How to Get Rid of Tall Grasses

Tall or overgrown grasses produce an untidy look for the yard, harbor pests and prevent healthy grass growth. If the yard is filled with 50 percent or more weed growth, gardeners must renovate the lawn or remove all of the tall grass and plant new turf. Removing tall grass is important because it competes with the lawn for the soil's nutrients and moisture. Leaving tall grass in the yard results in the depletion of your preferred turf type.

Shovel
Fertilizer
Tiller
Sod
Trowel
Herbicide
Drop spreader
Grass seeds
Newspapers
Manure

Instructions

- 1
  Fix small tall grassy areas by digging up the grass and discarding it. Distribute a starter fertilizer in the bare area. Till the starter fertilizer into the first 2 inches of topsoil. Lay a piece of sod on the bare soil. Use a sharp trowel to cut sod matching the bare area’s shape.
- 2
  Spray lawns with 50 percent or more tall grass weeds with an herbicide containing glyphosate. Reapply the herbicide in 10 days. Wait two weeks for any herbicide residue to leach out of the soil before planting turf.
- 3
  Till the lawn area. Spread a starter fertilizer over the lawn. Use a starter fertilizer with a NPK amount like 5-10-5 at a rate of 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Work the fertilizer into the soil. Distribute grass seeds or install turf over the area.
- 4
  Apply an herbicide containing fluazifop on tall grassy weeds growing in ornamental beds. Dilute the herbicide according to the directions in a take. Spray the tall foliage of weeds. Reapply according to the directions.
- 5
  Distribute pre-emergent herbicide granules that contain the active ingredient trifluralin over the lawn and flowerbed area to prevent tall grass seeds from germinating. Water the lawn with 1 inch of water to encourage the chemicals to sink into the soil.

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