Everyone seems to have a preferred
way to deal with weeds.
For instance, you might have watched
your grandparent pour boiling water
over unwanted plants in their yard.
While you’ll often come across some
good advice when you talk to your
family and neighbors, it is still possible
to make these common mistakes that
hinder your efforts at weed control.
Starting Too Late
In the Season
If you wait until you see weeds popping
up, then you can expect to be dealing
with an extensive problem.
Once weeds show up above ground,
they may already be capable
of spreading their seeds.
The best way to keep them under
control is to start out early in the
spring with pre-emergent spraying.
In Arizona, this also needs to be done
in the fall to kill off winter weeds
before they begin growing.
Forgetting About Natural
Weed Barriers
You’ll often see people putting down plastic and other types
of barriers, and this can be effective in rock gardens,
provided that you keep them maintained.
There’s also something to be said for a lush and healthy lawn for choking
out weeds. When grass is healthy, it covers up bare dirt that could serve
as a place for seeds to get buried.
Thick grass also helps to block sunlight from reaching
a newly planted weed seed.
Using Ineffective
Hand Pulling
Most people start out with the best
intentions of enjoying a beautiful
spring day outside with their
kneeling mat and weed pulling tool
in hand.
Yet, things can quickly spiral out
of control.
At best, you might just miss a few
roots that grow back with
the next rainfall.
At worst, you could wind up with
a sunburn or pulled back muscles
that make you dread the next
weed-pulling day.
While you can successfully pull a few
errant sprouts from your garden,
you’ll want to leave more extensive
work to the professionals.
Spreading Seeds
by Accident
Have you ever been tempted to just
mow over weeds so that they’ll
blend in with the landscape?
If so, then you may have just
scattered seeds all over your lawn,
which will make the problem worse.
The same issue can also happen with
hand-pulling, if you toss the plant off
to the side as you work.
Spraying weeds is more effective for
preventing new weeds than mowing,
which does nothing to fully eliminate
the existing one.
If you do hand pull a weed,
make sure to dispose of it properly
so that you don’t accidentally drop
the seeds.
Killing Off
the Good Plants
There’s a difference between weed
sprays that isn’t always apparent
if you don’t know what to look for
on the label.
Certain sprays are designed to only
kill specific species of plants.
These are best to use when you
have grass or decorative plants that
you want to preserve.
Other sprays are meant for killing off
everything they touch.
Only use these in places where
you don’t want anything to grow
for several months or even years.
If we had a flower for every weed
mistake we saw people making,
we’d have a beautiful bouquet
to share with everyone!
The good news is that most mistakes
are easy to remedy with a professional
weed spray service.
While it may take some time,
you can enjoy being weed-free
at your home or commercial property.
Give us a call and let us help you
eliminate your weed problem.
Custom Weed & Pest Control
has been in business since 1989,
serving the greater Phoenix metro
area for both residential
and commercial.
We offer organic, natural and chemical
pest control, with customized service
to meet your specific needs.