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Weeds are more than unsightly. They can damage your lawn, using resources – water, nutrients and sunlight – that your lawn needs to thrive. If left uncontrolled, they will spread quickly and negatively impact your grass.
There are things you can do to keep them in check. Weeds are opportunistic and take advantage of bare patches or sparse-growing lawns. You can prevent them from invading your grass by maintaining a healthy lawn. Regular feeding, mowing, watering and care will help keep your lawn lush and thick, smothering weeds. It’s always best to control your weeds before they go to seed, as this will save you a lot of work later on.
Start by identifying which weeds are sprouting in your lawn, so you can better eradicate them.
Also known as jo-jo, this annual weed has dark green, fine ferny leaves that form a low-growing rosette. Small yellow flowers appear in autumn and winter, followed by painful hard prickly seed heads in spring and summer. The best time to eradicate bindii is from autumn to winter, before the annoying seed heads form. Use a selective herbicide suited to your lawn type.
This low-growing annual weed has heavily lobed leaves arranged in a rosette form. The foliage may be hairless or lightly hairy with downy undersides; it forms a dense sprawling mat that can crowd out the lawn. Capeweed has yellow, daisy-like flowers with a black centre that appear from late winter to summer.
To remove this weed from your lawn, hand-pull small infestations, ensuring the tap root is removed. (A plant weeder/extractor can be a useful tool for this.) For larger outbreaks, treat with a selective lawn weedkiller containing dicamba or bromoxynil (safe for use on buffalo lawns).
This common perennial lawn weed is instantly recognisable by its classic three-leaf oval foliage with pale markings on the lower third of the leaf. It’s low-growing and easily spreads throughout the lawn, as its creeping stems root where they touch the ground. Near-spherical heads of pink or white pea-shaped flowers appear from winter through summer.
Clover can quickly out-compete your grass if left unmanaged, but it should be noted that clover has its benefits, too. Bees (which are critically important pollinators) love it. Clover also has nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the roots that acts as a natural fertiliser; plus, it keeps your lawn looking green when conditions are unfavourable to grass.
If you don’t want clover, treat with a selective herbicide suitable for your lawn type.
Crabgrass is also known as crows foot and summer grass. This grassy annual weed is an agent of camouflage: it looks similar to some cultivated grass species, but is distinguishable by its wide leaf blades on tough wiry stems. Another identifying feature are the long narrow seed heads that are white to light green in colour. It grows into small clumps with leaves flat to the ground.
Crabgrass is a prolific weed in summer and dies off in winter (after it has flowered), returning with a vengeance in spring, due to the previous year’s flowering and subsequent seeding. Dig out small clumps from your turf or treat the area with a selective herbicide containing DSMA. It’s crucial to control this weed before it sets seed.
This perennial is similar in appearance to clover, except its three leaflets are heart-shaped instead of oval and foliage varies from green to purple-green. The stems are prostrate, growing flat to the ground, taking root where they touch the ground. Its daisy-type flowers are small and yellow, or purple with five petals, producing exploding seed pods that allow seeds to be dispersed far and wide.
Treat this weed with a selective weedkiller; multiple applications may be required for dense infestations. Oxalis seed can stay in the soil for extended periods, so it is crucial to control before they set viable seed.
This common perennial weed is easily identified by its bright yellow flowers and fluffy seed heads, which are easily dispersed by wind – or by children blowing on them! Dandelion leaves are green, lobed and arranged in a rosette flat against the ground. Control with a selective weedkiller that contains bromoxynil and MCPA (safe for use on buffalo lawns).
Tip: Capeweed and dandelions are sometimes confused; dandelion flowerheads are all yellow, whereas capeweed has a simpler flower with a black centre.
This perennial forms a dense carpet of oval green leaves with reddish stems. Like most weeds, the stems root when in contact with the ground, allowing it to spread and proliferate in lawns. Small cream- or white-coloured flowers appear in autumn and mature into prickly burrs that are often confused for bindii.
To remove khaki weed, you can hand-pull or use a weed puller to remove the entire weed, including the taproot. While there are no selective lawn herbicides to control khaki weed, a non-selective weedkiller can be used and carefully sprayed or painted onto the leaves and stems.
Despite the name, this grass-like perennial weed is not related to the common couch lawn. It has bright green, strappy leaves up to 15cm tall. The rounded upright flowering stems can grow up to 40cm high and are decorated with pale green spiky-looking seed heads forming from the sedge-type green flowers. Both leaves and flowering stalks emerge from a creeping underground rhizome, allowing it to easily spread and form a dense mat. Carefully dig out small infestations or treat with selective herbicides containing halosulfuron or bentazone.
Nutgrass is an invasive and persistent weed with long, narrow deep-green leaves and a prominent midrib. It’s part of the sedge family and can grow up to 60cm tall with slender triangular stems, a characteristic feature of sedge plants. Due to its extensive network of underground tubers and rhizomes, it can be difficult to eradicate and repeat applications of a selective herbicide may be required. Look for a selective herbicide containing halosulfuron.
This strappy-leaved perennial is considered a noxious weed in most parts of Australia. It forms small white bulbs (a mother bulb covered with multiple daughter bulbs or ‘bulbils’) underground with narrow green leaves above. The bulbs smell gently of garlic when crushed and its star-shaped white flowers have a mild onion-like scent. Hand-weed small infestations, digging down deep to remove all the bulbs. For large infestations, treat with an all-purpose weedkiller. Apply the product directly onto the weed, avoiding contact with the lawn.
A tufted grassy perennial weed with long flat leaves that are slightly folded at the base. Due to its grassy appearance, it blends in well with some lawns. Its long, sticky, black seed heads (resembling long, thin caterpillars on the ends of stems) are a key identifying feature. Look for a selective weedkiller with the active DSMA. Alternatively, carefully apply a non-selective herbicide to the crown and leaves of paspalum.
Winter grass is an annual lawn weed with tufts of fine narrow pale-green foliage and creamy-white seed heads. It usually appears from mid-autumn through spring, dies off in summer and returns once temperatures cool. While easy to pull out by hand, it readily pops up again, so it’s best to treat your lawn with a selective herbicide. It is hard to tell winter grass from some lawn types. To help prevent it, use a pre-emergent herbicide in late summer to early autumn, and treat with a post-emergent herbicide for any emerging tufts. Don’t let winter grass go to seed.
Check out our range of herbicides.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Asbestos, lead-based paints and copper chromium arsenic (CCA) treated timber are health hazards you need to look out for when renovating older homes. These substances can easily be disturbed when renovating and exposure to them can cause a range of life-threatening diseases and conditions including cancer. For information on the dangers of asbestos, lead-based paint and CCA treated timber and tips for dealing with these materials contact your local council's Environmental Health Officer or visit our Health & Safety page.
When following our advice in our D.I.Y. videos, make sure you use all equipment, including PPE, safely by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Check that the equipment is suitable for the task and that PPE fits properly. If you are unsure, hire an expert to do the job or talk to a Bunnings Team Member.
