Weeds Keep Coming Back No Matter What You Try
Homeowners are frustrated by persistent weeds, unidentified plants, buried debris in their yards, and challenges maintaining healthy lawns. Discussions revolve around identification, solutions, and the unpredictable nature of yard maintenance.
SOURCES (60)
“I started.soing the yardwork when I had two small kids. It was the ONE thing I could do that they couldn't immediately undo. Anything else I made to look nice, the kids could destroy in minutes. I also like the time to just think and…”
“Can I ask where and Southern Ontario this is? My lawn also in Southern Ontario has been a weedy disaster. We live semi-ruraly and cannot control the weeds in our yard. The backyard is almost all dandelions and St Anne's lace and it's way too much to pull. I used to pull them all before and during pregnancy but after giving birth it's just too much work and now they're out of control. My husband doesn't like pulling them and only wants to spray them but the spray seems to not”
“Having a major problem in my front yard with creeping beggarweed and chamberbitter. Seems like the only thing to treat it only comes in commercial sizes. Probably just need a restart and resod the whole thing and i may take that option, but i need to give up on treating it myself. If you live in the Tampa bay area, what companies have you used to treat your yard? Thanks! submitted by /u/brew-bake-dna [link] [comments]”
“I just bought a house and I love it but my entire backyard besides a few spots has this type of grass?weed? Idek... It makes the backyard look really green all the time so I don't mind it but I definitely don't know how to care for it or cut/mow it. There's also like no ant hills at all in my yard, fireants are everywhere here in central Texas so could it be cause of this type of grass too? Or Maybe its just past owners watering consistently enough. I tried to Google picture search t”
“It's definitely spurge - once it turns reddish it's gone to seed and they release thousands of seeds. 😭 I let it go on my lawn last year and did Weed & Feed this spring and haven't had any on the lawn. All the flower beds I've been pulling the little ones as soon as I see them. My kids know about my epic battle with spurge. (Also in Oregon)”
“...okay, but how ? Mint has to be battled with holy water or burned in the fires of Mount Doom. I'm kidding. I've also killed mint unintentionally. It only wants us to think it's indestructible. This particular plant of mine might be, though.”
“Its a lot harder to circle all of it on the other side because the way the mower has cut it makes it difficult to tell what is weeds. That being said, the other side of the stairs looks like it is 30-40% weeds.”
“All of this is weeds. Looks like crabgrass. You should be happy that he got rid of as much as he did. https://preview.redd.it/gum8vskpkpmh1.jpeg?width=1544&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1d3d529bd2c1f2c9dfc7ef843d99be3599f6d536”
“Yeah we’d need to see a recent before photo. These patches scream “crab grass was here”… because I can still see crab grass.”
“In gardening and agriculture, a weed is any plant growing in a place where it is not wanted. A weed to one person might not be a weed to another, interesting how that works. Grass could be a weed if it's growing in your garden and you don't want it.”
“Of course! Let me know how your forest grass does, I've been thinking about trying some a well.”
“My worst nemesis, hoary cress, doesn't seem to be very common, I rarely see it listed or discussed. Constantly fighting that stuff. That and field bindweed.”
“I've had some really good seasons over the years but nothing I've done has brought my lawn back. These pictures pretty much represent what I always have now. I've removed dead grass with a thatch rake by hand numerous times, I've aerated and over seeded. I've added compost, new soil topping and petemoss over the years. I have 2 new bags of Black Beauty ultra which I've never used before. I just put down Spectracide 2 weeks ago. How can I recover for next season? Eastern V”
“T zone works great but ya takes more than one or two applications. My neighbors entire lawn was covered. I sprayed t zone for her and it got about half of them down. I told her to keep spraying”
This is the only thing that has worked for me, takes a while to eradicate them fully. My neighborhood is infested with em. https://www.domyown.com/tzone-se-herbicide-p-17153.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax%3A+%28ROI%29+Shopping+-+Professional+Turf+%26+Ornamental+%28Best+Sellers%29+-+Smart&utm_id=18201925359&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17348552339&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhsrUBhDxARIsAN3AQSeZkrivldv9zAHn1YhuNKnDflEcT4uM9YTN4LzR9C64ROO4AiGuCsoaApggEALw_wcB&
“Who is Niles? I am just speaking from experience here. My lawn went from a muddy mess full of weeds with patchy dirt to the lawn that neighbor's ask me what I did. Chemicals are easier. You are right. Have a good day.”
“Hey there! I have these weeds starting to pop up in my backyard. I live in a suburb near Chicago. I’ve seen other lawns that have this and it seemingly spreads quick. What’s the best way to take care of it? Currently just pulling them out by hand. Any advice? submitted by /u/FullbloodPrice [link] [comments]”
“I suppose it wasn't, I was ignorant and unlearned in the art of lawncare. Hopefully it saves someone headache in the future by making a similar mistake!”
“Hey everyone, about three weeks ago I decided enough was enough and I nuke the entire front lawn. After spraying round up over the whole lawn, I hatched and scarified everything that would come up and I leveled out the lawn as best I could. I waited another week to get rid of any straggler weeds that would pop up before I decided to put down some seed, but about a week ago, we had heavy downpours that washed out a lot of my seeds and now I’m noticing weeds beginning to sprout up again and I’m at”
“Its zoysia. Honey badger of grass. It doesn't give a fuck. I plugged my yard. No more runoff issues. It kicked out all the weeds. It only needs water if no thunderstorms for weeks. It gives no shits about soil type, my yard is rock and clay. It feels like a soft mat on your feet. Your mower will chug cutting it, but you can mow every other week because it doesn't grow very fast. Its super durable. Downsides? It turns brown in winter, and will try to creep into your gardens.”
This feels like a hall of fame post. I've never seen this much nutsedge.
Thank you very much for the detailed response, this is amazing, I will try this out! Yea we were feeling a bit proud of ourselves after cleaning up the crazy stuffs LOL.
“Hey bro. I'm from the UK and have watched about 30 hours of grass care videos recently because I'm fixing mine. I got the plan for you. Firstly, chop all weeds down to like a few inches above ground. Then pull them to try and pull out the roots, but if they just snap an the roots stay in it's ok. Next, cut ur whole lawn with a mower. Then dig out any remaining weeds so the weeds are all gone. Now ur gonna have bare spots everywhere. Buy a 'scarifying rake', what u wanna do is”
“Don't tell anyone but I mow my lawn every 2 weeks...I think everyone should decide how to handle these things. When I die I'm not going to be worrying about if I kept my lawn perfect or not.”
“I mean, given the infestation. I’d probably just nuke and reseed. Sedgehammer going to take forever to combat this monster.”
“Been losing to Creeping Charlie, aka ground ivy, for a couple of years now. Getting to the point where I am considering getting a sod cutter and starting fresh. In Ontario, all recommended chemical interventions are banned, and hand pulling is a losing battle. I wish you luck. I’ll watch for updates.”
“I tried sedgehammer on the small spots I had in the front and back yards, and while it seemed to knock them down for a bit, I noticed it coming back. Started pulling any visible ones every few morning after walking the dog, while everything was still damp with morning dew, and it seems to be working.”
“I bought a house in the Bay Area. The lawn wasn’t in the best shape but I have Twin City Blue Resistance on the way. I’ll keep you guys updated. submitted by /u/this_onekid [link] [comments]”
“I must be the exception but I find pulling nutsedge effective. And also gratifying. My soil is always wet from the sprinkler system so maybe I’m just getting the whole tuber.”
“I counted the crabgrass I pulled. Was like 26 one summer, next 14, this one was like 6 or 7. I’ve also stepped it up with weed and feed, pre emergent and crowded my lawn. Much more thick and dense. Keep stats for funsies. Quick jot on phone for notes.”
“I notice more and more bugs each year in my yard - but I also plant more things each year to attract different bugs so it’s kind of a different situation. I have however noticed I don’t have mosquitoes in my yard anymore which is a plus.”
“I’d love to convert a grass triangle in our front yard into a mini wild garden, I will have to first pave a small section with antique bricks from the beach so there’s room for the car and people leaving it before I can begin making it next year, will have cute little fences too.”
“I don't think so. It grows more singularly, not in a bunch like this. To be sure, take one of them and roll it in your fingers. Sedges have edges. You will clearly feel the triangular shape with edges if it is nutsedge. Also, nutsedge will grow faster in your lawn then the rest of the grass, so check a few days after you mow and if it is noticeably taller than the grass, it's probably nutsedge. Nutsedge is a bright green color, so it stands out visually, too.”
“This used to happen to me a lot when my yard had poor drainage - someone mentioned to me it was because of the worms trying to deal with trying not to drown. Once I got my french drain installed, it stopped entirely.”
“I'm in a similar dilemma. We are in the process of rehabbing a property after the previous tenants left. Half the front yard garden is dead, bushes alongside the driveway had been removed for an RV parking spot. We had lawn in the backyard, irrigation and nice bushes and stuff. Lawn is long since dead, front and rear garden was more weeds than anything else. Basically, the neighborhood eye sore in a neighborhood of mostly working professionals. Lesson learned, don't let tenants manage th”
“This will be your best answer long term. I don't understand the garden look of having a ton of visible mulch that has to be reapplied every year or so. If you have mulch showing fill it with a plant, preferably a native one.”
“Yes, it can harm some species of plants… Must read the label for the varieties affected”
“🫡 Certainly will be interesting, im not trying to accomplish everything right away or within the year even. If I mow do I need to get at the roots right away or can i keep mowing it down to a certain height and get at the roots section by section?”
“Nah, I think the thick foliage has its own beauty to it. A few stone pathways that lead to benches and tables would really be amazing though.”
“We had an acre of property that looked like yours. It was a huge job clearance out briars, poison ivy, Virginia creeper, and wild grapes. Once the undergrowth was cleared, we then had to start thinning our trees... about 60 of them. For the most part, grass has taken over. We can now mow between the remaining trees. You should be aware that you will end up with high canopy trees with few lower branches.”
“This doesn't look good? Sheesh. Well either way my suggestion would setting up a boundary of some type to help the seperation between the woods and your lawn. Id limit cleaning up anything past that boundary. Perhaps clearing a walk way into the woods would be a nice touch. (Granted that may be a lot of work depending on how dense it gets )”
“Last year I gutted my lawn and reseeded and soiled everything. This year, the grass grew in great, however it still seems as if it’s easily “pulled up” out of the soil in rather large clumps. The grass also lays over instead of standing straight and neat. Can anyone recommend some tips on how I can correct this and make my lawn nicer? submitted by /u/G_Hurry21 [link] [comments]”
“I've said it about 5 times so far this year on /r/lawncare , I'll say it again. Sulfentrazone is superior to halosulfuron for killing Nutsedge. And everyone, everyone recommends Sedgehammer. I think they just like saying the name. Stop suggesting Sedgehammer!”
“getting into this this year and wonder what you mean by it’s not that easy i’m just curious if it’s because you have a cool season grass lawn i’m here in the south and am gonna do a tttf renovation and i hope it somewhat turns out decent”
“Mid Atlantic is rough. It's the weediest place I've lived. Endless invasives popping up. One of the few natives I get popping up routinely is poison ivy. It all takes over so quickly without labor. I tell people in my area to start small when they see my gardens because it's a lot of unseen labor to just keep it from looking wild (in a very unattractive way). Don't let the zealous no lawns crowd guilt you into what is no longer doable. I aim for minimal lawn myself but sometimes”
“They grew between the paving stones and under the doormat. Like weeds or dandelions. Last year I had supertunias in pots maybe a meter away, but they supposedly don't produce seeds. I don't know where they came from. submitted by /u/DivaCesaria [link] [comments]”
“I have zero weeds just by hand pulling and using canadian killex 2,4-d which is weaker than piss.”