The problem of nutsedge growing and disrupting the beauty of a well-maintained lawn is not a new issue faced by homeowners.
But, when troubled by a problem, would you simply give up? Well, if you’re anything like me, I knew you would say no. It is true that nutsedge is like a flood that is difficult to contain. I have spent months thinking about how to get rid of nutsedge. This is a persistent problem with my lawn, and I got super tired of handpicking them to stop their spread.
However, this was becoming a very tedious process, and I was extremely relieved when my neighbor Josephine shared a word of advice with me.
She suggested that instead of just sticking to home remedies, I should reach out to professional lawn services to get rid of nutsedge. So, I followed her advice and requested a team of professionals to help me deal with the problem.
Hi! I’m Stacy Smith, and in this guide, I shall share all that I have learned from them, looking into how they work and also the knowledge they shared with me.
I have received complaints from so many gardening enthusiasts about nutsedge in their lawn driving them to the edge. This is a perennial problem, and without proper effort, it’s just going to spread by the day.
Let’s take a look at what can be done to battle with this persistent enemy.
1. Mow Better To Control Growth
Depending on the kind of lawn that you have, one very effective way to control excessive growth of nutsedge is to change the way you mow.
Make sure that you mow to the proper height. Put your mower at one of the two highest settings on the mower, and that’ll be good. If you end up trimming the lawn too short, the chances are that you will further stimulate the growth of nutsedge.
After the professionals worked on my lawn, they advised me to never trim my lawn lower than 3 inches. Higher grass prevents sunlight from reaching the nutsedge and stunts their growth. If your grass is long, it also does not give enough space for the nutsedge blades to spread.
2. Deal With Nutsedge When It’s Young
I was surprised to see how fast nutsedge spread all around my lawn. So, I feel it’s not a good idea to underestimate its growth and wait till the time it has covered half of the lawn area.
Like other weeds, it has got great ability to reproduce from roots and tubers and make its way up above the soil. If you have enough time, you can implement the hand pulling method to get rid of them as soon as there’s some growth.
Otherwise, you can always seek professional help to conduct a herbicide treatment on your lawn to remove big chunks of nutsedge at one go. Keep in mind that this variant is at its weakest during late spring or early summer when it first pops up. I recommend that you select your methods accordingly.
3. Professional Chemical Treatment
When you see that the growth of nutmeg has become so vast that simple home remedies are not efficient anymore, it’s time that you opt for more drastic measures.
You can go for a herbicide that will help you get rid of the unwanted nutsedge. What you need to understand before making your lawn undergo treatment is that nutsedge is a very resilient plant and would require timely treatments to eliminate the problem.
You would also need to do this regularly to attack the problem at its core. The professionals I hired showed me how to apply chemical treatment in the best possible manner and killed the entire nutsedge stem from the roots.
But when you are planning to use herbicide, I always suggest that you do not do it during summers or periods of drought. It is very difficult to apply herbicide only to the nutsedge and not to the plants, and without proper application, you put your other plants at risk too.
4. Eliminating Massive Nutsedge Growth
Last winter, I had to face a major nutsedge outbreak, and my lawn got covered in fine green blades of the stuff.
I called a professional service for help, and they suggested a lawn replacement during the fall. They came over and gave my lawn a complete makeover. The trained professionals removed the existing lawn, prepared the soil for the new batch, and covered it with new seed.
This process attacks the infestation at the core and removes it entirely, eliminating any chances of it reappearing any time soon. The professional services that you seek help from will first evaluate the condition of your lawn and suggest a solution accordingly.
In general, the most effective way to prevent nutsedge invasion is to maintain a thick lawn that is in the best of its health. Good lawn service providers offer extra facilities such as aeration, topdressing, excellent seed blend, and much more.
So, even if they seem a little costly in the beginning, it is always a good idea to invest in an experienced professional who can give you good advice about how to treat nutsedge the best.