How to Eradicate Nut Grass

Nut grass, or nut sedge, self-propagates through rooting rhizomes and seeds; left unchecked, it will take over an area. The plant thrives in full sunlight with moderate to heavy moisture, but does not grow well in shaded areas. Mowing over the nut grass does not eradicate the plant; in fact, mowing may help to spread the plant through dispersal of its seeds. There are two methods employed for the eradication of nut grass: one is mechanical, the other is chemical.

Things You'll Need

• Herbicide glyphosate
• Sprayer

Instructions

1. Pull the nut grass when it first appears in early spring. The ground must be moist in order to remove all of the root structure. Small portions of roots left in the ground can grow another plant from the small stem. Small infestations require repeated hand weeding.

2. Dispose of the weeded plants in the trash. Composting the plant may not be successful, as even one small part of the undecomposed portion of the root can grow into a new plant.

3. Treat heavy infestations with a herbicide such as glyphosate. Mix the chemical according to label directions for the particular nut sedge plant.

4. Spot treat or spot spray each individual plant. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide and kills almost all of the plants with which it comes into contact.

5. Spray the plants 10 to 14 days after the initial treatment. If the plants still shows signs of growth and green leaves, spray them a third time. It may take many applications over one growing season to eradicate established nut grass plants.

Tips & Warnings

• Never rototill or cultivate the soil in which nut grass grows. The cutting action of the rototiller tines break up the rhizomes and create more plants from each small root stem.

• Keep people and animals away from all areas treated with chemicals.

References

• Ohio State University: Yellow Nutsedge Control in Home Lawns
• University of Hawaii: Purple Nut Sedge Control in Turf and Ornamentals