Poll a group of lawn owners about what their biggest enemy is and chances are a good number of them will reply with crabgrass. This low growing, blue-greenish weed can take over a lawn in what seems like no time and completely ruin its appearance.
There are lots of tips for getting rid of crabgrass once it shows up in your yard, but by far the tip with the greatest success rate is to get rid of crabgrass before it shows up at all. Normally home owners complain about crabgrass after they start to see it peak up through their grass and take over their lawn. At this point, however, it can be much more difficult to deal with.
Crabgrass starts to grow when soil starts to warm in the spring, normally when soil temperature reaches between 55 and 60 degrees. The best defense against crabgrass is to get your lawn as healthy and full as possible before crabgrass starts to grow. This includes watering and fertilizing early in order to get your grass as thick as possible.
Crabgrass needs sunlight and warm soil to grow. By getting your lawn as thick as possible it helps to shade the soil and keep the crabgrass from getting the nutrients it needs to take root. It’s a good idea to fertilize early in the spring before the soil reaches 55 degrees, as well as start watering before the lawn shows need of it. By waiting to water your lawn can thin out and leave gaps for crabgrass to invade. Also by the time your lawn shows need of watering soil temperature is usually already risen to the temperature that is perfect for crabgrass growth.
Another tool to use against crabgrass is the use of pre-emergent treatments. Senske Services uses pre-emergent weed control as part of our lawn care program, as well as giving your lawn the other nutrients and care that it needs to grow as thickly as possible, keeping crabgrass out of your lawn for good. To get more information about Senske’s crabgrass control and removal services please call us at 877-944-4007
