Guest – posted 27 July 2005 21:28
Any advice on how to get Bermuda out of my St. Augustine? All I read says to mow high. I’m mowing at 4 1/2″, I water only when the St. Augustine is showing need, so very rarely since we generally get enough rain. And yet, in the last month or so, the Bermuda grass is spreading like wildfire. Help!
ghess – posted 02 August 2005 12:25
I feel your pain. I have had the same problem for the past 5 years here in central FL. I have cut high, selectively applied RoundUp, held back on water etc.
I finally got so fed up with it that I had my lawn service spray the entire yard with industrial strength RoundUp. Then I had a sod company strip off the old, dead sod and replace with Floritam. After a couple of months, the bermuda was completely back and stronger than ever. Right through the new sod!!!
Since I am now doing a home remodel and my yard is pretty much trashed, I’m going to try a total kill again. I don’t believe that Roundup completely kills the bermuda. Does anyone know of anything stronger?
Ed77 – posted 02 August 2005 16:39
I kind of doubt the yard care people used a spray concentration strong enough to really kill the Bermuda. The active ingredient in Round-up is no longer protected by patent, and many are selling the ‘pro’ strength at very reasonable prices. I have been using Killz-All for two seasons and it is cheap enough to use at application rates that knock Bermuda dead in it’s tracks(along with anything else not broadleaf). I get 2 1/2 gallons of 42% concentrate for $52.00. I mix it for fenceline application at a rate of 192 ml(6.4 oz) per 2 gallon sprayer. That dilution rate makes 100 gallons of herbicide at a cost of $0.52 per gallon. ….Needless to say, a gallon of this mix kills a lot of grasses at an almost negligble cost!
It’s not that the ingredient doesn’t work on Bermuda, but Bermuda does seem to need a pretty heavy concentration of herbicide. My last application on bermuda included an area around the barn where the bermuda was invading in old manure. About a quart of the above mixture knocked an area the size of a two car garage dead in its tracks.
Try an area Farmers Coop or Feed store. There are MANY products that will knock Bermuda dead in its tracks, but some of the others are not considered to be as ‘benign’ to the surrounding environment.
PATRICK – posted 08 August 2005 20:18
BERMUDA IN YOUR ST AUG LAWN . DID YOU MEASURE THE DEPTH OF THOSE BERMUDA ROOTS….! I HAVE SEEN TEST WERE BERMUDA ROOTS HAVE GROWN TO A DEPTH OF 36 INCHES DEEP.!!!! TIME 4 RRR.!THATS ROUND UP , REMOVE AND REPLACE. APPLY RECCOMENDED LABEL RATE OF YOUR GLYPHOSATE 42% HERBICIDE WITH A SURFACTANT IF NECESSARY, WAIT 7 – 10DAYS AND REPEAT. ALLOW 7 – 10 MAOR DAYS AND REMOVE, A SOD CUTTER IS PREFERABLE. THEN RESOD….. YOU MAY NOT SEE ANY BERMUDA EMERGE FROM YYOUR NEW ST. AUG LAWN FOR AT LEAST A YEAR OR TWO. NOTE IF YOU CAN REPLACE YOUR NEIGHBORS LAWN AT SAME TIME THIS MAY IMPROVE THE DELAY IN REESTABLISHMENT OF BERMUDA!!!!! MAYBE 3,4,5,6 YEARS