How to Kill Bermuda Grass Organically

Bermuda grass is hardy and diffcult to kill.

For many, a lawn full of lush Bermuda grass is an ideal that they will devote hours of time and thousands of dollars to achieve. To others, Bermuda grass is nothing but a nuisance and a weed, growing under the names of devilgrass, wiregrass, dogtooth grass or couchgrass. It spreads by means of an underground system of roots called rhizomes that create shoots from a central point. This makes Bermuda grass very hard to kill, since you cannot simply pull up one plant. To pull Bermuda grass, you have to pull out the whole underground system of shoots from any one plant. Persistence and the right methods are effective at killing and controlling Bermuda grass.

Things You'll Need

• Landscaping plastic or cloth
• Mulch or newspaper
• Vinegar (10-20 percent) or acetic acid

Instructions

1. Place black landscaping plastic or landscaping fabric over the area you wish to kill and weigh it down with mulch or newspaper, then leave it in place for at least six to eight months. Do not allow any holes and overlap seams or the grass will grow through. Bermuda grass needs lots of warmth and sun to grow, so starving it of both will eventually kill it and keep it at bay under the plastic.

2. Till the soil in the area sup to six inches deep to uproot the rhizomes. Keep the area exposed to the air so it can dry out, then remove all of it with a rake when it has turned brown and died. Do not let the grass get wet during this time, since Bermuda grass loves lots of water.

3. Keep your other grass at about 3-4 inches high to kill patches of Bermuda grass strewn throughout your lawn. This will shade the Bermuda grass and will eventually kill it, but the process will take a long while.

4. Apply highly concentrated (10-20 percent) vinegar, also known as acetic acid, directly onto Bermuda grass spots, particularly while the grass is still dormant and brown in spring. Choose one of the first hot days in spring.

References

• Garden Know How: How to Kill Grass Naturally
• Danny Lipford: How to Control Bermuda Grass
• University of California, Davis: Bermuda Grass