Best Time To Kill Crabgrass ~ What To Use And Why

This is a video all about the best time of year to kill crabgrass, and the best types of products available to most homeowners to kill crabgrass. I also demonstrate how to control crabgrass without chemicals in this video.
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♦ How To Kill Crabgrass After It Has Started Growing
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[@im58woody]

I have manually pulled crabgrass out of my 2 acres of lawn for the past 5 years using a heavy claw type lawn tool. It’s been easier with each passing year. It’s therapeutic for me to get out there with my wheel barrow and yank them. I tried it with Creeping Charlie too but it was fruitless. I used Speedzone on Charlie.

[@jimjim2822]

I’m from Saskatchewan, Canada (the great white North). Crab grass absolutely thrives within this temperate zone! We have strict laws in Canada against using specific types of chemicals on weeds. Things like 2~4D, etc. were outlawed years ago. Instead we have a corn-based organic herbicide which is expensive and absolutely useless. So, it looks like I’ll be using your dinner fork method from now on. Can you send me the fork that you used ? - it seems to work miracles 😂. Great video… thank you.

[@acreguy3156]

Fellow Canadian here, Jim - Ontario. We too got screwed by the Dalton McGuilty government. No more safe proven products allowed. I use Fiesta herbicide for weeds and nematodes for grubs, both of which have limited effect. The final LD50 of the Fiesta is the same as the three-way herbicides that were banned. We also don't know the long term effect of chelated iron in the soil. But the Granola *ssholes won and a lawyer all of a sudden became an expert on herbicides. What's sickening is, we're no longer allowed to use products with a huge biodegradable safety factor but we can still buy cigarettes 🙄. Tell me that's not yet another government screwup.

[@jeffchutskoff]

Bleach does wonders

[@miscstuff7473]

Great content. Very informative. I am wondering if you have any advice for those of us in Canada where we are not allowed any of the harsh chemicals to kill crabgrass and other weeds. Other than pulling everything by hand, do you have any 'natural' products that can help a larger lawn with crabgrass and other broadleaf weeds? I've heard corn meal can work. Thoughts on this or other eco-friendly solutions? Thanks!

[@TurfMechanic]

I wish there was a better answer but corn gluten meal is the best/only natural way to prevent and it's extremely weak in the first place. Applying it would have to be done every few weeks through the Spring and because it's heavy in Nitrogen it would basically replace other types of fertilization you might be wanting to use. Even then you will still have a lot of breakthrough weeds. As for crabgrass specifically you really just need to do hand weeding at the exact easiest time of year, June for you guys in Canada is most likely best time of year. If you can take an hour on a Saturday and an hour on a Sunday for two consecutive weeks to hand pluck crabgrass in that 2-4 tiller size range when it's easy to find but also easy to pull then you'll never have any crabgrass plants getting to the seeding phase...meaning next year you'll have significantly less pressure and the corn gluten meal product might look like it's working even better. As for other broadleaf weeds, my go to is always FeHEDTA (iron). You can buy concentrates of it and mix it yourself to spray out or suppress many broadleaf weeds. It's not considered a chemical weed killer so you should be able to find some brands using FeHEDTA in your area.

[@briantayes2418]

Have they banned Killex where you live? I have had great luck with it when I do a repeat application in 5 to 7 days. I also use a surfactant and blue marker dye. It's amazing how many weeds you miss on the first pass. Hand pulling weeds using needle nose pliers works very well and each year it gets easier.

[@judyanderson8782]

Lol, anybody who suggests just pulling the crabgrass and eventually it will be gone is joking. We have a gravel driveway. I've religiously pulled crabgrass continually for 12 years for hours. It's multiplied. These plants have multiple roots spreading underground. I usually get the root when I pull them, but you NEVER get ALL the root. Therefore it keeps spreading.

[@acreguy3156]

@@briantayes2418 Yes, the idiot Granola people made sure Killex was banned.

[@ranislavir]

We got them also here in Switzerland. It took 2hrs and removed them manually on a rather small 600 square feet lawn.

[@poetrynook962]

I'm clearing a small area for a fall garden and getting up invasive plants and roots. It's been a mess. Now I've got a small patch of crabgrass to get rid of and after seeing this video I can use my big weeder to pull them up. I can't bend down anymore and it makes weeding easy. But I wondered if you can use any soap and water to kill it. Anyone know? I won't use chemicals.

[@adrianlouviere7650]

Thank you!

[@johnmccreary1554]

C’on man. I don’t have all day.

[@chocOneOOne]

complaining over a 12min video 🤣

[@johnmccreary1554]

@@chocOneOOne yes

[@kaspju21]

2x speeed bro

[@nstooge]

Here in Florida…with Florida friendly grass… I used 2.5 cups of Arm & Hammer powdered laundry soap per gallon of water. Spray it on the crab crass ( and Woods grass) and it kills the Crabgrass and Woods grass weeds. You can see both of the weeds turn dark almost immediately and it will be dead before you know it. It doesn’t really harm my lawn grass (St Augustine) and the mixture will work on some other weeds as well. I can only speak to my use of the mixture and have had great results. Woods grass is a real pain and can spread relatively fast if not caught in time. I have had to treat some pretty large ares in the past and the mixture just works. I got the idea from the University of Florida’s web site…however I believe their mixture was 2 cups of A&H per gallon and they did not mention anything about using it on woods grass. I bumped mixture up by 1/2 a cup. I wasn’t able to find a solution for the Woods grass and tried the mixture on the W-grass and found it works great. I posted my results on the UOF Agricultural blog and they indicated they would look into it. Haven’t heard anything back but I’ve been using the mixture for years now. Ultimately it’s a soap.

[@SoCalMisfit712]

I’ve seen others use straight baking soda. Not sure if the soap has some baking soda in it but great to know.

[@phyllisnaccarato5313]

Thanks I live in Canada and cannot buy theses products he is talking about. All banned.

[@renymullen4582]

--Are you using A & H Detergent?. or, A&H "washing soda" ?

[@nstooge]

@@renymullen4582 I use the powdered laundry detergent. I order it from Amazon. I have recently started using 3 Cups of the powdered detergent per gallon because the Woods Grass has been really stubborn recently. As soon as I spray it on, the WG turns a dark green. The crab grass turns a dark green with an almost blue hue to it. When I see the color change, I’m confident the weeds will die. I recommend you try it in an area where you don’t mind experimenting. It works great for me. I seem to get my crab grass from seeds that wash over from my neighbor’s yard. Ohh well. I go out every Sunday looking for WG and CG. I wish you the best of luck.

[@nstooge]

@@renymullen4582 I used the powdered detergent. I recently started using 3 Cups of the powdered detergent because the Woods Grass has been really stubborn lately. Please try it in an area where you don’t mind experimenting. I can only say how it does on the St. Augustine in my yard.

[@Ohmuugursh]

Here from Illinois... where does crabgrass come from to begin with?

[@davidfrye1921]

How to control/kill quackgrass

[@makenchips]

When you have two acres but that was an excellent suggestion of a little bit of weeding only takes a little bit of time are your size I could probably be broken down into an hour a day for a week and you have it all done and you'll find it's quite relaxing. I can't stand dandelions but this year I went out and picked all my dandelions by hand I'm two acres I took a week a 1-hour sessions breaking the yard up into areas by the time I was done I filled a whole garden cart with carcasses

[@kentcolumber2176]

❤

[@kevinbright1]

I put preemergent down every year as soon as soil temps hit 50 degress. I get crabgrass every year regardless. I feel like preemergent doesnt work.

[@briantayes2418]

I guess I'm lucky as I don't have a ton of crabgrass. I pull mine out like you do, but I use needle nose pliers, it only takes 5 seconds and it removes all the seeds that would have sprouted next year.

[@TurfMechanic]

Love that idea. I will probably go back in a couple weeks and pull the ones I missed. I'll definitely try the needle nose pliers at that time. Thanks for the suggestion 😃

[@missygilly9917]

Up in Canada (near Buffalo), tons of crabgrass too & unable to use pesticides. Front yard full of it (sad face), appreciate your tips for removal…guess I’ll brace myself for hand pulling with fork next Spring. Once removed it’ll be pretty bare, so I guess spot reseed that area?

[@johngiovanni6045]

Same herr. By the end of summer in Ontario these days, most lawns look disgusting. And in and around schools and playards, plantains are foot high! 😢

[@hometheatereman5755]

What kind of weed killer did you use that doesn't kill the grass?

[@SOVEREIGNDesigns]

that a good lookin Kitty ~ how big is he/she? looks huge

[@kodak_jack]

If you kill it, then you have a dead crabgrass plant. After you kill it, you have to pull it out. Why not just pull it out to begin with? I've had problems in August even though I applied pre-emergent in April.

[@TurfMechanic]

yeah, if you are killing big mature crabgrass plants in late summer then you are absolutely correct, the chemical treatments to prevent are the best options then if any plants breakthrough the pre-emergent barrier they should be easy enough to manually pull whenever you notice them.

[@rolandperez4284]

What if crabgrass is very mature what can I use? My daughter bought a house that lawn was very neglected and invested with Crabgrass.

[@TurfMechanic]

Best bet for this is to use quintessential quinclorac which is an improved formulation of quinclorac designed to kill crabgrass better. shrsl.com/48fdb - mix that with any methylated seed oil that you can find cheaply on Amazon or locally and hit it asap, before too many seed heads start showing up.

[@rolandperez4284]

Would this help with other grassy weeds some have tall stalks with stickers

[@ltpls1]

If you set your mower to the highest setting you will block out most weeds. “ “Mow high”

[@nicknova703]

You need to get a grandpa’s weeder

[@TurfMechanic]

I've got a flimsy one, I need grandpas actual weeder, those old tools were tanks. I had another commenter suggest I try using needle nose pliers. In a couple weeks when I see a bit more of the CG I'm going to try that and mentally compare that to the dinner fork method.

[@nicknova703]

@@TurfMechanic I just hate bending over, so I love my grandpas weeder, lots of dallis grass that sticks out like a sore thumb in Bermuda

[@pittluke]

cat at 3:35 your welcome

[@rcytb]

So much valuable knowledge; thank you for sharing.

[@TurfMechanic]

that's my job and I love doing it. Glad you found the video. :)

[@robertgill448]

Watch those damn fire ants 🐜 ouch

[@briansteeves8854]

nice info to have but unfortunately the products you talk about are not available/illegal to have in Canada if you're a home owner. Maybe the professionas are allowd to have them but that I dont know.

[@fasst5511]

Bermuda grass here. MSMA for crabgrass. Mix 1/2 oz per gallon of water and spot spray the crabgrass. I wouldn't apply it to the whole lawn though. Yes you can still buy it if you know where to look. Look for Target 6 plus.

[@bobthorman64]

Great video. Thanks for comparing a wide range of options.

[@allenletizia321]

I have a big area. I sprayed it . Then going use a plug do yard. Will it work

[@mikeo8890]

Crabgrass grow fast.

[@TurfMechanic]

yep, each one of those plants get seriously big. They are so easy to pluck out of the ground when they are small like I showed in the video. I pulled the entire side yard after filming that video. Took me about 35 min. Piece of cake now but it would be a horrible job in August.

[@Zinngeschrei]

great video, delivery. and information. Thanks!

[@profloorsca]

You could also use a step on dandelion remover. 😎👍✌️

[@Theronburrowsjr]

Can you help me with the mix ratio for a 2 gallon sprayer?

[@iilmac]

Hey Bud, link isn't posted at the end.

[@TurfMechanic]

I just posted it now, thanks for letting me know.

[@doublea4760]

I wish you would have given am explanation of why you wouldn't use tenacity in a fine fescue yard. I've got a bottle of Meso 4SC unopened for a year as I'm too scared to use it in my yard (fine fescue/kgb). Meso 4SC is kind of a generic tenacity. What's the harm in fine fescue? Please explain😮

[@radiantimage]

Short answer you can use it on Fine Fescue. Did you read the label? I always just find the label online so I can search it faster, and because I hate peeling those labels off the product while trying not to tear it. The label states it can be used for Fine Fescue at a rate no higher than 5 fl oz per acre in a mix of 30 gallons. That equates to 1 tsp in 1 gallon of water to treat 1000 sq ft. It does warn that higher rates may reduce grass density in fine fescue. So as long as you stick to the rate I mentioned you should be fine. If you’re still nervous try it this fall on a small section of your lawn and see how your turf responds

[@richardt.953]

LOL, a lot of BS where you could have just said pull them out... DERP!

[@vinniemon-i5h]

What’s for dinner crabgrass yum

[@sahmadi1000]

Doesn't it kill or make sick the lawn?

[@renymullen4582]

Far Too Many /chemicals---I only use ORGANICS !!

[@TurfMechanic]

Best way to organically treat crabgrass is to just pull it out by hand just like I did. Do it once every week or two throughout the growing season and the grass will never reseed making next seasons crabgrass pressure much lower.

[@prebaned]

I used to be pops remote control and crabgrass killer. Now I have two of my own crabgrass killers...

[@RionPhotography]

Crabgrass is crazy AF but I’d take that over POA any day … 😓

[@TurfMechanic]

agreed, crabgrass covers dirt in the growing season (a good thing IMO) and it is easy (although annoying) to remove manually if you want to get rid of it. Poa however is the gift that keeps on giving even though nobody ever wants it. LOL

[@PattyBrinker]

An old steak knife works great, easier than a fork.

[@TurfMechanic]

Thanks for the suggestion; I'll give that a try next time I go out. Serrated knife or smooth?

[@davidgonzales-ec8bo]

Dinner fork! Who knew! Works like a charm!

[@TurfMechanic]

these forks have seriously become my favorite tools to use in the lawn. My wife tells me I need to get my own set for the garage though so I may just have to buy a new tool anyway. LOL

[@davidgonzales-ec8bo]

@@TurfMechanic my wife told me the same.

[@TurfMechanic]

@@davidgonzales-ec8bo 😂

[@visionquest414]

hey, binging some of your videos today :).. I have a question regarding the planting of seed. How come some people tell you NOT to walk on it to ensure seed to soil contact? I did that, when planting yesterday, but now people are telling me I should have done that? Thanks

[@TurfMechanic]

I frequently "tamp" my seed into the soil with my feet. I always walk on my seed...but I walk very gingerly, I try my best to not drag my feet or move seed laterally across the ground. It's really easy to accidentally move seed that is just barely rooting down when you walk on it. So with that said it's just a matter of what people are talking about but don't actually say. Squish the seed into the soil with your foot, or a tamper, or a lawn roller but if/when you walk on it try not to move the seed around, especially as it's just starting to root. Hope that clarifies it at least a bit.

[@visionquest414]

@@TurfMechanic Thanks! :)