Among all the many challenges that come with landscaping your property in Connecticut, controlling weeds might be the biggest source of stress for homeowners. Finding ways that are effective at killing weeds while also not causing any damage to the grass you want to help grow is important to maintaining the health and attractiveness of your lawn.
Want to learn more about the best ways to manage weeds in your lawn while still promoting healthy grass growth? Check out the tips below to get the information you need to achieve your landscaping goals. We’ll go over ways to promote healthy grass growth to stop weeds from thriving in the first place, as well as ways to safely remove weeds once they’ve already begun to grow.
8 Tips for Killing Weeds Without Destroying Your Lawn in Connecticut
1. Keep Your Grass Well-Fertilized
While it’s important to be aware of ways to get rid of weeds in your lawn without causing more widespread damage, the best way to deal with this issue is to prevent weeds from thriving in your lawn in the first place. Helping your grass thrive to its fullest will help it outcompete the weeds growing in your lawn, nipping the issue in the bud before it becomes a more serious eyesore that detracts from the look of your lawn.
One of the best ways you can help your lawn thrive and in turn reduce the prevalence of weeds is to keep your lawn fertilized. Use a high-quality organic fertilizer that gives your grass the nutrients it needs to grow healthy and strong. This will help the grass outgrow the weeds in the same area, preventing them from growing to a point where they become an issue.
2. Aerate Your Lawn Regularly
This tip also falls under the category of ways to prevent the conditions that cause weeds to thrive in the first place. Weeds tend to outgrow grass in soil that is dry and compact as they do better in these difficult conditions. Aerating your lawn improves the flow of air and water through the soil, helping your grass grow faster than the weeds can.
While this step can certainly help you with your weed problem, it’s important that you aerate your lawn at the proper time of the year to get the most results. Aerating in the spring opens up space that can allow weeds to germinate, potentially worsening the issue. Instead, you should aerate in the fall so that you can relieve soil compaction and improve airflow without inadvertently encouraging the growth of weeds.
3. Remove Weeds By Hand
If weeds begin to overtake your lawn despite your efforts to help your grass outgrow them, you’ll need to take more direct action in order to address the problem. One of the most direct ways to tackle your weed issue is to remove the weeds either by hand or using a handheld weed removal tool. Although this method is time-consuming and labor-intensive, it is a surefire way to remove the weeds you’re dealing with root and stem.
It’s important to get under the weeds to pull up their roots when performing this task, as pulling them by the stems or leaves will cause the plant to snap and the roots to remain underground. Dispose of the weeds you pull up by throwing them into a compost bin so that they can be used as fertilizer in the future. Wear gloves while you’re pulling weeds up as some of them can be prickly or cause skin irritation.
4. Apply Boiling Water
Another method of weed removal would be to use boiling water to kill the weed with heat. While this method isn’t feasible to use on the entirety of your lawn, it can be a very useful way to remove weeds in targeted areas of your property. This method can also be a good way of getting weeds that grow in pavement cracks or other hard-to-reach areas.
Heat water to at least 200 degrees to use it for this purpose. Always use proper caution when handling boiling water to avoid any burn injuries. Protective gloves and a proper hot water container are necessary for handling boiling water safely.
5. Use DIY Weed Killers in Your Landscaping
If you find that boiling water isn’t doing enough and you need more assistance in removing the weeds that are growing on your lawn, you may find what you’re looking for with everyday objects around the house. Corn gluten, for example, can prevent specific weeds such as crabgrass from growing roots, while horticultural white vinegar can be used to kill off weeds as well.
It’s important to note that vinegar doesn’t discriminate between weeds and the grass you want to keep alive, so it should only be used selectively rather than as a blanket treatment for your lawn. Vinegar only kills the parts of the weed it touches, so you’ll still be left with the roots after spraying and the weed will attempt to grow back. Wear safety glasses when spraying vinegar to protect your eyes, as the substance can be an irritant.
6. Find a Grass-Safe Weed Killer
If hand-removal and DIY solutions aren’t cutting it, you could also treat your weed problem using a chemical weed-killer. However, it’s important to be selective when using this solution. Using a general herbicide can cause more widespread damage than what you intend, causing harm to the grass you want to encourage to thrive as well as the weeds you’re trying to remove.
The type of weed killer that is best to use varies depending on the makeup of your particular lawn. Identify the type of grasses that grow in your lawn so that you can buy a weedkiller that is safe for use with that type of grass. This can help you be assured that you’ll target the weeds on your property without causing any damage to the grass in the surrounding area that you want to keep healthy.
7. Plant Grass Seed Every Spring and Fall
As mentioned above, helping the grass in your lawn grow thick and full will help prevent weeds from growing in the first place. However, it’s not enough to just fertilize and aerate your lawn in order to accomplish this goal. You also need to plant enough grass seed to help your grass outgrow the weeds in your lawn.
In order to achieve the best results, you should plant grass seeds in both the spring and the fall. For your fall seeding, you should apply the seeds immediately after aerating the lawn to help give them good conditions to begin their growth in. Use a type of grass seed that matches the type of grass you already have in your yard in order to achieve a uniform, attractive appearance.
8. Re-Sod Your Lawn
This drastic measure should only be taken when a lawn has been completely overrun with weeds and a fresh start will be easier and more effective than removing the weeds. This complex procedure usually requires professional assistance and can be somewhat costly. You should only pursue this solution if you have exhausted all your other options and have a serious weed problem that more minor solutions won’t be able to fix.
Applying these tips will help you keep your lawn healthy, but you might need some professional assistance to ensure you get the job done right. Find a landscaper for any needs you might have using our search tool to find fully-vetted professionals right here in our area. Visit Landscaper Locator and get the help you need to keep your lawn looking its best!