Weed Identification
Accurately identifying your lawn weeds is essential for choosing the right way to fight weed infestation. Knowing your weed will let you know whether hand removal is appropriate or even possible. It will also let you know if a herbicide is necessary, and what type of herbicide to use.
To help identify a particular weed in your garden, see our list of common weeds.
Manual Weed Removal
If removing weeds by hand or by using hand tools, you need to make sure you remove the entire roots system. This can be done by hand for small weeds or by using a weeding tool for larger weeds. Just remember that the larger the weed is, the larger and stronger its root system will be. Often natural weed control methods like hand weeding are the best and fastest solution to remove weeds, though these can be labour intensive.
There are also some weeds that you should avoid pulling out by hand, including:
- Onion weed
- Nutgrass
- Winter grass or poa which has gone to seed
Non-Selective Herbicides
Non-selective herbicides will kill any plant life you apply them to, including weeds and your lawn. This means you need to be extremely careful if you choose to use chemical control methods. Consider using a small paintbrush to only apply to the weed and never the lawn.
Selective Herbicides
Selective herbicides are weed killers that will only attack a particular type of plant life, so in some cases, it may be safe to apply to your entire lawn. However, you first need to make sure the selective herbicide is an effective chemical control against your weeds and that it’s safe to use on your turf variety.
Pre-Emergents
A pre-emergent is the most proactive way for controlling weeds. It creates a protective barrier on your soil which prevents new weed seeds from germinating without impacting your lawn or other plants. This can be very effective for stopping new weeds, but it won’t prevent weeds from regrowing from roots that are still in your soil.
Oxafert is a product that combines fertiliser with a pre-emergent to give your lawn regular and proactive maintenance against hidden weed seeds.
Weed Identification
Accurately identifying your lawn weeds is essential for choosing the right way to fight weed infestation. Knowing your weed will let you know whether hand removal is appropriate or even possible. It will also let you know if a herbicide is necessary, and what type of herbicide to use.
To help identify a particular weed in your garden, see our list of common weeds.
Manual Weed Removal
If removing weeds by hand or by using hand tools, you need to make sure you remove the entire roots system. This can be done by hand for small weeds or by using a weeding tool for larger weeds. Just remember that the larger the weed is, the larger and stronger its root system will be. Often natural weed control methods like hand weeding are the best and fastest solution to remove weeds, though these can be labour intensive.
There are also some weeds that you should avoid pulling out by hand, including:
- Onion weed
- Nutgrass
- Winter grass or poa which has gone to seed
Non-Selective Herbicides
Non-selective herbicides will kill any plant life you apply them to, including weeds and your lawn. This means you need to be extremely careful if you choose to use chemical control methods. Consider using a small paintbrush to only apply to the weed and never the lawn.
Selective Herbicides
Selective herbicides are weed killers that will only attack a particular type of plant life, so in some cases, it may be safe to apply to your entire lawn. However, you first need to make sure the selective herbicide is an effective chemical control against your weeds and that it’s safe to use on your turf variety.
Pre-Emergents
A pre-emergent is the most proactive way for controlling weeds. It creates a protective barrier on your soil which prevents new weed seeds from germinating without impacting your lawn or other plants. This can be very effective for stopping new weeds, but it won’t prevent weeds from regrowing from roots that are still in your soil.
Oxafert is a product that combines fertiliser with a pre-emergent to give your lawn regular and proactive maintenance against hidden weed seeds.