Routine Weed & Pest Control for Bermuda Grass

Common Bermuda Grass Weeds

• Bermuda grass is susceptible to both perennial and annual weeds. Knotweed is a short-lived perennial, creeping, low-growing weed that spreads quickly. Spotted spurge is another short-lived perennial, but it seeds profusely, grows in hot weather and tolerates all soils. Lespedeza appears in the summertime and has wide-spreading branches that choke out turf grasses. Areas where the Bermuda grass grows thinly and the soil is rich are vulnerable to henbit, an annual, shallow-rooted weed that usually pops up during the cool season. Hopclover, chickweed and spuweed are also common, cool season Bermuda grass weeds to watch out for.

Weed Control

• Several commercial herbicides are available for Bermuda grass with a few choices for application methods. Broadcast spreaders spread a precise amount of dry weed formula while being pushed over the lawn. Spot treatments are well-suited to sprayers filled with liquid weed control solutions. This allows for more careful application so that the herbicide is only applied to the weed and not surrounding non-target plants. Attachments that are filled with herbicides and affix to hose nozzles are effective for large Bermuda grass lawns. When using hose-end sprayers, first plan a spraying path and apply even, accurate coverage to the Bermuda grass so not to over-spray a certain area. Proper mowing also helps suppress weeds. Bermuda grass can be mowed more closely than other warm season grasses. An optimal mowing schedule is done every five to seven days during the growing season unless the grass is suffering from drought stress.

Common Bermuda Grass Pests

• Pearl scale is one of the biggest pests of Bermuda grass. Look for small, pearl-like insects in the grass. This common Bermuda grass pest is more commonly found in hybrid varieties than common Bermuda grass. They suck the plant juices from the grass blades, which often causes the Bermuda grass to decline in vigor, lose color and die. Other common Bermuda grass insects include armyworms, which are greenish-brown caterpillars with white stripes and black heads. Armyworms eat Bermuda grass until ragged, bare patches form in the lawn. They are most common in cool, wet conditions. Hybrid Bermuda grass varieties are attractive to sod webworms, which live below the ground. They pull grass blades into the ground to eat, and are most common when weather is hot and dry.

Pest Control

• Pearl scale are difficult to control because they have a waxy protective coating. Horticultural oil is effective and smothers the pest. Beneficial insects like predatory beetle species Chilocorus nigritus and Lindorus lophanthae, and parasitic wasps can keep pearl scale populations down. Parasitic wasps are also effective for controlling armyworms, and horticultural oil kills their eggs. An insecticidal spray containing Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki, or BTK, paralyzes adult and larvae armyworms, as well as sod webworms, so they stop feeding and die of starvation.