Weed killer is one of the most used products in gardening in order to deal with those annoying weeds that keep coming back again and again. And getting rid of weeds is necessary in order to have a healthy and nice-looking lawn of beautiful green grass. But can weed killer potentially also kill the grass, and therefore the lawn as a whole?
The answer is yes. It mostly depends on the type of weed killer and how it’s used, but if you use the wrong weed killer, or apply it on to your lawn inappropriately, you can indeed risk ending up with dead grass and a ruined lawn, so it’s super important to be careful!
If you want to avoid accidentally killing off your grass and lawn through the use of weed killer, then there are two main things that you need to pay attention to; the type of weed killer, and the application. Let’s take a more in-depth look at both:
The type of weed killer:
There are many different types of weed killer, with different brands and all offering different solutions. But most weed killers can be divided into one of two types; selective and non-selective.
Selective weed killers:
Selective weed killers are those that contain chemicals that only target specific types of plants and weeds so that the rest go unharmed.
With these types of weed killers, you are technically able to apply them on the entirety of the lawn, without the actual turf and grass getting damaged. This means that they’re a lot more comfortable to use with a lot less risk.
However, with selective weed killers, it’s incredibly important to make sure you know exactly which plants the chemicals are going to target. They should be specified on the product, but you have to make sure that they will kill off your weeds without hurting the plants and turf that you want to keep intact.
And even though they supposedly do not damage the turf or the grass, we would still recommend that you do not use them on newly seeded lawns. This is because all plants that haven’t fully taken root in the soil yet are vulnerable to chemicals of any sort, including those that don’t necessarily target them.
Non-selective weed killers:
Non-selective weed killers are a lot more common, and just as the name suggests, they do not select between different types of plants, they just kill everything. Basically, the chemicals in these weed killers are designed to kill all plant life that they come into contact with.
This makes them incredibly effective and fast-acting, and they most certainly will get rid of all the weeds with ease, it’s just that they will also kill off the grass and the lawn as a whole.
The way that these weed killers are designed to be used, is very carefully and with great precision. They are meant to be applied to the area you want killing off, or directly onto the weeds and specific plants you want dead. All while being careful not to let any of the product come into contact with the grass or other plants.
Usually, after around 2 weeks, the weeds and bad plants will be completely dead and gone, and the area will be free of the chemicals (which by then will have broken down and dissipated) so that new grass can be planted.
The application of the weed killer
The application of a weed killer is one of the most important things to be careful with if you want the weed killer to work the way it is supposed to, and not harm anything else. You should read the manual of instructions that comes with the weed killer product, and follow each step with precision and care.
When it comes to selective weed killers, there’s a little less risk, as they shouldn’t kill the grass or turf. However, you should still be careful not to add too much product!
When it comes to non-selective weed killers, you need to be careful on an entirely extra new level. If that product touches any of the grass, the grass dies. You need to apply it only on the weeds or plants you want to have gone, as well as applying it in the right quantity so that you aren’t overdoing it.
So basically, a weed killer is very effective and comfortable, as it gets rid of the weeds for you, but it can be pretty risky and needs to be used with a lot of care and precision. There is a chance that the weed killer will also kill your grass and lawn in general.
Another option, of course, would be to simply get rid of the weeds from the lawn in a natural way, or in other words, without the use of chemicals. This is usually done by manually pulling the weeds out of the ground, making sure you pull them up from the root.
If any bit of the root is left behind, the weeds will grow again, so it’s important to pull the whole thing out which can sometimes be pretty challenging!
Then there are also various different gardening tools that you can use to help you in the battle against weeds. Mowing and scarifying the lawn is a pretty good start, and it will help make it easier to get rid of the weeds and bad plants.
In conclusion, there are other options to consider if you’re really worried about the weed killer killing the grass because weed killer can indeed kill grass, especially if it is a non-selective type of product.
