Quackgrass Control

Quackgrass Control

Most Effective Products

Certainty Turf Herbicide
Water Dispersible Granule (WDG)
As low as $103.26
Nanotek Surfactant
Surfactant
As low as $27.99
Keith's Pro Tips

"As with any invasive weed, the best way to control Quackgrass is to make sure that you do not have it to begin with. Any plant seeds that you bring home from stores or nurseries must be carefully checked for quackgrass and remove the quackgrass plant and roots completely if discovered. Another essential part of getting rid of Quackgrass is to act quickly when you do find it in your garden. Quackgrass moves rapidly through any soil, but moves like wildfire through loamy or sandy soil."

Quackgrass Control: How To Get Rid of Quackgrass

Quackgrass is a tough weed to control on a residential lawn. Quackgrass scientific name translates to 'sudden field of fire' in Latin and is a good description of the weeds ability to quickly spread over lawns, fields, and gardens. Quackgrass is native to Europe and has been growing in the U.S. for over 200 years in nearly every state aside from Arizona, Florida and Hawaii.

Quackgrass has leaves that are typically wider than lawn type grasses and the grass blades have a rough texture when the blade is felt by fingers. The roots are thick and white. When pulled from the ground, the roots break easily, and often pieces of the roots will stay in the soil after the plant is removed and eventually regrow.

On residential yards, Quackgrass can invade gardens containing perennial flowers or vegetables, making it tough to control. If you want Quackgrass eliminated from your property, we can help. Our DIY treatment guide was put together by our lawn care experts and will show you exactly what you need to do to remove Quackgrass from your lawn quickly and affordably compared to other options.

Identification

Quackgrass

Before you can conduct treatment of Quackgrass, you need to be sure what Quackgrass looks like so you can identify whether or not it is the weed you are dealing with. Misidentification can lead to using wrong treatment methods which can be a waste of time and money. When Quackgrass is established, it can stand out easily amongst your other plants. Here are some traits to help you identify Quackgrass:

  • Quackgrass is a perennial grass that has a creeping quality. On lawns, you'll notice it as a taller grass among your desired grasses because it tends to grow very quickly in a short amount of time. This species is known to develop large patches.
  • Quackgrass may be confused with tall fescue and crabgrass but the difference is that those species of plants don't have the long appendages, or auricles, which are present at the midpoint between the leaf blade and sheath that Quackgrass has.
  • Each Quackgrass plant produces about 25 seeds which can stay viable between 3 to 5 years in the soil. Once it germinates, Quackgrass begins to develop rhizomes, or underground stems, in a span of 2 or 3 months.
  • These rhizomes can either be yellowish or white, 1/8" in diameter, with unique joints or nodes. Each node can produce fibrous roots, which shoots a new blade of grass up through the soil.

Use our description and image above to help you to identify quackgrass on your lawn. If you are having trouble confirming the plant's identification, contact us and we will properly ID the plant for you as well as give you the best product recommendations for your weed issue.

Inspection

Quackgrass inspect

Once you are certain that you are dealing with Quackgrass, you should then proceed with an inspection. During this phase you will pinpoint the areas where Quackgrass is growing and the conducive conditions of the area. This will help you in determining where to focus your herbicide applications.

Where to Inspect

Walk around your yard and observe where the quackgrass is growing. Quackgrass is known to grow rapidly in very little time and can potentially take over an entire lawn, standing out like a sore thumb. It's best to catch these plants early and treat them because of how they grow.

What To Look For

Quackgrass stands out among typical lawn grasses so it shouldn't be very difficult to spot them. Aside from checking the severity of its presence, also check what maturity level the quackgrass is at because if they are more mature, you're looking at a more difficult time removing the plant.

Treatment

Herbicides can be harmful if you come in contact with it. Protect your eyes, skin, mouth, and nose by wearing protective equipment any time you handle herbicide chemicals.

Quackgrass is a terribly difficult grass to control and can be a nightmare to try to remove via manual or mechanical control methods and can actually make the problem worse because pieces of rhizome that you may leave behind will just take root and sprout into a new plant. The best option for control is utilizing chemical herbicides.

If Quackgrass is seen in your turf, we recommend Certainty Herbicide.

Step 1: Mix and Apply Certainty Herbicide

Pump sprayer treatment

Certainty Herbicide is a selective, post-emergent herbicide meaning that it will only target the weeds on the label and not cause any harm to your desired grasses. It comes in water dispersible granule form and comes with a convenient measuring scooper for precise measuring.

Before mixing Certainty into your sprayer, determine how much Certainty you need by measuring the square footage of your target area (measure and calculate the length of your lawn x width).

For general spot treatments, you can treat 1,000 sq. ft. by using 1.25 oz. of Certainty (3 to 5 small scoops) in 2 gallons of water. For acreage applications, apply 1.25 to 2.0 oz. of product per acre. Use the higher rate for severe quackgrass infestations. A good tool to use to aid with your herbicide application is mixing your selected herbicide with a surfactant like Nanotek Surfactant so that your application can stick to the Quackgrass and not runoff. 

Fill your sprayer 3/4ths of the way with water then add in the appropriate amount of Certainty then fill the rest of the way with water and add in the surfactant near the end of the filling and shake the sprayer. Once the product is well-mixed in your sprayer, apply the product to the Quackgrass using a fan nozzle setting. This will shoot a mist that will uniformly cover the Quackgrass.

After applications are made, we recommend drowning the Quackgrass with at least 2 inches of water as this can kill the rhizome network underneath the soil. Shading and baking the quackgrass under a tarp can also be a good assist to the use of herbicides.

Step 2: Follow Up Application

You may need to do multiple repeat applications if the weed is particularly persistent and problematic. Apply a nitrogen fertilizer to increase the uptake of your selected herbicide. Once you have applied your Certainty Herbicide, apply a second herbicide treatment after 4 weeks have passed from first application and then reseed once all the plant life has died.

Check back again after another 4 weeks have passed and if Quackgrass is still growing, repeat your application. While it sounds like a pretty drastic measure to continuously repeat applications to control Quackgrass, it may be the best route of achieving total control. This treatment approach can be time-consuming, so make sure you treat Quackgrass early and fast.

Prevention

After you have eliminated Quackgrass from your property, you need to implement culture practices and proper lawn maintenance to keep Quackgrass from returning. Applying a good nitrogen fertilizer can choke out the Quackgrass and enable your desired grasses to grow faster and outcompete the Quackgrass. Monitor your lawn weekly during the growing season to ensure Quackgrass has not returned.

Key Takeaways

What is Quackgrass?

  • Quackgrass is a creeping, sod-forming perennial grass weed that establishes quickly and is very persistent.

How to Get Rid of Quackgrass

  • Our top products to treat quackgrass is Certainty for selective control of your lawn.

Preventing Quackgrass Reinfestation

  • To prevent quackgrass from returning, fertilize and mow your lawn on a regular basis to promote dense, fast-growing turf that will out-compete quackgrass.
Questions and Answers
No Question Found
  1. Size:
  2. Size:
    SOLUTIONS
    Solutions Sprayer - 1 Gallon Poly
    $36.99 - $36.99
  3. Size:
    MONSANTO
    Certainty Turf Herbicide
    $103.26 - $103.26
  4. Size:
    PLANTMATES
    PlantMates ScatterBox
    $17.15 - $17.15
  5. Size:
    SOLUTIONS
    Nanotek Surfactant
    $27.99 - $98.99
© 2024 Solutions Pest & Lawn. All Rights Reserved