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Crabgrass Control Options
Crabgrass is rearing its ugly head with a vengeance right now, so what should you do? First, it is important to take a look at your lawn health, and how much crabgrass you actually have. Crabgrass is an annual, which means the plant you see now will die this winter. The plants you see next year are the results of the seeds dropped this year. (Pre-emergent treatments applied this spring to prevent those seeds from germinating were not as effective this year due to the heavy rains washing the treatment through the soil more quickly than usual.) Killing the plants now will prevent most of those seeds from happening.
If you have a little crabgrass showing up in a few areas, spot treatment with a product such as Bayer Advanced Lawn Weed and Crabgrass Killer will kill the plants before they drop seeds. If there is very little crabgrass, and it is not threatening to choke out your desired grass, you may choose not to spray, and simply plan on using your preemergent in the spring as usual. Bayer Advanced Lawn Weed and Crabgrass Killer can also be used with a hose-end or pressurized sprayer to treat larger areas of the lawn. If the crabgrass is very thick, it can easily overpower your desired grass and choke it out. This would then require re-seeding in early fall to repair the lawn. Re-seeding the following spring would prevent you from using the preemergent treatments that you will probably need. It is very important to watch the temperature when you are applying weed killers to your lawn: do not spray when the high temperature will be 85 or above for several days. While the sprays ordinarily will not harm desirable grasses, at higher temperatures, you do risk burning and damage. Stop in any time, or leave your questions about crabgrass here in the comments...we are happy to help!