Eliminating Lawn Burweed

Lawn Burweed

The extremely cold winter even slowed the weeds down a little.  However, as soon as it warmed up a little, they took off like gang-busters.  Then my phone started ringing with homeowners looking for control solutions. 

Depending on the weed species I might tell them to mow the weeds or wait until warm kills off the winter annuals.  One big exception to these two scenarios is if they have lawn burweed also known as spurweed.  This weed needs to be destroyed now before it flowers and produces those little, sharp, brown seeds with spurs. The simplest way to do this is with a timely application of a postemergent herbicide.

  A three-way combination herbicide may be used on bermudagrass, zoysiagrss, centipedegrass, or St. Augustinegrass. The active ingredients of a three-way herbicide often include the following broadleaf weed killers: 2,4-D, dicamba, and mecoprop (MCPP). Examples of a three-way herbicide are Ferti-lome Weed-Out Lawn Weed Killer with Trimec, Bayer Advanced Southern Weed Killer for Lawns, Spectracide Weed Stop Weed Killer for Lawns, Southern Ag Lawn Weed Killer with Trimec, and many others regional brands.  Ferti-Lome Weed Free Zone adds a fourth chemical, carfentrazone to broaden the spectrum of weed control.  Spectracide Weed Stop 2X for Lawns also adds a fouth chemical, sulfentrazone.

If the clumps have gotten large or the weather is too cool, two applications might be necessary.   Wait 10 – 14 days after the first application to make the second one.  Do not apply these herbicides around the drip-line of trees or in flowerbeds. Always follow label instructions and precautions.

Another piece of advice for effectively controlling lawn burweed is to apply an appropriate preemergent herbicide during the fall or late winter months.