Ah crabgrass that one weed everyone knows about and reliably shows up year after year to mess up your dreams of a beautiful lawn. Worry not because after reading this post you will have all the knowledge you will ever need to get this pesky weed out of your lawn for good.
How To Get Rid Of Crabgrass Forever
Can you really get rid of spray something once and not have crabgrass ever again? No you can’t, but you can follow a process that will insure that you can keep it at bay year after year. Lets dive in the lifecycle of Crabgrass as a warm season annual weed. That means its germinates (crabgrass seeds start growing) when the temperature in the soil reaches 53 – 59 degrees for three to five days days in a row. It will grow all spring, summer and sometimes fall long depending on where you live, and then will begin to die with the first freeze. Winter temperatures will make sure that no new seeds germinate, but once spring rolls around again the process starts all over once the soil temps reach 53-59 degrees.
Ok so now that we know the lifecycle of crabgrass, lets learn how to disrupt it so that it wont come back.
Prevent It Before It Grows: Pre-emergements
Ever heard an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? Well this is especially true with preemeregents, they cost less, are easily applied and save your lawn and you a lot of headache down the road. Preemeregents are a type of material that will stop a seed from sprouting, germinating, or growing. These ,materials are applied to the soil just before the soil warms up enough for crabgrass to germinate. Usually pre-emeregents need to be watered in by a sprinkler or put out before a rain shower comes. The reason this is needed is because the material needs to be get washed down to where it will come in contact with the weed seeds.
Different Types of Crabgrass Preemergents
There are a couple different options when it comes what you put down and when.
| Organic/Natural Pre-emergent Solutions | Application Rate/Notes |
| Corn Gluten Meal | 20 pounds of product per 1,000 Square Feet of lawn. Will need to be watered in shortly after application. Works great for about 4-6 weeks. Will need to be reapplied later on in the late spring/early summer for optimal results. You will get better results the longer that you use CGM. |
| Synthetic Pre-emergent Solutions | Application Rate/Notes |
| Prodiamine 65 WDG | .5 pound per acre. Will need to be watered in within two weeks of application. |
| Indaziflam, Specticle Flo, Specticle G | |
| https://amzn.to/3Dnak1q | |
What To Do If My Lawn Already has crabgrass? Postemergents To The Rescue
Ok so you missed the boat on putting down a crabgrass preventer (preemergent) and now your lawn is slap covered up. All hope is not lost, your just going to need get out the big guns postemergents. Post-emergents are materials that kill plants after they have emerged (sprouted), they will not prevent plants from sprouting. There are two types of post-emergents: Non-selective and selective. Non-selective postemergents are things like vinegar, boiling water, round up. These types of chemicals kill everything they touch, they are non-selective of what it is that dies. Selective Post-emeregents only kill the weeds that susceptible to the chemical. We are looking for the selective ones.
The Best Selective Crabgrass Killers For Home Owners
The big box and garden stores typically have post-emergent sprays that are ready to use (RTU) for home owners. You will want to look at the label for one that contains Quinclorac.
This is the best one that I use if I’m in a pinch and don’t have a sprayer. All that you do is hook up your hose, turn it on and point and spray at the weeds. Its not the fastest product on the market but it does get the job done.
The Best Selective Crabgrass Killers For Home Owners With Sprayers