How To Spray Lawns Safely and Effectively

There are times, no matter how carefully you tend your lawns, that you’ll find a sudden influx of weeds appearing. Likely the most prevalent of these is the common dandelion. Though attractive to some, with their nice yellow flower, left untended they can ruin a lawn, as as they mature their roots get massive and can literally choke out any lawn grass plants that are adjacent. Even with using your Nelson 1865 Raintrain Traveling Sprinkler regularly, weeds can get away at times.

Choose Your Herbicide Wisely

Though there is a wide variety of choices available, by far the most effective are the regular “chemical” herbicides. Don’t get caught up in the fear mongering that is prevalent (by some folk) around any pesticide use. Remember, any herbicide sold has a PCP #, meaning it has been vigorously tested and approved by the authorities. Just think about it, the people developing these chemicals, as with the people involved in testing and approving them, are just like you and me, they’ve got families and loved ones too. Why would they ever produce or approve anything that could possibly harm them?

Read the Darn Label

You would not believe how many people skip this one. Don’t! Herbicides, if used according to the labeled directions are perfectly safe. Misuse them, be it by mis handling or overuse can be a problem. Just like using something as simple as salt, use it sparingly and as intended and it’s just fine, overdo it and ingest massive quantities and you’ll be in trouble won’t you?

Protect Yourself

Remember, these herbicides are safe, if used sensibly and as directed. If the label says to wear a filtered air mask, then do so. If it warns about not getting it on your skin then buy some protective chemical proofed gloves. Wear good shoes, and long trousers & long sleeved shirts. I know it can be tempting to quickly apply a spray on a nice spring day in flip flops and a tee shirt, but it’s pretty irresponsible really.

Be a Good Neighbour

Take the time to inform your neighbours that you plan on spraying, and to ask them to keep children and dogs off your lawn for a day or two. It doesn’t mean they have to be off for weeks, herbicides work by translocating through the leaf area then throughout the plant, and in good growing conditions this can happen quite quickly, and will leave little residues on the lawn.

Treat when the conditions are optimal

Ideal conditions include a dead calm day with no breeze to cause any drifting. Warm, sunny days mean the weeds will be actively growing and will take the herbicide in more quickly. Maybe treat on the same day that you apply your fertilizer; sort of kill two birds with one stone.

Go Granular

Consider the use of a “weed & feed” type treatment, a granular fertilizer that has been impregnated with a herbicide. You can easily apply this with your Earthway Broadcast Spreader. This greatly reduced any chances of the chemical drifting to an unintended area. Weed & Feed style treatments, though easier to apply are still a herbicide and need to be treated with the caution and respect that the liquid form does.