Bare Ground Weed Control: Keep Weeds Away From Commercial Areas

This article is a general DIY guide that discusses controlling weeds and grasses growing near or in undesired areas like driveways and other commercial areas. By reading our guide, commercial property owners will learn how to eliminate various broadleaf weed and grass populations by following the listed steps and using professional-quality products. 

Bare ground weed control is vital to any integrated vegetation management program. I was managing a large industrial plant or other commercial properties where weeds cannot invade and damage equipment, which can be frustrating without the right approach and products.

Bare ground weeds refer to any vegetation that emerges in an area where they shouldn’t be. An example is grass or some other plant rising from a crack in the pavement, on the sidewalk, or in an industrial work area.

Weeds can establish themselves in areas such as railroad tracks, the shoulder area on a highway, electrical substations, refineries, storage tank areas, pipelines, parking lots, tower bases, lumber yards, fences, driveways, and around signposts—any place where vegetation can potentially grow but isn’t wanted, or it could become a safety hazard if the vegetation is left unchecked.

By following our DIY guide on bare ground weed control, you will be able to kill all the vegetation intruding in the area successfully and prevent it from regrowing for up to 6 months or longer. Follow the steps below to get started clearing up those weed infestations fast, easily, and affordably.

Identification

Knowing what weeds you are trying to eliminate will help you choose the best treatment approach.

There is a wide variety of weeds that can grow on right-of-ways. Some can be minor, while others can be major infestations that can obstruct vision, create cracks in asphalt, or cause a tripping or fire hazard. Some weeds are easily identifiable, while other vegetation can be tougher to pin down the plant type.

Determine the types of weeds or vegetation that need to be controlled. We encourage you to closely observe the weed and then check out our broadleaf and grass weed library to see if you can pinpoint which specific weed is present.

Inspection

Once you have pinpointed the problem of weeds or weeds, it is essential to perform a thorough inspection to mark where the weeds are, how much has been established, and if they are growing in areas that may complicate the treatment process.

Where to Inspect

Weeds may grow around power lines or electrical wiring, making treatment via liquid spray application risky. Walk the property and determine if there are any areas where unwanted damage to plant material might occur. Soil sterilants should not be applied in areas where desirable plants are growing.

Look around your fences and driveway. Weeds do not need an existing crack or crevice to make their way through your lawn's ground. Depending on the weed, the foliage can work itself through any solid material, such as abandoned cars, other machinery, or cement and asphalt surfaces in your yard. 

What to Look For

Look for areas where vegetation is growing. An excellent approach to inspecting for total vegetation control is dividing treatment sites into three control categories based on vegetation present: Normal, Sensitive, and Difficult.

• 'Normal' areas would be sites where a typical bare-ground herbicide treatment could be used with comparatively little risk and would be effective on the vegetation present.

• 'Sensitive' areas would be those where non-target plants are in close proximity to the treatment area or site conditions favor off-site herbicide movement; essentially, any area where the risk of accidentally damaging desired plants is high. Sensitive area treatments would not include herbicides with broad-spectrum soil activity.
• Areas designated as 'Difficult' would contain plant species that would not be sufficiently controlled with a regular bare ground herbicide mix, such as brush, or herbaceous species, such as Japanese Knotweed. Rather than treating the entire site with an herbicide mixture that is potent enough to control tough species, it is better to spot-treat difficult species and use a less potent mixture in most areas.

Bare Ground Weed Control Methods

Once you know where to focus your bare-ground applications, prepare yourself by wearing the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) before mixing and applying. Next, ensure the spray equipment you use is appropriately calibrated and mixed according to the application rates on the label.

Our top recommended product for bare ground control is Martin's Eraser A/P Herbicide. This nonselective herbicide kills all unwanted vegetation. We recommend mixing Martin's Eraser A/P herbicide with a nonionic surfactant like Alligare 90 to help the material adhere more to the weeds.

Once you have applied your post-emergent herbicide, you will need to apply a soil sterilant herbicide designed with pre-emergent control like Bromacil 40/40 Bare Ground Herbicide. This will help to prevent all future vegetation, including weeds from regrowing in the area.

Unlike other pre-emergent herbicides, which only affect weed seeds, soil sterilants like Bromacil 40/40 Bare Ground Herbicide are designed to kill all desired and undesired vegetation in the application site. If you want some desired vegetation, then Bromacil 40/40 Bare Ground Herbicide is not recommended.  

Do not use Bromacil 40/40 Bare Ground Herbicide under pavement in residential properties such as driveways or recreational areas, including jogging or bike paths, tennis courts, or golf cart paths.

Timing is everything. It is essential to treat the area before plants have begun to sprout, mainly before they produce seedheads.

Step 1: Apply Post Emergents

The first step to bare ground control is killing all current vegetation. You will want to use a systemic post-emergent herbicide that will kill the current vegetation down to the root, like Martin's Eraser A/P Herbicide. This product will need to be mixed with water, and as a non-selective, it would be best to use a handheld pump sprayer to control drift. 

Determine how much Martin's Eraser A/P Herbicide you will need by calculating the square footage of the area you wish to treat. To do this, measure the length and width of the treatment site in feet, then multiply (length X width = square footage). For acreage, divide the square footage by one acre (square footage / 43,560 sq. ft. = acre). 

Use 1 quart per acre if annual weeds are less than 6 inches in height or runner length and 1.5 quarts to 4 quarts per acre if annual weeds are over 6 inches in height or runner length or when weeds grow under stressed conditions. For annual weeds over 6 inches tall or smaller weeds growing under stressed conditions, use a 1- to 2-percent solution. You will mix 0.64 and 2.56 fl. oz. of Eraser A/P with one gallon of finished solution. 

Use a 1.5-percent solution on harder-to-control perennial weeds such as Bermudagrass, dock, field bindweed, hemp dogbane, milkweed, and Canada thistle for best results. For low-volume directed spray applications for perennial weeds, use a 5- to 10-percent solution of this product.

To mix, fill your sprayer tank halfway with water, add a measured amount of Martin's Eraser A/P Herbicide, and then pour the remaining half of the water into the tank. Close the lid and shake until the solution is evenly mixed. Once mixed, apply the mixture evenly to the top and bottom of the weeds' leaves, but not to the point of runoff.

This product may be applied to non-crop areas such as along and in fences, driveways, dry ditches, pastures, rangelands, storage areas, and before planting landscape ornamentals and other labeled areas. 

Step 2: Apply a Soil Sterilant Application with Bromacil

Once a post-emergent bare ground herbicide applied and the vegetation has died off, Bromacil 40/40 Bare Ground Herbicide should be laid down afterward as a soil sterilant. Once applied, Bromacil 40/40 Bare Ground Herbicide will ensure that no vegetation grows in the treatment site for 1 year. 

We always recommend using an indicator dye like Vision Pro Max Indicator Dye so you can see exactly where you have applied product materials.

For small areas, you can mix Bromacil in a hand sprayer or sprinkle Bromacil on your treated areas. 1/4th of a cup of Bromacil 40/40 in a gallon of water can treat 200 sq. ft. On a fan spray nozzle setting, spray evenly to the treatment areas where you want bare ground.

Depending on the state you live in and the weed you encounter, application rates will vary between 6 and 16 lbs. of Bromacil 40/40 per acre. 

This product may be applied in uncultivated non-agricultural areas (e.g., airports, highways, railroad, utility rights-of-way, sewage disposal areas), uncultivated non-crop-producing areas (e.g., farmyards, fuel storage areas, fence rows, and barrier strips), and outdoor industrial sites (e.g., lumberyards, pipelines, and tank farms).

Key Takeaways

Why do Weeds and Grasses grow in Crevices?

• Despite the high-temperature environments, soil compaction, and minimum crevice space within solid surfaces like driveways, weeds, and some grass species survive. These unwanted foliage grows in these areas because they hold high amounts of soil, retain more water than other parts of your property, and have less competition to grow. 

What is Bare Ground Management?

• Bare ground management eliminates vegetation that may hinder industrial work sites or become a safety hazard.

How to Perform Bare Ground Weed Control

• Identify the weed to determine what herbicide treatment will be best for its control. Apply herbicides at the ideal times before the plants have sprouted or produced seedheads. Follow up as needed. Check the site to see whether a repeat application is required to stop unwanted regrowth or new plants.