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Pros:

• Targeted herbicide for nutsedge weeds
• Convenient pre-measured packet
• Won’t harm grass

Cons:

• Repeat applications may be needed

Whether you know it as nutsedge, nutgrass or water grass, this persistent turfgrass weed is a formidable adversary that requires a special battle plan. Sedgehammer+ Turf Herbicide contains 5% halosulfuron-methyl, a selective herbicide that zeros in on those yellow and purple sedges and wipes them out. Each packet covers 1,000 square feet.

Apply to established lawns and ornamental turfgrass as well as landscaped and non-crop areas. When sprayed weekly, it purges your lawn of nutsedge in about a month, with no negative impact on the grass.

How Weed Killers Work

There’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution to lawn weeds, but it helps if you understand a little about how to target them and how the best weed killers for lawn work. First off, you have to decide whether you want to prevent weeds from growing in the first place with a “pre-emergent” weed product that prevents seed germination, or you need kill weeds that have already sprouted with a “post-emergent” weed killer. 

Your timing also matters. Typically, a weed preventer is best applied in early spring before weeds have settled in for the warm season. For best results, follow the instructions on your product of choice and take your region and climate into account.

“A pre-emergent herbicide intended for use to control crabgrass will be applied at a different time than a post-emergent herbicide intended to be used to kill clover or dandelions,” Churchill says. “What’s more, even the timing of a crabgrass pre-emergent herbicide will vary by weeks depending on regional climate.”

When it comes to weed killing, you may be better off with a “selective” herbicide specific to the type of lawn you have, as well for the kind of weeds you want to kill. How that works “can get pretty involved and complicated,” Churchill says. In the simplest terms, “the active ingredient in many of them literally accelerate growth, and the weeds grow themselves to death.”

What to Look for When Buying Weed Killers

When deciding which are the best weed killers for lawn, it’s imperative you understand how these products work. If buying online or from big-box stores, be sure to check that the products are suited to your climate, grass and weeds. Keep in mind that “non-selective” herbicides will kill everything in their wake, including your grass. Local nurseries will only sell products intended for use in your region, so when in doubt, pay them a visit.

How We Found the Best Weed Killers for Lawn

As shopping experts, our only job is to help you find a winning product. We start with the research and reporting basics—what products are made of, what they look like and how much they cost—to ensure that we’re only recommending the buys that are worth your time and money. Then we research the features that speak to the product’s quality, taking advice from industry insiders and subject matter experts on what makes a product a smart value (or worthy of a splurge). Finally, we do the work of combing through user reviews to see how real people interact with the product, and if it stands up to the test.

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