Suffering from unwanted weeds in your turf? Pampas grass could be tricky to get rid of. They don’t need to be taken care of. As natural survivors, they spread quickly and out of control. You need a proper guide to eliminate them. How to kill Pampas grass? It is not easy, but you can! Shall we start?
The Quickest Way To Kill Pampas Grass
Pampas grass has nice-looking tufted curls that appear on the topmost of tall stems. It grows as high as 10 feet. If your lawn is invaded by these ornamental grass, I imagine it as a grass forest by now.
There are two methods in killing Pampas Grass the fastest way.
- Eliminating the Grass manually- you could say that doing this is madness. Pampas grass roots are deeply seated so manual labor is going to be tough. However, it’s very effective you’ll truly kill them all.
- The Use of Chemical Control- The use of herbicides always comes in handy. Easier and faster compared to manual labor. However, if not done the correct way, it can do more harm than good. If you can’t hire experts to apply them, be sure you read the instructions on the label before using.
What Do You Need For This Tutorial?
Safety gadgets
As you are going to spray the chemical yourself, be sure you wear the proper gadgets to protect yourself. Prepare your pump spray, mask, goggles, rubber gloves, garden boots, and a safety suit. As they say, it’s better safe than sorry.
Garden tools
To make your manual labor easy, you need a shovel, cutting shear, gloves, boots, water hose and a protective suit. Be sure to buy durable tools. Pampas grass is a huge plant to eradicate. It’s going to be a big day.
Selective Herbicide Roundup
This chemical is safe to use when you are worried about your other plants. Round-up only works on the upper part of the plant like the leaves and stem. It does not penetrate the roots or soil. If used the right way, your other plants are not going to be affected.
First Method: Removing the grass manually
This method effectively works when the invasion is still in the early stage. Others would suggest burning the plants down. It won’t be advisable though since other plants might be included as well. So let’s proceed killing Pampas grass that takes away nutrients that are meant for our good plants.
Step by step instructions:
- Cut the upper part of the Pampas grass. Complete with your safety gardening attire and tools proceed to the area where the Pampas grass thrive. No need to put marks on the spot. This grass is huge, there is no way to miss it. Make sure that your shears are big and durable. It must withstand the cutting off the tall Pampas stems. Cut all Pampas grass that you can see. Cutting the upper part first is necessary. It would give you space to dig out the roots later on.
- Rake all the cut-out stems. Clean the area where you did the cutting. By now, it should be clear. Start digging the roots with the use of a shovel. Make sure you pull out all the root system and not a single one amiss. This takes a lot of time, especially you have a vast area. Pampas grass has itchy and sharp pointy blades. Make sure you are properly covered.
Second Method: The use of Chemical Control
Pampas grass bear flowers when they’re full grown. They multiply through germination with millions of seeds in time. So if your lawn is already heavily infested, the practical method to choose is through chemical control.
There are two kinds of chemical that you can use: Glyphosate or Roundup and Haloxyfop. Since Haloxyfop has negative backgrounds such as human health and environmental issues, I thought it is safer to use Glyphosate or Roundup.
Step by step instructions:
- Relocate good plants to save them from the chemical. Since Pampas is a huge grass, it is impossible to spray them without affecting other plants nearby. As much as you can, transfer good plants away from the area. If you have crops nearby, it is advisable to harvest them first before scheduling chemical control.
- Spray herbicide to Pampas grass. After you have saved the good plants around the affected area, it is time to spray Roundup. Complete with your safety suit and gears, you are ready to do it. Pampas grass is thick so try as much as you can to spray coating the entire clump. Do the same thing to all the scattered clumps in the area. Wait for three to four days.
- Cut away dead leaves or clumps so it will be easy for you to see the center or base. Do the spraying the second time around to all the remaining green leaves. Repeat the same procedure until all of the leaves are dead. It may take 3 to 4 times of spraying before everything is cleared.
- Clear all dead leaves for you to have enough space and visibility of the base or roots. Now it would be easy for you to dig and pull out the root system underground. This could be tiring when you need to cover a wide area. A little help from friends may be needed. Don’t miss even one root system. Put all the uprooted parts in garbage bags and dispose of them.
Actually, some consider Pampas grass as a great part of a landscape. That is why it is considered ornamental grass. Yet, when it grows wild and can’t be controlled, you might as well apply what you have learned today.
Either way, both methods are effective. You choose what you think suits you most. If you have friends who do not know how to kill Pampas grass, then maybe this time, you can guide them already. Pampas grass is huge, but now killing them is easy for you.