Prevent Bed Weeds With Pre-Emergent Herbicides

Pesky weeds put a damper in any planted bed full of trees, flowers, shrubs and plants, which is why it’s better to have a prevention plan in place rather than responding to unsightly weeds in your landscape beds! In an earlier blog post, we talked about how mulch is a good weed control technique that greatly reduces the amount of weeds that sprout up in your flowerbeds. While mulch may be your first defense against weed germination, it’s ideal to have an extra layer of protection. By laying down a pre-emergent herbicide you can boost your level of weed control in addition to bed weedsmulching.

Weeds require nutrients from the soil, sun and water in order to thrive in your landscape beds. As your next line of defense against weeds, Bluegrass recommends a pre-emergent be applied to your landscape beds at least twice a year. This is typically done in early spring as well as in the fall to slow down winter weeds.

 

Pre-emergent Herbicides

Just as the name suggests, pre-emergent herbicides must be applied prior to weed emergent to have any effect. Because pre-emergent herbicides have no effect on existing weeds, application timing is everything for effective control over your weeds. They work by forming a barrier in your mulch or soil where most seeds germinate and prevent the development of new weed seeds that have been left from previous generations of weedy plants. This prevention process interrupts the reproduction cycle of your weeds resulting in less activity and leaving your beds weed free.

When should you apply your pre-emergent? Typically your pre-emergent should go down before the spring mulch application, or (depending on the weed’s life cycle) two to three weeks prior to weed germination. Any weeds that have already sprouted for the season should be hand-picked or carefully spot-treated with a non-selective herbicide. It’s important to identify them before selecting the correct control method – hand-pulling can be exhausting! Be sure to follow product labels for specific garden situations and plant tolerance to maximize its effectiveness.

Pre-emergent herbicides can be effective on several weedy grasses such as dandelions, thistle, clovers, crabgrass, spurges and more. However, weeds such as nutsedge cannot be controlled with pre-emergent herbicides.

Though it’s nearly impossible to keep all weeds out of your beds and off your lawn, there are effective steps you can take to prevent weed germination. Our Bluegrass team can provide your landscape beds with a pre-emergent herbicide treatment to prevent heavy weed germination in your beds. Give us a call at 314.770.2828 or use our simple contact us form to discuss your landscaping needs!