Just like other weeds, there comes a time when you need to kill your grass since it’s become a pain in your lawn. We all agree that grass is excellent, especially if it’s lush. To keep your grass alive and growing well you need money and time, plenty of it!
Grass can be a nuisance if it starts growing on just anything, even in-between cracks in your driveway. Also, if you have a hard time maintaining the flawless grass in your lawn, you will deal with uninvited weeds and ugly patchy spots. It becomes such an eyesore that leaves you with just the option of starting afresh with new grass.
How to Kill Grass
If you would like to kill your grass, there are different routes to achieve this. You can either kill grass naturally with home remedies, with chemicals or physically. However, each solution has advantages and disadvantages. Whatever you choose, make sure you know the possible effects on your children, pets and the future fertility of the soil.
Home Remedies
The good thing about home treatments is that they are substances that are for multipurpose use and readily available. Things like bleach, vinegar and baking soda cannot miss in many homes. With just the right mixture, these solutions will kill grass for you. Don’t forget that they are very cheap.
Even though using home remedies limits you from using harsh chemicals, you must take necessary precautions. Most of them will not only kill grass but other desired plants like flowers as well. Be careful when mixing the solutions and also how to apply.
Conversely, you can also try soil solarisation and mulching as a home remedy for killing grass. These are the best and most natural means of killing grass. In solarisation, take advantage of the sun mostly during summer when it’s hottest. Mulching, on the other hand, suffocates the grass from getting air and sunlight hence ends up dying.
Chemicals
Using chemicals should be your last option of killing grass. Chemicals are harsh, and most of them do not meet up to their expectations. Some of these weed and grass killers will harm your soil, pets and animals if not handled well.
If you want to clear the whole lawn, go for the non-selective herbicide. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide that will effectively kill all the grass and weeds in your yard. But in case you only want to kill grass among desirable plants, look for a selective herbicide to do the job for you.
Take note that the non-selective herbicides are harsh to the soil’s fertility and may require some time off before planting anything immediately.
Physical/Manual
Removing grass manually or using a shovel is when you have a small yard since the process is labour intensive. But if your yard is significant, you can opt to dig it up using power equipment such as a tiller or a sod cutter.
Digging up a lawn is challenging even if you are using power equipment. There’s a possibility of exposing weed seed that was underground hence giving them a chance to grow afresh. Also, you are risking removing excess rich topsoil.
With grass-like Bermuda, digging up will be zero work. Bermuda grass is a stubborn perennial grass that is deep-rooted and can grow even from portions of its roots. To achieve killing this type of grass by digging up, you will need to kill the grass first. Use a herbicide for the job then dig up the dead grass.
Kill Grass with Bleach
Bleach as a home remedy will work well in killing grass and other weeds. However, since bleach raises the pH levels of the soil, as it destroys the vegetation, it will also prevent it from growing again. Do not use bleach in areas you would want other plants to grow.
Things you will need;
- Old clothes
- Protective gear ( gloves and goggles)
- Undiluted bleach
- Bleach will highly irritate your skin if it comes in contact with it, so put on your old clothes and protective gear.
- For regular soil, pour just a cup of undiluted bleach on the grass. But for clay soil, use about 2 cups of undiluted bleach on a small area like six by 6-inch square area.
- Give it time, like three days at most. The grass will turn brown and dry, afterwards pull or dig it up using a shovel to remove it.
- If you want to regrow something on that area, flush the soil using a gallon of water to leak the bleach from the ground.
Caution: Do not bleach grass close to any water body as the overflow is toxic to aquatic life.
Cheapest Ways to Kill Grass
Save yourself some coins and the stress of running to the stores to get commercial herbicides to kill your grass. Some of these herbicides don’t even do the job effectively, let alone being expensive. However, there are other cheapest ways to kill grass from the comfort of your own home. Such as:
Using a shovel: If you are up for some manual labour, you can dig up to remove the grass from your lawn. Stop watering your lawn to dehydrate the grass to death. Afterwards, grab your shovel and begin to unearth the already brown dead grass. Be cautious not to break your irrigation lines in the ground.
Boiling water: get your kettle of boiling water ready but this time round to kill grass not to make coffee. Be cautious not to spill hot water on your skin as you carry it from the kitchen to the lawn as it will burn you. Also, use this method on just a small area that has unwanted grass, unless you are ready for endless trips to fetch the hot water. Just boil and splash on the grass!
Vinegar: Vinegar is a natural, cheap and readily available way of killing grass and weeds. Spray your lawn with vinegar on a hot day for best reactions. You may need to frequent the process for some time until all the grass is dead. Vinegar is a non-selective weed killer hence be cautious when applying it not to kill other useful plants.
Salt: Salt is a must-have in every home. Therefore, among its various uses, it’s a cheap way to kill grass and other weeds. Just like vinegar, salt is non-selective hence needs caution when using it. You can choose to either sprinkle it or have a water and salt solution to spray over the affected areas. As salt can harm the soil’s fertility, the earth will recover after a period for regrowth of other desirable plants.
Solarisation: the most crucial aspect of this cheap method is the sun. So, choose a day that is hottest after mowing your land. Then, simply cover it with black plastic sheeting and allow the sun to do its job. This method needs patience as it may take a few weeks to even a month, but it’s beneficial.
Layering: using newspaper or cardboard for layering will not only kill grass but also improve the soil for regrowth. Mow your lawn then add several layers of wet newspapers or cardboard and cover it with mulch. It may take like two months to see results of dead grass, but the mulch will ease the blot on the landscape of the process.
Chemicals That Kill Grass
When looking for chemicals that kill grass, choose the non-selective herbicides. Different chemicals have different strengths, even those with the same active ingredients. Preferably select the ready to use herbicides as this requires no extra dosing.
But if you want to go and mix, make sure you read the labels and instructions for correct dosing, dilution and application directions. Always keep chemicals away from children and pets. Remember to put on protective gear while applying the chemicals on your lawn.
These chemicals include;
Glyphosate: Glyphosate also commonly known as Round-Up kills all plant life on your lawn at the same time. Just spray directly on the grass you want to kill. It will take up to 10 days to kill the grass down to the roots.
Glufosinate: The chemical remnants in the Glufosinate do not stick around the soil for long, so it’s ideal to use it in case you want to regrow your lawn. Therefore, you can plant fresh grass or other plants in a maximum of two weeks after treatment. After directly applying it to the grass, expect the results in two days.
Pelargonium Acid: just like other acids, Perlargonic acid will burn kill grass immediately after contact. It will kill the grass as soon as 30 minutes to 2 hours after application. It works best on hot days like 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Reapplication is necessary for significant thorough results.
Spray to Kill Grass
Horticultural vinegar is the better version of spray vinegar used for weed killing business. It contains 20% of acetic acid compared to the 5% found in household vinegar hence more powerful. Suppose you can get access to this horticultural vinegar, just a sprayer and direct spray it on the grass. Repeat the process in a week for better results as once application will have a low effect.
Conversely, the homemade readily vinegar will work just fine also to kill grass on your lawn and driveway. Preferably, the best time to spray the vinegar on your grass is on sunny days as the reaction will be as quick as hours. Regular application will also maintain your sidewalks and driveway grass-free.
How to Kill the Grass around Trees
Trees are useful plants all around. They provide food (fruits), control climatic conditions, protect us from wind, rain, sun and dust pollutants. That is why it is crucial to preserve the trees by all means even from grass which is a high competitor in nutrients and water.
However, if you want to kill the unwanted grass growing around your tree, you will need to make sure the tree is not under any danger.
Use several newspapers to wrap around the tree trunk or leafy shoots for protection. Spray the grass around the tree with a herbicide containing Glyphosate or a particular type that will only kill the grass without harming the tree. Spray about 3-6 foot circles around the tree and maintain it grass-free for a maximum of 5 years of its life. Repeat twice for significant results.
What Kills Grass Permanently?
Grass can be too invasive and Intruding into gardens and natural areas. Owning a garden keeps you on toes of constant maintenance to avoid grass from encroaching.
Whether you choose natural, physical or chemical methods of killing grass, what should be your concern is the afterlife of your soil. All forms if you correctly apply them will kill your grass permanently.
Considering the type of grass, season, size of the lawn and infestation, you will be able to decide on the best way to kill the grass.
Parting Shot
It is quite strange how one end people would do just about anything to see their green lawn growing well while on the other hand, the same grass in a nuisance. As essential and beautiful as green grass is, it can also be something you want nothing to do with.
When it reaches that point, it’s vital to decide on methods that will allow you to regrow after successfully killing the wrong grass. After all, the grass is the issue, not the soil.