Video:Dos and Don'ts for Killing Crabgrass With Preemergent Herbicides

Transcript:Dos and Don'ts for Killing Crabgrass With Preemergent Herbicides

Hi, I'm Paul Filice, President of Miner's ACE Hardware, here today on behalf of About.com to talk to you about the dos and don'ts of using pre-emergent herbicides for crabgrass.

Apply Pre-Emergent Herbicides in Early Spring

Some of the dos are, do apply this in early Spring before crabgrass has a chance to take hold. And because crabgrass doesn't seed all at once, you want to do this a couple of times, a few weeks apart. You're more than likely to select a pre-emergent herbicide in the form of a Weed and Feed, and can be found at your local hardware store.

One thing to consider is you'll never use the entire bag of fertilizer. So to store it, keep it in a cool, dry area away from kids and pets.

Consider the Size of Your Lawn

Some things to consider when using pre-emergent herbicides for crabgrass are the size of your yard. Once you've determined that a spreader is right to use, go ahead and do that--apply it to your lawn. Then you need to water after you've done it; this ensures that the pre-emergent herbicide gets down into the soil. 

Some Don'ts for Applying Pre-Emergent Herbicide to Your Lawn

Some of the don'ts are, don't aerate your lawn after you've done this, because what a pre-emergent herbicide does is create a protective barrier over the top of the surface. By aerating your lawn, you're giving those crabgrass seedlings a chance to come up through the soil.

One last thing to not do when using pre-emergent herbicides is do not apply it to new sod, as it is already susceptible and does not need any more chemicals added to it. And those are the do's and don'ts for using pre-emergent herbicides to treat crabgrass.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, look for us on the web at about.com.