Quote (Twizted_jay @ Jun 1 2013 10:41am)
Asking here since it kinda has to do with Nature.
I dont know jack shit about taking care of a lawn but here is my situation.
My roommate moved out a while ago and had 2 German Shepards in the backyard. Ofc they pooped everywhere and he was not good about picking any of it up so when he moved out there was hundreds of piles of poop in the back yard and I kind of ignored it for 4-5 months and let the backyard grow like crazy.
Now I keep it under control cutting it about every week or every 2 weeks, BUT it seems like leaving all that poop in the backyard turned it into 1 giant weed. I dont think there is any grass grass in the backyard its all just weeds.
Is there anything I can put down or spray to kill all the weeds to get grass to grow back? Its a pretty damn good sized backyard and we want to put a lawn set and grill back there to hang out during the summer but it just looks terrible.
Thanks!
There is various solutions, it depends how much work you are willing to do and how much money you are willing to spend.
One solution would be to wet the lawn down really good and pull the weeds out by hand using weeding tools. Having the right weeding tool makes it easier. Its time consuming but it gets the job done without any chemicals and saves any existing grass.
Another chemical-free solution is to cover the area with thick plastic. The trapped heat and air will cause everything to die after about a month or two. You can then reseed with new grass.
An organic solution is to use a mixture of white vinegar or any strong vinegar and a little dish soap (only a little soap) The vinegar kills the plant and soap helps the vinegar stick to the plant.
One method is spraying a herbicide like Round-Up over the entire area and killing everything. First pull up the large weeds you can, then mow on the lowest setting, then spray the Round-Up (do this when its going to be sunny and dry for a few days). After about a week, everything will be dead and you can then reseed the lawn with new grass. To spray a large yard you would need one of those hand sprayers with the hand pump.
There is herbicide products that are intended to target only certain species of weeds, but this stuff is expensive and I don't have any experience using them, so i cannot vouch for their effectiveness.
Generally the best way to avoid getting taken over by weeds is to have a thick vigorous growing lawn. If the grass grows thick enough it will prevents weeds from starting. If you put down new grass seed make sure you follow the directions on the seed bag for good results.
Probably the most expensive option would be to hire somebody to remove the entire lawn and replace it with new topsoil and reseed with grass or have them put new sod down.
If you don't own the property, perhaps you could ask your landlord on their opinion on what to do about it (this may be a bad idea)
This post was edited by NatureNames on Jun 1 2013 02:05pm