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How to kill crabgrass in lawn that has cool and warm season grass?

Posted on 9/4/25 at 8:51 am
Posted by CatfishJohn
Member since Jun 2020
18559 posts
Posted on 9/4/25 at 8:51 am
I live in East Tennessee, we are in a transition zone so we have a variety of bermuda, fescue, and Kentucky bluegrass (texas variety) on our property.

Crabgrass has exploded. I have read about some herbicides that handle it but are there any that are safe for all types of my good grass? It's unfortunately in all areas.

The worst crabgrass part is an area of my yard that I have successfully grown "bluemuda". It's bermuda and a bluegrass variety so it stays green year round.
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5689 posts
Posted on 9/4/25 at 9:12 am to
Not sure there is a post-emergent herbicide that handle crabgrass in both warm & cool season grasses, other than spot spraying each plant with glyphosate, but going forward you need to start applying a pre-emergent herbicide annually in the spring such as dithiopyr (Dimension) or Prodiamine (Barricade) before soil temperatures warm to 55 F, which is the germination temperature of crabgrass seeds. Those pre-emergents are very effective in controlling crabgrass & numerous other annual lawn weeds.

Tennessee Cooperative Extension Service can provide you the optimal time for application for your county in east TN.
This post was edited on 9/4/25 at 9:19 am
Posted by CatfishJohn
Member since Jun 2020
18559 posts
Posted on 9/4/25 at 11:59 am to
Thank you

I tried glyphosate and the crabgrass came back just as fast as the Bermuda somehow in most spots. And left the areas void of my bluegrass which sucks.

I’ll try pre-emergent in the spring.
Posted by CatfishJohn
Member since Jun 2020
18559 posts
Posted on 9/4/25 at 6:29 pm to
If I just want to preserve the Bermuda and say screw the bluegrass in these spots, what herbicide is safe for Bermuda that kills crabgrass?
Posted by CrawDude
Baton Rouge
Member since Apr 2019
5689 posts
Posted on 9/4/25 at 7:16 pm to
quote:

If I just want to preserve the Bermuda and say screw the bluegrass in these spots, what herbicide is safe for Bermuda that kills crabgrass?


Well, some on this board might suggest the herbicide MSMA that use to be labeled for use on residential lawns but is no longer primarily b/c of the arsenic the herbicide contains. MSMA is currently labeled for use on golf course turf, sod farms, etc. It is not a “restricted use” herbicide and can be purchased by a lay person, no license required. You can Google and read up on it, just remember, “the label is the law (federal)”.

A better option would be the herbicide quinchlorac which will kill crabgrass but safe to use on Bermudagrass. Never personally used it as I don’t have a Bermudagrass grass lawn but others on this board have and hopefully will comment.
Posted by CatfishJohn
Member since Jun 2020
18559 posts
Posted on 9/4/25 at 8:08 pm to
Posted by Harlan County USA
Member since Sep 2021
727 posts
Posted on 9/5/25 at 9:53 am to


Posted by CatfishJohn
Member since Jun 2020
18559 posts
Posted on 9/5/25 at 11:05 am to
The clumps are huge and deep. I went away for 10 days on vacation and it somehow exploded. I’ve tried ripping them up.
Posted by Fraid Knot
Lafayette, LA
Member since Jul 2019
160 posts
Posted on 9/6/25 at 8:33 am to
I have used Quinclorac in my Bermuda grass. I've used it successfully on crabgrass and barnyard grass. Expect some yellowing of the Bermuda but it will bounce back.
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