Chamberbitter Control
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Chamberbitter Control: How to Get Rid of Chamberbitter
This page is a general DIY guide for controlling chamberbitter. Using the products and methods suggested you get control of chamberbitter. Follow this DIY article and use the recommended products, and we guarantee 100% control of chamberbitter.
Chamberbitter, also popularly known as gripeweed, is an increasingly common invasive weed that has been spreading heavily across regions of the country with more tropical climates. Chamber bitter is a broadleaf weed that sprouts on warm-season grasses annually during the early summer. It is believed that the weed originated in tropical Asia, but it has become a major lawn pest across the southeastern United States from Virginia to Texas.
This weed tends to prefer growing in conditions where there is excessively high temperatures or areas where there are long periods of drought. Because chamberbitter is drought tolerant and produces so many seeds, it's quite a difficult to control weed on landscapes.
If you are having a problem with chamberbitter, we can help. Our DIY chamberbitter control guide was developed by our team of lawn care experts to show you exactly what you need to kill Chamberbitter and remove it from your yard quickly and affordably.
Identification
Before you can proceed with control of chamberbitter, you need to make sure that is the weed you are dealing with. Misidentifying a weed can lead to using the wrong herbicide which may be ineffective in treating it, costing you time and money. Here are the traits of chamberbitter to look for to properly identify it.
- Chamberbitter looks very similar to the leaves of a mimosa tree and is a member of the spurge family. It goes to seed when it is only about an inch tall.
- Chamberbitter is a summer annual weed. When mature, this weed forms a shrub that can be about 1 to 2 feet tall.
- The leaves are an oval or oblong shape that grows up to 3/4 of an inch, and they grow in an alternating arrangement along the branch. When this plant flowers, the flowers are formed on the undersides of branches. Eventually, these flowers become seedpods which will scatter seeds, quickly spreading the weed’s presence.
Use the above description and image to help you in properly identifying chamberbitter. If you are having trouble, you can always contact us and our lawn care experts will help to correctly ID your weed growth and suggest treatment options.
Inspection
After you have properly identified chamberbitter, you can proceed with inspection. During this phase, you will need to locate where chamberbitter is growing, how severe of an infestation is present and the conditions helping it to thrive. Finding this info will help you in knowing where to focus your herbicide application.
Where to Inspect
Chamberbitter is a warm-season broadleaf annual that appears in residential lawns, ornamental landscaping, and other disturbed areas with warm soils.
What to Look For
Chamberbitter is a summer annual. This plant emerges around May or June when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Once a chamberbitter plant starts to produce seed, it will continue to produce until the first frost when the plant dies.
When mowing chamberbitter, the seeds can explode and spread everywhere over a large area. If you were able to find chamberbitter and break the stem, a milky white sap would ooze out from the stem, much like other spurge species.
Treatment
Before using any herbicide product, make sure you first have on the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for safety (gloves, glasses, mask).
Chamberbitter is a difficult plant to control for various reasons. It grows quickly, can tolerate drought and manual methods of control are not effective because of the seeds which explode spread around everywhere and the extensive taproot which makes hand-pulling a largely useless option because they will just pop up again before long.
Selective, post-emergent herbicides containing either glyphosate, atrazine, 2,4-D, mecoprop (MCPP), or dicamba as its active ingredients are effective in chamberbitter control.
Step 1: Mix and Apply Celsius WG
Calculate the square footage of the treatment area to determine how much Celsius WG you will need. To do this, you will need to measure and multiply the area length times the width (length x width = square footage).
To treat chamberbitter, mix the labeled rate of 0.085 ounces, or 2.4 grams, of Celsius WG with 1 gallon of water to treat every 1,000 square feet of treatment area.
To increase Celsuis WG Herbicide effectiveness, we recommend mixing with a surfactant like Nanotek Surfactant.
When using Nanotek Surfactant, just add 1 fl. oz. per 1 gallon of solution.
You can apply your solution with a handheld sprayer or a backpack sprayer. Add half the amount of water, pour in the measured amount of Celsius WG Herbicide. Next, add the remaining half of water and agitate the tank until it is well-mixed.
When applying, change the nozzle setting to a fan nozzle so it will spray a fine mist on the plant and get an even coating on the top and bottom of chamberbitter leaves.
Do not use this product on bahiagrass or cool-season turf types, including tall fescue, fine fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, or creeping bentgrass.
Step 2: Reapply
When applied properly, affected weeds will yellow and begin to die. Conduct follow-up applications as necessary. Reapplication intervals with Celsius WG range from 2 to 4 weeks after the initial treatment.
Applications are most effective when the plant is young and actively growing, before flower or seed production.
Prevention
After you have eliminated the chamberbitter, you don't want it to come back. Chamberbitter requires a combination of mechanical, cultural and chemical methods to get rid of the weed and keep it away.
- 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 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.
- Rotate ornamental landscapes each season after the chamberbitter weed has been controlled. By planting in a different area you help to avoid potential germinating weeds and increase ornamental foliage health.
Key Takeaways
What is Chamberbitter?
- Chamberbitter is a frustrating lawn weed that thrives in tropical conditions.
How To Get Rid of Chamberbitter
- We recommend a treatment of Celsius WG mixed with a surfactant like Nanotek Surfactant for post-emergent control.
Preventing Chamberbitter Reinfestation
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To prevent chamberbitter, implement proper cultural practices such as watering, mowing and regular fertilizations to make your yard less conducive to chamberbitter establishment.
