Learning Center / Lawn problems
How do you get rid of lawn weeds and keep them out?
Stop crabgrass before it sprouts, treat broadleaf weeds like dandelion and chickweed as they appear, and build a lawn thick enough that weeds can't get in. That last part does the most good over time.
- By David Obeid, founder
- Reviewed
- 6 min read
The short answer
What actually gets rid of lawn weeds?
Timed prevention plus a thick, healthy lawn. Nothing suppresses weeds like a dense stand of grass. Feeding, seeding and mowing well do more for a weed-free lawn over time than spraying ever can.
Treatments still matter. Pre-emergent control stops crabgrass before it starts, and targeted broadleaf control knocks out the weeds that do come up. But a thin lawn treated every year will keep growing weeds, because there is bare soil for them to move into.
Two kinds of control
What is the difference between pre-emergent and post-emergent weed control?
One prevents, one treats. A good program uses both, each at the right time.
| Type | What it does | When it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-emergent | Stops weed seeds, crabgrass above all, from sprouting | Before the soil warms in spring. Once crabgrass is up, it is too late. |
| Post-emergent | Treats weeds that are already growing, like dandelion, chickweed and henbit | When weeds are actively growing. We favor spot treatment over spraying the whole lawn. |
Crabgrass
When should crabgrass preventer go down?
Before the soil holds around 55°F for several days in a row, which is when crabgrass starts to germinate. That date moves from year to year, so the timing follows soil temperature, not the calendar.
South-facing slopes and lawn next to driveways and walks warm up first. A preventer that goes down two weeks late means treating crabgrass all summer instead of preventing it. Mowing tall helps too: a taller lawn shades the soil and crowds crabgrass out.
Being honest
How long does it take to get a weed-free lawn?
A thin, weedy lawn turns around over a season or two, not in one treatment. A well-timed program dramatically reduces weeds, but no program makes every weed vanish overnight.
Lasting control comes from a fed, thick lawn plus timed prevention. If your lawn has bare or thin areas, fall aeration and overseeding fills them with grass before weeds can take them.
The tough ones
What about Bermudagrass and Japanese stiltgrass?
Those are grassy weeds that a normal weed program will not remove, and even a dedicated program suppresses them rather than guaranteeing they are gone.
Our Bermudagrass suppression add-on is four applications starting in May, from $70.40 a visit, added to a lawn care program.
What it costs
How much does weed control cost?
Our fertilization and weed control program starts at $69 a visit, with seven visits a season, or $483 paid for the season. Paying as you go costs about 10% more per visit.
Across the season, the program covers fertilization weighted toward fall, pre-emergent crabgrass control, broadleaf weed control, grub control, micronutrients and winter lime. See everything the program includes, or compare every service price.
Related questions
What people also ask
Will this get rid of all my weeds?
A well-timed program dramatically reduces weeds and builds a lawn dense enough to keep them out. No program eliminates every weed instantly, though: lasting control comes from a fed, thick lawn plus timed prevention, and the improvement is earned over a season rather than a single treatment.
Is weed control safe for kids and pets?
Applications follow product label directions, including any recommended time to stay off the lawn after a treatment. We'll let you know what to expect with each visit so you can plan around it.
Do I need to be home for weed control?
No. Routine applications don't require you to be home.
Can I do weed control myself?
You can. The hard parts are timing the crabgrass preventer to soil temperature, choosing the right product for each weed, and staying on schedule all season. If you would rather not track that, that is the part we take off your plate.
Keep reading
More from the Learning Center
- How can you tell if your lawn is compacted? The warning signs of compacted clay soil, why it happens so often in Northern Virginia, and what actually fixes it. Lawn problems · 4 min read
- Why does a tall fescue lawn turn brown in summer? Heat, short mowing, brown patch and compacted clay are the usual causes. How to tell them apart, and what actually fixes each one. Lawn problems · 6 min read
- Why don't we offer biweekly mowing? Every-other-week mowing sounds cheaper. Here is what it does to a fescue lawn, and why we only mow weekly. Lawn problems · 5 min read
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