Carpetgrass Control: How To Get Rid of Carpetgrass

This page is a general DIY guide for controlling carpetgrass. Using the products and methods suggested you get control of carpetgrass. Follow this DIY article and use the recommended products, and we guarantee 100% control of carpetgrass.

Carpetgrass is a warm-season perennial grass that is common in the southeastern part of the United States, especially in poorly drained soils that are moist on a constant basis. Carpetgrass gets its name from the carpet-like mats the grass forms on a lawn were established. It produces unsightly weeds that resemble crabgrass and the lawn can appear coarse and unmown.

Carpetgrass seed stalks have the ability to rapidly grow to a height of about a foot and bear unattractive seed heads that give the lawn a weedy appearance which can be tough to mow down. Carpetgrass also enjoys areas with full sun and can survive and even thrive in areas where the soils are wet and acidic.

If you're dealing with a carpetgrass outbreak, our easy DIY treatment guide will show you exactly how to eliminate the crabgrass for good. Follow the step-by-step instructions below using our recommended products and you are guaranteed results.

Identification

Before you can move forward with a treatment program, you need to properly identify carpetgrass by knowing what it looks like. Misidentification of carpetgrass can lead to you using the wrong herbicides, which can cost you time and money. Here are some traits to look out for when identifying carpetgrass:

• Carpetgrass is pale green or yellow-green in color. When temperatures cool for fall or winter, it’s noticeably one of the first grasses to brown. The grass blades are wide with crimped edges, and their tips are more rounded.
• When a solitary carpetgrass plant emerges, you can see its crabgrass-like appearance. The flat stolons or runners are a reddish color, and the leaves grow in an alternating arrangement.
• When carpetgrass matures, it grows tall stems up to 25 millimeters in height with a few spikes of seed heads.
• Carpetgrass is often confused or mistaken for centipedegrass because of their similar characteristics. Carpetgrass and centipedegrass share similar traits except that carpetgrass produces a crabgrass-like seedhead whereas centipedegrass has hairs along the edges of the leaves. The grass forms a thick mat and gives carpet-like coverage wherever established.

Use the description and the image above to confirm whether you are dealing with carpetgrass. If you are having trouble identifying which kind of weed you are encountering in your yard, contact us and we will help to identify the weed for you.

Inspection

After you have confirmed that the weed you are encountering is carpetgrass, you can then move forward with inspection. During this phase, you will need to pinpoint the areas where Carpetgrass is concentrated and what the conditions of the area are. This will help you to determine where to focus your herbicide treatment.

Where to Inspect

Carpetgrass is a warm-season perennial and is a problem mostly in the southern United States. It grows in a wide range of soil types, but it prefers high-moisture areas that see full sunlight. It can also tolerate areas with partial shade.

Common sites where it may be found are warm-seasoned lawns, roadsides, airports, parks, and golf course roughs.  

What To Look For

Carpetgrass is a warm-season creeping perennial grassy weed which forms a sort of matted carpet-like appearance, hence their name, so if it's on your property, it'll be hard to miss.

It actively grows from late spring to summer and become completely dormant in the winter. When it becomes dormant it will turn brown in coloration. 

Treatment

When handling any type of herbicide, you are properly protecting your skin and eyes with safety equipment. Goggles, gloves and long-sleeved clothing should suffice.

We recommend using Celsius WG Herbicide. This post-emergent herbicide will selectively kill carpetgrass in residential and commercial lawns with warm-seasoned turf. 

Applications are most effective when the plant is young and actively growing, before flower or seed production.

Since this weed does grow well in cool weather and goes completely dormant in winter there are no herbicides recommended for cool-seasoned turf. 

Step 1: Mix and Apply Celsius WG

Determine how much Celsius WG Herbicide to use by measuring the square footage of the treamtent area. To do this, measure the length and width of the treatment area in feet then multiply them together (length X width = square footage). 

To get rid of carpetgrass, use 0.085 oz (2.4 g) of Celsius WG Herbicide per 1 gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft.

Mix and apply the product with a handheld pump sprayer or backpack sprayer.

Fill the sprayer with half the amount of water, add correct rate of Celsius WG Herbicide, then pour in the remaining half of water. Close the spray tank lid and shake until well-mixed.

Step 2: Apply Celsius WG on Carpetgrass

Once the product is well-mixed in your sprayer, spray the top and bottom of carpetgrass using a fan nozzle setting to get a nice even coating. Do not spray to the point of runoff.

Because of the weeds persistence, a repeated application may be necessary about 2 to 4 weeks after first application.

Repeat treatment in these timed intervals until the Carpetgrass has died out.

However, do not exceed 0.17 oz (4.8 g) of Celsius WG Herbicide per 1000 sq. ft. in a calendar year.

Do not use this product over bahiagrass or cool-season turf.

Prevention

Once carpetgrass has been eliminated from your property, you will need to implement some preventative measures which will ensure that this weed does not return.

• To prevent unwanted grasses from growing on your turf, we recommend you promote the health of your turf to reduce the conducive conditions that allow weeds and disease to take hold.
• Mow your grass at proper intervals to maintain a thick growing density. A lawn dense with taller trimmed grass is better able to choke out weeds and other unwanted grasses and prevent them from establishing.
• Reduce the shade cast on your lawn by trimming overgrown shrubbery and tree branches, rake away leaf litter and pick up any debris, and employ a proper watering schedule to provide the local grass with enough water to strengthen its roots, but not so much that will encourage weeds. Many grasses require 1 inch of water every week. Apply the water all at once in the morning so it has time to seep into the ground without evaporating in the sun.

Key Takeaways

What is Carpetgrass?

• Carpetgrass is a warm-season perennial grassy weed that is known to grow and takeover in areas where there are moisture problems.

How to Get Rid of Carpetgrass

• We recommend using Celsius WG to remove carpetgrass from your lawn. Apply to the Carpetgrass to the point of wet and reapply 2 to 4 weeks later to ensure it is sufficiently controlled.

Preventing Carpetgrass Reestablishment

• Prevent the reappearance of carpetgrass with regular lawn care maintenance and addressing moisture and drainage issues on your lawn.