Last updated on January 27th, 2022
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A weed free lawn starts with regular lawn maintenance such as scarifying and aerating the lawn, weed and feed in spring and autumn, this all helps, however, one way to deal with weeds at any time of year, especially leafy weeds, is by using a concentrate or ready to use lawn weedkiller you can spray on, either the whole lawn or spot weeding.
If you have weeds causing mayhem on your lawn, you’re are not alone. There are many ways to control the weeds on your lawn. Non-chemical options are to remove all the weeds by hand you a weed puller is a good idea and more importantly treating your lawn yearly to keep it nice and healthy will help to reduce the weeds on the lawn in the long run. We have a good article on controlling moss on lawns here too.
If your lawn is particularly weedy and manual weeding is not an option, there is a selection of what are known as ‘selective lawn weedkillers’ on the market. These weedkillers can be applied and will kill the weeds but not the grass because they generally only target leaf weeds like white clover, black medick, lesser trefoil, daisy, dandelion, plantain and common mouse-ear.
If you scarify your lawn in spring and autumn as well as weed and feed the lawn with a granular feed using a spreader, then you are on the right track to keeping your lawn weed-free.
However, if you have a problem with dandelions or something similar then applying a lawn weedkiller is probably the best answer. Below is what we highly recommend using, formally known as Verdone, it’s now called Weedol lawn Weedkiller and it is probably the best weedkiller currently available for treating lawns.
Best Pick
Runner-up
Best ready to use weedkiller
What weeds can they control?
They are selective in that they kill broad-leafed weeds. Not all weedkillers kill the same types of weeds as it depends on the active ingredients. Many of them will kill the most common such as buttercups, daisies, dandelions, clovers, docks as well as many more. If you know what weeds you have on your lawn, it’s always a good idea to choose a weedkiller that specifies it controls those types of weeds.
Types of lawn weedkillers – Concentrates vs Ready to use
Weedkiller concentrates offer better value for money but ready-to-use weedkillers offer convenience and are perfect if you only have a small amount of mixture.
Weedkillers can be purchased ready-mixed or as a concentrate that you mix yourself in a sprayer. The concentrate option is usually much cheaper and ideal for larger areas where you may need to treat your whole lawn.
If you just have a few weeds and want to spot weed, just spraying the weeds and not the whole lawn or you don’t like the idea of mixing your own from concentrate, then ready to use sprayers are the way to go, however, remember this is usually much more expensive.
If you do want to buy the concentrate and want to know what garden sprayer we would recommend, we did a roundup of the best garden sprayers and you can read about them here.
Top 5 Best Lawn Weedkiller Reviews
1. Weedol Concentrate Lawn Weedkiller
Our Recommended – Lawn Weedkiller Concentrate
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Probably one of the best lawn weedkillers available, formally produced by Scotts Miracle-Gro but it’s now branded as Weedol but it is the same great mixture and very effective.
Simply mix with water at the required rate and you are good to go. It is very effective and is season long meaning you only need to apply it once in most cases.
It is available in 250ml, 500ml and a larger 1 litre quantity, with the largest one covering 667 Sq.m which is ideal for larger lawns. What makes this weedkiller one of the best is that it contains three types of herbicide and this means it kills a large selection of broad-leafed weeds including:
Dandelions, Daisies, Clover, Plantain, Common Mouse-Ear, White Clover, Black Medick and Lesser Trefoil.
The weeds begin to die within a few days, they will start to wilt and it then takes around 4-6 weeks before they turn brown and turn to mulch, which in turn adds nutrients to the soil feeding the grass. Sometimes this process happens a lot more quickly but as a guide around 4 weeks is normal.
Two others advantages are that you can apply it to lawns over two months old, most other weedkillers it is a minimum of 6 months and once dried it is safe for pets and children to go onto the treated area.
Overall, this is what we would recommend, get yourself the concentrate and mix with water, it works out much cheaper and is easy enough to measure out and mix in a sprayer. Then you can just mix a little as and when you need it.
2. Miracle-Gro Evergreen Complete 4 in 1 Lawn Feed With Moss and Weedkiller
Runner-up
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The Miracle-Gro Evergreen Complete 4 in 1 formulation kills off moss and weeds from your lawn effectively as well as feeds the lawn at the same time. The weedkiller eradicates competition for nutrients from your grass allowing your grass to grow greener and thicker. When you follow the instructions provided, you should be able to get the expected results after a few applications.
The granulated mixture can be dispersed by hand although we don’t recommend this for most people, instead, we recommend using a spreader so that all sections of the lawn can be covered and to avoid burning your lawn, this is a fairly common problem that people experience who try and apply it by hand.
Appropriate for use between April and September, this weedkiller is affordable and can cover an area of 200m2. We recommend all people who want to take their lawn to the next level to use this product yearly.
3. Resolva Concentrate Lawn Weedkiller Extra
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Able to cover an area of 250m2 the Resolva Concentrate Lawn Weedkiller Extra deals with weeds by killing the roots off of broad-leaved weeds such as clovers, daisies, buttercups and dandelions. It is a good alternative to our best pick.
If your lawn is lightly infested with thistles, nettles, dandelions, buttercups and other weeds, using this product will provide moderate control but you may need to apply several times for the harder to kill weeds.
The good thing about this product is that it will not affect or burn your grass like granular weedkillers can if they are applied too heavily. That is as long as you follow the given instructions to a tee. This is an affordable product and therefore, you can easily buy more if you have a larger area to cover.
4. Resolva Lawn Weed Killer Concentrated Tubes
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This version of Resolva Lawn Weed Killer comes in six 30ml tubes to use, which makes measuring out the concentrate much easier. Every time you want to kill off some dandelions, docks, thistles and buttercups amongst other weeds, you open and pour it into some water and then apply with a garden sprayer or watering can with a fine hose. As we have already mentioned, we always recommend using a sprayer to get the most out of it.
It is recommended to mix the product with 1.5-3 litres of water depending on how intense the infestation is. The six tubes altogether can cover an area of 90m2, which is roughly around 9 car parking spaces and this should give you a good idea of what area you can cover.
This product would be appropriate for those with smaller lawns that need the occasional weedkilling. It is sold at an affordable price and you get adequate instructions to get the best results.
Ready-mixed weedkillers
Ready-mixed weedkillers are ideal for spraying individual weeds and are ideal for spot weedkilling. The advantage of doing this is that you reduce the number of chemicals used on your lawn and the less you can use any types of chemicals in the garden, the better.
You can now purchase larger, ready-to-use weedkillers that come with a sprayer attached and use a pump-action for spraying larger areas without the need for mixing it yourself. This is handy, however, as previously mentioned, this does work out more expensive but it means you don’t need to do anything but spray the weeds.
5. Weedol Ready To Use Lawn Weedkiller
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This is one of the best lawn weedkillers available, it comes ready-to-use in an 800ml spray container and can be purchased either as a single carton or sometimes in a twin pack.
Ideal for smaller applications where the concentrate would be too much, spray individual weeds or small patches of weeds with ease using the trigger gun included.
If you just have a small lawn with a few weeds this is probably the best way to go.
6. Resolva 3 Litre RTU Extra Lawn Weedkiller
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The Resolva 3 Litre RTU Weed killer comes in a ready-to-use form with user instructions provided to give the best results. Being ready mixed means that there is no danger of incorrect mixing and it’s just generally easier to use with no mixing to worry about.
The weedkiller is formulated to deal with broadleaf weeds like dandelions, daisies, white clover, yarrow, buttercups, self-heal, deadnettle, speedwell and broad-leaved docks in lawns amongst others. This liquid weedkiller can cover an area of 120m2 and this is a sizeable area, it will certainly cover the average lawn a few times.
It comes with a spray head that permits the user to apply the liquid to a large area with ease. Be sure to keep your pets away from the lawn until the solution has dried up for safety purposes but this is the same with all weedkillers.
General tips when applying lawn weedkillers
- Try not to apply weedkiller onto a new lawn until they are at least 6 months old, if you really need to you can spray Weedol lawn weedkiller after 2 months but the longer you can hold off for, the better.
- Apply when the weeds are actively growing, this is usually between April and September. Like all weedkillers if you apply them when they are not growing, it will result in poor results.
- Apply ideally when the soil is moist but the weeds and lawn are dry. Check the weather forecast as ideally, it should not rain for at least 24 hours after the application for them to be effective.
- Lawn weedkillers will not kill seeds so apply a second time around 6-8 weeks after the first application to kill new weeds or stubborn weeds that need more than one application. Most weedkillers will say only one treatment is needed but this is not always the case and a second dose can finish off the last few weeds and seedling.
- If covering larger areas, use concentrates because this will be cheaper and easier to apply.
- Do not spray when windy because they can kill shrubs, trees and plants if spray drifts onto them. This goes for all weedkillers.
- Do not mow the lawn 3 days before or 3 days after the application of lawn weedkillers.
FAQS
When do you apply weedkillers to lawns?
The best time to apply weedkillers is between late spring and early autumn. This is because the weeds are actively growing and therefore it will be easier for the weedkiller to be absorbed. Once the weedkiller is absorbed the plants die off without harming the grass.
Can you use any weedkiller on a lawn?
No, it depends on the type of lawn you have and the intensity of the weed growth. There are weedkillers that may harm new lawns and therefore, they are discouraged. Most weedkillers not sold as weedkillers for lawns will nearly always kill grasses and this includes lawn grass.
Why don’t lawn weedkillers kill grass?
This is because the herbicide is designed specifically to kill off weeds or moss that is competing for water and other nutrients. The herbicide is absorbed into the plants through the leaves killing off the roots.
How do you apply a weedkiller to your lawn?
In many cases, manufacturers provide instructions on how to use their products. Whether you need to dilute the mixture or it comes ready to use, the idea is to spread the mixture over the weeds. You should especially target the leaves where the absorption rate is high. Some weedkillers come in granular form and are best applied with a lawn spreader.
Our Final Conclusion
Keeping your lawn in good shape is important and that is why the kind of product you choose matters. That is why effective products like the Weedol Lawn Weedkiller, which is our best pick, have gained so much popularity.
If you prefer another brand, the Resolva Concentrate Lawn Weedkiller Extra is always a good option.
Regardless of the product you select, make sure that it qualifies to be amongst the best lawn weedkillers on the market. The health of your lawn will be the proof in the pudding.
Last update on 2024-10-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
