Herbicides for Centipede Grass

Use pesticides sparingly on centipede grass.

Centipede grass is known as the lazy man's grass because of its low maintenance. It grows best in the southern United States because of the high acidity and sand in the soil. However, there may still be slight problems with a lawn and you may experience bald spots, thinning grass or a high concentration of weeds. To get rid of the problem, most people use a common pesticide in either spray or granular form. Although common pesticides work well at removing weeds from this type of lawn, there is a great deal of controversy regarding the use of common pesticides for weed and pest removal.

History

Centipede grass was brought from China to the United States at the turn of the 20th century. It does well in southeastern states like Florida, South Carolina and Texas because it does not require a great deal of fertilizing and grows well in sandy, acid soils. In the last 50 years or so, most homeowners have used a common pesticide to remove pests or weeds that affect the lawn. This type of grass usually requires only water and mowing, but there are times when the presence of pests or weeds causes bald spots, ugly broadleaf weeds and other types of plants. The best way to avoid pests is to grow a dense, thick grass carpeting, but to do this you may need to eliminate any pests or weeds that your lawn already has.

Broadleaf Pesticides

24D, Atrazine, and MCPP are very common and widely used herbicides. They can be found in both liquid sprayable form and in crystallized pellets that can be mixed with fertilizer. These pesticides are used for a variety of agricultural applications and work well at eliminating all types of broadleaf weeds such as clover, sheep sorrel, goose grass, broadleaf plantain and others from centipede grass lawns. They can be applied once or twice a year to eliminate weeds, allowing the grass to grow thicker, thereby allowing the lawn to protect itself.

Crabgrass Pesticides

This type of weed can also affect your centipede lawn. When it is only a minor issue, apply a pre-emergent pesticide in spring; however, this type of pesticide is not as effective once the crabgrass is actively growing. If there is a great deal of crabgrass in your centipede lawn and waiting until early spring to eliminate it is not an option, apply a pesticide like tupersan, methanearsonate or dithiopyr in sprayable form to help eliminate the existing crabgrass. This type of pesticide can be sprayed directly on the crabgrass.

Pre-emergent Herbicides

A good way to prevent weed growth in the lawn is to use pre-emergent herbicides like pendimethalin or DCPA. These can be applied in spring before weeds start to grow. Pre-emergent pesticides do not destroy weeds and seeds but instead prevent the growth. These pesticides are usually mixed with fertilizer and applied during early spring and sometimes late fall.

Controversy

According to the EPA, these chemicals kill only pests and weeds, and they are extremely safe when used according to the package directions. However, some environmental organizations fear the use of pesticides in large doses may be causing an increase in harmful diseases like cancer in both humans and animals. Because of this controversy, people are resorting to organic methods of weed control like spraying weeds with vinegar and water mixtures or scythe, an organic pesticide used by many gardeners.

References

• EPA: Pesticide Safety
• Moscow Food: Vinegar as a Pesticide
• 24D: Use of 24D pesticide
• Aggie Horticulture: Centipede Grass
• CCE Suffolk: Crabgrass Control