Recently I’ve been getting a lot of calls about weeds in homeowners’ lawns. Turf can be a tricky business and a lot of the problems we face have to do with the way we manage it.

We plant large expanses of a single type of plant, we walk on it, sometimes we drive over it, and we cut it when it grows to a certain height. Then, whenever we get around to it, we may or may not fertilize it (when we think of it!), and either under- or over-water it. Then we complain when it dies or other plants crop up in it.

Of course, we really treat them better than this. The point is that most lawn problems come from improper care. I am getting lots of calls now because we did not water properly this summer.

As lawns move into winter, problems are more noticeable. And to the dismay of many homeowners, now is not a good time to cure most lawn problems. And while we really should wait until spring to tackle the brunt of these problems, one lawn pest that we can deal with now is weeds.

These lawn invaders come in two categories - winter weeds and summer weeds. We are presently seeing the last gasp of the summer weeds. Chances are if you have them, these weeds are large now. Another way of saying "large" is "hard to kill," and while you can spray them now, expect poor control. It would be better to try to prevent them from popping up next spring. Apply a pre-emergence (preventative) weed control in mid-February and again around the beginning of April.

Now look again in your lawn. See the little weeds coming up now? These are the winter weeds. They and lots of their friends may be plaguing you in March and April. They will be large then. Remember that means "hard to control." Now that they are small, which means "easy to control," it is time to attack! You don’t have to be a genius to realize that now is the time to spray.

Prevent winter weeds with a pre-emergence herbicide put out in mid-October. Repeat again in early December. You may have missed the best time to put these out, but can they help you now? That depends.

Atrazine is the major pre-emergence weed control I recommend. It also acts as a post-emergence weed killer. It kills some weeds already up. So you can use it now to kill weeds already emerged and to prevent more. You can use atrazine on all our turf grasses, except green Bermuda grass. Only use it on dormant, or brown, Bermuda grass, or it may burn.

Balan (benefin), Surflen (oryzalin), pendamethalin or XL are all pre-emergence herbicides that do not kill any emerged weeds. You can use them now, but it will not kill any weeds already showing. It will help prevent more from coming up. They could have been used in mid-October and again in early December. Call our office to see which weed killer would be best for your situation. In the fall, I tend to recommend Atrazine.

One preventative spray may not be enough. Winter weeds continue to come up throughout the season. To help prevent weeds all season long, repeat the preventative treatment 45 days later than the first one. Do not use preventative treatments if you want to overseed with a winter annual grass, like ryegrass.

Even this will not control all weeds. Control the escapees with sprays of Weed Be Gon, 33 Plus or similar chemicals. These will work best when temperatures are warm and soils are moist. Prevent these squatters from setting up housekeeping in your lawn.

For more information, contact the Liberty County Extension Service.