ensures its return if not treated. 

How to Kill This Weed

If you have a Wintergrass problem, use a catcher on your mower to collect seed heads. Herbicides such as Endothal are effective for killing wintergrass, too.

Identify and Kill Wintergrass Weed by Victa