Weeds You Shouldn’t Pull Out by Hand
One of the quickest and easiest ways to manage many types of weeds is to simply pull them out by hand. When you find undesirables growing in your lawn, removing them like this is usually pretty straightforward. But did you know there are some weeds you shouldn’t pull out by hand?
Some weeds actually become more likely to spread when you pull them out by hand. Weeds that grow from bulbs or nuts in the soil can continue to spread and multiply out of sight, so that by the time they emerge again they’ve covered a lot more ground. What you see above ground is always only part of the story, so make sure you consider this before going straight in for the pull!
Here’s what you need to know about weeds that don’t respond well to pulling.
Onion weed
One of the most difficult weeds to get rid of, onion weed is a menace in lawns and garden beds right around Australia. Onion weed is easy to identify, with thin green strappy leaves and small white flowers growing from a white bulb that has an onion smell when crushed. Onion weed produces small bulblets that tend to pull away from the mother plant when pulled, which means simply pulling them out will leave behind rapidly growing bulblets.
Eradicating onion weed starts with removing as many plants as possible. Do not try to pull the plant out of the ground or shake excess dirt back off into the hole or compost, as you will likely leave bulblets behind. Instead, dig the weed-clump out of the ground with a spade or a trowel and throw the entire clump away. To totally eradicate onion weed, the next step is to treat the area with a non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate (Roundup or Zero). Or, as a natural option, you could try applying boiling water.
If you have an extensive problem, a selective herbicide is available that treats onion weed and onion grass (also known as Guildford grass). However, this herbicide, called Destiny Herbicide, is very expensive and can only be applied by a licensed, professional lawn contractor. Destiny Herbicide can be used on buffalo, kikuyu, couch and zoysia, but not on ryegrass or Queensland blue couch.
Nutgrass
Nutgrass is part of the highly invasive sedge weed family, which also includes Mullumbimby couch. This weed is usually lighter green and taller than the rest of your lawn, with three blades shooting up from a triangular stem. Nutgrass gets its name from the nut-like tubers found on the roots (rhizomes) of the plant. Simply pulling the nutgrass out by hand will leave these nut-like tubers in the soil, allowing them to continue to spread.
If you find nutgrass in your lawn, act quickly! If you give it time to spread, it can become almost impossible to remove. If there is only a small amount, you can dig it out with a small spade, but be very careful to ensure there are no roots or bulbs left in the soil. Nutgrass will reliably reappear if you leave behind even a trace. If there is a large amount of nutgrass in your lawn, you will need to treat it with a selective herbicide such as Amgrow Sedgehammer or Sempra.
Winter Grass or Poa which has gone to seed
Wintergrass or Poa as it is otherwise known can be a tricky weed to eradicate. Usually, it can be sprayed with a post-emergent weed control such as Wintergrass Killer or hand weeded out of your lawn.
However, if your winter grass has gone to seed, it is important not to hand weed out the plant, as this will spread the seeds. Only spray this weed out with Wintergrass killer and allow the plant to die back without removal.