Creeping Bentgrass Control

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"Complete removal of Creeping Bentgrass will require a combination of cultural control methods and chemical control applications. Either one of these alone will make management difficult since it is such a pesky persistent weed. "

Creeping Bentgrass Control: How To Get Rid of Creeping Bentgrass

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

Creeping bentgrass is a cool-season perennial grass that is commonly used as turf on golf courses. However, when it grows among other grasses, it can become an unpleasant weed. The leaves of Creeping Bentgrass are typically long and slender. Creeping Bentgrass is also bright green in color, so its easy to be able to identify it and set it apart from your desired grass.

Creeping Bentgrass usually makes its way onto lawns by being blown onto the lawns from the air or due to birds flying by and dropping a runner of the plant onto your yard. If you examine patches of Creeping Bentgrass you will notice that it contains lots of stems, or stolons, that extend along the surface of the soil. These stolons allow Creeping Bentgrass to spread rapidly on a lawn.

Bentgrass becomes very puffy-looking when maintained at mowing heights above one inch. It is also susceptible to a lot of different lawn diseases. The invasive weed also does not grow as tall as most turfgrasses and forms mats and patches that are thick and dense all over lawns. This is how Creeping Bentgrass operates and if left to its own devices without intervention, it will choke out your lawn grass and zap your lawn soil of all its nutrition.

If you want Creeping Bentgrass gone, our easy DIY treatment guide will show you exactly how to eliminate this grassy weed permanently. Follow the step-by-step instructions below using the recommended herbicides to the right and you will be successful in removing Creeping Bentgrass quickly and affordably.

Identification

Before proceeding with a treatment program, you will need to be certain that you are dealing with a creeping bentgrass infestation. Careless identification can lead you to using the wrong treatment methods which can be a waste of time and money. Below are the following characteristics to know what creeping bentgrass looks like.

Creeping bentgrass is a cool-seasoned perennial grass that can quickly be considered a weed with its ability to spread laterally by stolons. When left to mature this plant can grow up to 3 feet in height.
Leaf blades are narrow, flat, rolled in the bud, and have a distinct ridged upper surface. There are no auricles and it has a long, tapered ligule that is 1-6 mm long with a pointed or feathered tip.
During it's flowering stage, this plant will form open or dense clusters of small spikelets that are yellowish to purple in color.

Use the above description and image provided to help you identify creeping bentgrass on your lawn. When you are unsure or can't quite pinpoint exactly which kind of weed you are encountering in your yard, turn to the experts to ID the weed for you.

Inspection

Once confirmed that you are dealing with creeping bentgrass, you can then move on to inspection. During this phase, you will locate areas where creeping bentgrass is thriving and observe the conditions that are allowing it to thrive. This information will help you in knowing where to focus your herbicide application.

Creeping Bentgrass Inspection

Where to Inspect

Creeping bentgrass grows best in cool and wet conditions within well-drained loamy soils that retain some moisture. It prefers full sunlight and cannot grow well in shade.

Common sites for this weed to grow are lawns, golf courses, and other areas exposed to sunlight.

What To Look For

Creeping bentgrass begins to grow when temperatures are cool and around 55 degrees Fahrenheit, which is usually in the spring and fall.

This cool-seasoned perennial grass will grow low to the ground then become larger irregular shaped circular patches.

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 be the minimum.

Creeping bentgrass is hard to get rid of without the help of chemical intervention. Apply Tenacity Herbicide, which is a selective, systemic herbicide that does a great job against this weed while sparing harm to desired turfgrasses.

Step 1: Mix and Apply Tenacity Herbicide

Determine how much Tenacity Herbicide to use by measuring the square footage of your treatment area. To do this, measure the length and width of the treatment area in feet then multiply them together (length X width = square footage). For acreage, take the square footage and divide it by one acre (square footage / 43,560 sq. ft. = acres).

For spot treatments, use 1 teaspoon of Tenacity Herbicide with 3 teaspoons of NIS adjuvant mixed with 2 gallons of water. Then spray 1 gallon of finished dilution per 1,000 sq. ft.

Once the product is well-mixed in your handheld pump or backpack sprayer, apply the product to the creeping bentgrass using a fan nozzle setting.

Unless renovating and/or re-seeding the home lawns, avoid broadcast applications of Tenacity Herbicide for pre and post-emergence weed control because undesirable whitening of some turfgrasses may occur.

In general, symptoms appear five to seven days after application and last for several weeks. A repeat application to the same site causes less whitening of the plant tissue.

Bentgrass, Poa annua, kikuyugrass, zoysiagrass, seashore paspalum and bermudagrass are sensitive to Tenacity applications. Avoid spraying these turf types unless control and/or injury can be tolerated. Maintain a five foot buffer between treated areas and bentgrass or Poa annua greens.

Step 2: Follow Up Application

A repeat application is required after two to three weeks for improved postemergence weed control. A non-ionic surfactant should be added in postemergence applications.

Do not plant any crop other than turfgrass species for 18 months after the last application of Tenacity or injury may occur.

Prevention

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

You can prevent the return of creeping bentgrass after it has been controlled with cultural practices that will hinder the redevelopment of this invasive grassy weed. Creeping bentgrass often shows up in lawns that are older, especially ones that are overwatered or fertilized heavily and mowed too short. Therefore, another aspect for future control is to do a deep, infrequent watering schedule and mow at least when turf is 3 inches high which can give the desirable grasses a competitive edge against creeping bentgrass.