One of the biggest weed concerns most homeowners have for their lawns is crabgrass. This nasty clumping weed can make a mess out of a lawn in no time, leaving unsightly dead patches when it dies off the following winter. The good news is that there is plenty of time to prevent next year's crabgrass from taking root in your lawn.

On of the keys to preventing crabgrass is understanding how it grows. This in turn will help you decide which cultural and chemical control options to use against it. Crabgrass is a warm-season annual grass that dies off every winter. It can only reappear the following year from germinating seeds that were created before the mother plants died.

Crabgrass will not start germinating until soil temperatures consistently reach and stay at 60 degrees. This can be as early as late January in Southern California.

Crabgrass prefers full sun, lots of moisture, and thin lawns that allow light to hit the soil. The thicker and more vigorous your lawn is, the less of a favorable environment you provide for the crabgrass. This means you also need to keep your mowing height higher. If you keep your mower height between 2-3 inches, there will be fewer crabgrass plants in your lawn. Also, avoid frequent lawn watering. As temperatures rise, water deeper but less often.

Most pre-emergent crabgrass herbicides are available in combination with lawn fertilizers, so crabgrass prevention and spring fertilization can be done at the same time. This needs to be applied before the crabgrass germinates in early spring. (See temperatures and dates above.) If temperatures are unseasonably warm, you might have to apply this product earlier.

Sometimes a few crabgrass plants still manage to find their way into your lawn. If this is the case, simply remove the plants by hand--making sure to pull the entire root, too. If you miss the pre-emergent control season and crabgrass appears, control with a post-emergent spray. The sooner you spray or remove the plants, the less of a chance they will have of producing seed for the following season.

Pre-Emergent Products

	Green Light Crabgrass Preventer (granular – Turf) Herbicide for control of crabgrass & other annual weeds in turf. Lasts 12-14 weeks
	Dimension 270G (larger areas – Turf & Ornamentals) This granular turf and landscape pre-emergent herbicide provides excellent control of crabgrass, goosegrass, annual bluegrass, spurge, purslane, oxalis, and other annual grasses and broadleaf weeds found in turf and landscape ornamental planting beds
	Monterey Weed Impede (liquid – ornamentals only) Control annual grasses and broadleaf weeds in Landscape ornamentals and bulbs Ornamental bedding plants Ground Covers Non-planted areas
	Green Light Amaze (granular – ornamentals only) A selective pre-emergent herbicide for control of most annual grasses and certain broadleaf weeds. Provides the longest lasting, pre-emergent weed control in ornamentals.
Post Emergent
	Bayer All-in-One Lawn Weed & Crabgrass Killer Kills lawn weeds plus crabgrass in one easy step. Kills Dandelion, Clover, Chickweed and more and will not harm your lawn when used as directed. Rainproof in one hour.