Common Shreveport Lawn Weeds And How To Kill Them This Spring

It has officially started for me and all my friends, the "Great Yard Awakening." There is nothing like the beauty of a fresh green lawn in Louisiana, but if you’re like me and have zero ideas on where to get started, the pressure can be real.

Thankfully, our friends at the LSU AgCenter are on a mission to help all of us in the simplest way possible. They are giving us step-by-step tutorials so we can do it ourselves and actually feel accomplished instead of frustrated.

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By now, you’ve probably had to crank up the lawnmower for that first cut of the season. Our turfgrasses are finally waking up from their winter nap, but unfortunately, so are the warm-season weeds.

According to Eric DeBoer, an assistant professor of turfgrass management with the LSU AgCenter, right now is the "sweet spot" to help your grass along with some fertilizer and get a handle on those weeds while they are still small and easy to control.

While those "weed-and-feed" combo bags at the hardware store look convenient, the experts recommend handling weed control and fertilization with separate products for the best results. Before you head to the garden center, you need a game plan.

First, grab a broadcast spreader for granular products. Next, and this is the part where most of us guess, you need to determine exactly how big your yard is and what kind of grass you have (St. Augustine, Centipede, Bermuda, or Zoysia). Using the wrong product can actually damage your lawn, so knowing your grass type is a must.

When it comes to the weeds, focus on post-emergence herbicides for those brand-new warm-season sprouts. If you still have cool-season weeds like chickweed lingering, just pull those by hand or mow them—they’ll fade out once the Louisiana heat truly kicks in.

On the fertilizer front, DeBoer suggests looking for a formulation high in nitrogen to give your lawn that spring boost. Just remember to check the weather! Many herbicides shouldn't be sprayed if it's 85 degrees or warmer outside. For all the guides on identifying weeds and picking the right fertilizer rates, head over to LSUAgCenter.com. Let’s make this the year our yards actually look like the pros did them.