Weeds Have Taken Over Your Lawn — Now What?
A weedy lawn isn’t a lost cause. We’ll knock down what’s there, prevent what’s coming, and thicken your turf so weeds can’t compete.
Symptom overview
What This Looks Like
When weeds have taken over your lawn, the weeds aren’t the root problem — they’re a symptom. Weeds fill in wherever grass is too thin, too stressed, or too poorly maintained to compete. Killing the weeds without fixing the underlying issue just creates space for more weeds.
Possible causes
What Could Be Causing This
No Pre-Emergent Program
Without pre-emergent herbicide applied at the right time, annual weeds like crabgrass, goosegrass, and chamberbitter germinate freely every season. A single year without pre-emergent can set you back significantly.
Learn moreThin, Weak Turf
Healthy, dense grass is the best weed preventer. When turf thins out from compaction, shade, poor fertility, or disease, weeds take advantage of the open space. Addressing turf density is just as important as killing existing weeds.
Mowing Too Short
Scalping your lawn exposes bare soil to sunlight, which triggers weed seed germination. It also stresses the grass, weakening its ability to compete. Each grass type has an ideal mowing height that maximizes density and shade coverage.
Overwatering
Excess moisture promotes many weed species, especially dollarweed and sedges. It also weakens grass roots, making the turf less competitive. Dollarweed and yellow nutsedge are telltale signs of overwatering.
Learn moreWrong Herbicide or Bad Timing
Over-the-counter weed killers are often non-selective (they kill everything) or applied at the wrong time. Using the wrong product on the wrong weed, or applying when temperatures are too high, leads to poor results and a damaged lawn.
Diagnose it
Narrow Down the Cause
Are the weeds primarily grassy (crabgrass, goosegrass) or broadleaf (clover, dandelion)?
Grassy weeds indicate a pre-emergent failure. Broadleaf weeds respond well to post-emergent herbicides. Knowing the weed type determines the treatment approach.
A mix of both grassy and broadleaf weeds suggests the lawn has been without a professional program for an extended period. A full-season plan is needed.
Is the underlying grass thin between the weeds?
The lawn needs more than weed control — it needs a fertility and cultural program to thicken the turf. Killing weeds in thin grass just creates more bare soil for the next round of weeds.
If the grass is dense but weeds are still pushing through, a more aggressive pre-emergent and post-emergent schedule will bring it under control.
Have you been using any weed control products yourself?
DIY products from hardware stores are often less effective than professional-grade herbicides and can damage your lawn if misapplied. Let us assess what’s been applied so we can plan the next steps without causing further stress.
A lawn without any weed control program will accumulate weed pressure quickly. The good news is that a professional program can make a dramatic difference within one season.
Still not sure? A professional lawn assessment takes the guesswork out of it.
Get QuoteSeasonal timing
When This Is Most Common
Weed pressure in Middle Georgia shifts with the seasons. Cool-season weeds (henbit, chickweed, poa annua) invade in fall and winter. Warm-season weeds (crabgrass, nutsedge, spurge) take over in spring and summer. A year-round program addresses both waves with properly timed pre-emergent and post-emergent treatments.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get a weedy lawn under control?
Most lawns see dramatic improvement within one full treatment season (about 8–12 months). The first few treatments knock down existing weeds, pre-emergent prevents new ones, and the fertilization program thickens the turf to crowd out future invaders.
Should I pull weeds by hand?
Hand-pulling works for isolated broadleaf weeds with taproots (like dandelions), but it’s not practical for widespread infestations. For grassy weeds and weeds that spread by runners or tubers (nutsedge, dollarweed), pulling actually stimulates more growth.
Why do my weeds come back every year?
Weed seeds survive in the soil for years — some for over a decade. A single crabgrass plant produces 150,000 seeds. Without annual pre-emergent applications, those seeds germinate and the cycle repeats. Consistency is the key to long-term weed control.
Can you save a lawn that’s mostly weeds?
Absolutely. We’ve turned around lawns that were 80%+ weeds. It takes a full season of aggressive weed control paired with fertilization to rebuild the turf, but the results are worth it. The lawn is usually unrecognizable by the end of the first year.
Related problems
Other Lawn Problems to Consider
Take action
Stop Guessing and Start Fixing
Every lawn problem has a solution. Get a professional diagnosis and targeted treatment plan from Attaboy Lawn Care.
