Fall Pre-Emergent Weed Control
Your lawn is the first and last impression of your home. Therefore, everyone wants a healthy thick, lush lawn. To achieve these results, many homeowners lean on professionals for lawn care treatments. As part of our ongoing lawn care maintenance program, we treat each lawn 8 times per year and the pre-emergent herbicides included in rounds 6 and 7 are vital. Read on to learn why.
Why Use Pre-Emergents?
For almost all weeds, prevention is always the easier route of care. Many weeds, once established, can be rather difficult to control and eradicate. Because of this, we apply pre-emergent weed control in multiple treatments to help prevent future growth of common weeds. Applications in the fall are vital to the health of your lawn next spring.
How Do They Work?
Pre-emergents do exactly what it sounds like: they kill weeds prior to their emergence. They create a vapor barrier that destroys the weeds before they germinate—establish growth in your lawn. The timing of the pre-emergent herbicides is important to their effectiveness. For example, applying a pre-emergent after a weed has germinated will be ineffective. Applying the right product at the right time in the right amount is best left to the professionals. Remember, the cooler temperatures of fall doesn't signify the end of lawn care for the year.
What About Existing Weeds?
Unfortunately, pre-emergents are not effective against weeds that are already established in your lawn. Depending on the type of weed and amount in your lawn, pulling the weed or applying post-emergent weed control can be effective. But let's get back to preventing the weeds!
What Kind of Weeds Do Pre-Emergents Prevent?
Our fall pre-emergent treatments will help prevent against common weeds including:
- Poa Annua
- Chickweed
- Henbit
- Purple deadnettle
- Dandelions
- Wild Geranium
- Bittercress
Our treatments target these annual weeds that germinate in later fall, grow in the winter and rear their ugly heads in the spring. These weeds can be very difficult to get rid of in the spring once they have germinated, hence why preventative control is most effective.
One Thing To Note
If you have a Fescue lawn and recently had an aeration and seeding service completed, be sure your lawn care professional knows this. Applying pre-emergent weed control can kill the seed. Adjustments can be made to your schedule and specifics of your treatment to avoid this issue. (If you're a Turf Masters lawn care customer, you have nothing to worry about. We're on it!)
Don't Skip These Treatments
Skipping pre-emergents in an attempt to be frugal is not recommended. While we will never frown on saving money, you don't want to skip these important fall and winter pre-emergent treatments. Remember, what you do in the fall and winter affects your lawn health in the spring.
If you have any questions about the importance of year-round lawn care including the use of pre-emergents in the fall and winter, we're here to help. Contact us today.
