Does Mowing Weeds Spread Them

Nothing makes a homeowner happier than seeing their beautiful lawn looking all green and healthy-looking. Everything is going well in your garden until you encounter weeds that grow nonstop, making your yard a complete disaster.

While your initial thought would be to mow them, we understand there could be a crippling fear that it might just spread it. Today, let’s find out the proper ways to eradicate weeds so they won’t spread further on your lawn.

Debunking The Myth: Are Weeds Bad For Your Lawn?

In general, minimal weeds aren’t harmful to your lawn. They can be very beneficial. However, too much of it is where it poses risk to your yard. (Read What Causes Small Round Holes In Lawn)

If you think letting them grow is okay, below are some of the reasons why you should never let weeds grow fully in your lawn:

They look unpleasant

No one wants a yard that looks like it’s not taken care of because of fully-grown weeds. Yards are made to make you feel peaceful and relaxed, but this is impossible when it looks messy and awful.

They can starve your grass.

Weeds absorb nutrients quicker than grass because of their stronger and deeper roots. Hence, it can starve your grass of water and other nutrients and damage them. Worse, they can even kill your grass when left uncontrolled.

They compete for space.

What’s supposed to be a large space for your beautiful grass becomes a space for unwanted weeds. Their presence prevents the grass and other plants from growing to their full potential.

They can flare up allergies.

Depending on the growing weed, some of them can trigger your allergies. If you start sneezing and having watery eyes while gardening, consider them one of the culprits.

They can cause insect infestation.

Some weeds attract not only animals but insects that weed over them. These insects can have negative impacts on the other plants that are growing around them.

They can cause diseases in your lawn. Apart from possibly killing the grass in your lawn, weeds can also spread fungal diseases in your garden. Several other lawn problems encountered also emerge from the danger these diseases can bring.

How Do Weeds Spread

Now that you know they can be bad for your lawn let’s proceed on identifying the different ways weeds can spread through seeds that enter your yard.

Four ways can be potential carriers of these seeds:

By wind

This might be the most common way weeds spread in your yard. Dandelions make a perfect example of this as their seeds get scattered by the wind. Children also often pick these seeds to blow and make a wish, not knowing they could very much be the cause of spreading them in your lawn.

By water

Seeds can spread through water that flows over your yard, whether through drainage or flooding. However, once this water subsides, the seed settles in your yard and can grow into weeds.

By animals and people

Your pets and other animals visiting your lawn can hugely contribute to spreading seeds. And yes, you, too, can be a contributor. Seeds can be hooked on animals’ and people’s clothing that can drop in your yard. Purchasing manure or hays for your garden can bring weeds into your lawn.

By lawn mower

If you’re wondering whether mowing weeds spread them, the answer is yes. Any machine that moves across your yards, such as automobiles, bikes, and other lawn equipment, can contribute to the increase of weeds. Also, when you mow weeds, some of the grass clippings and seeds will stick under the lawn mower’s deck, which will drop the next time you mow again.

How To Prevent Mowing From Spreading Weeds

It can be difficult to stop weeds from spreading, especially when you frequently mow, but it’s possible. Here are some of the things you should keep in mind if you don’t want them to further spread:

Mow weeds early

Mow them early before they can even produce seeds. Some weeds produce flowers that can drop seeds in your yard, which can further spread them. By cutting them early, you’re already reducing the risk of spreading them. (Learn How To Stop Cars Driving On Grass Verge)

Clean your machine

You can mow all you want, but your efforts would be useless if you do not clean your machine. Ensure you keep your lawn mower clean after it has been contaminated with weeds.

Trim your grass at the right height

The grass in your lawn plays a huge part to prevent mowing from spreading weeds. If you trim them too short, they can get weak and make it easier for the weeds to take over them. Trimming them can also make them prone to bald spots, making more room for weeds to germinate and grow.

What You Can Do If Mowing Already Spread Weeds

If you have failed to follow the preventive measures and the weeds have already started spreading, don’t fret! There are other steps you can do to eradicate these unwanted weeds.

Make use of a bagger.

Should I bag my grass clippings if I have weeds? The answer is yes! Make sure you attach the bagger to your lawn mower whenever you mow. This will collect the seeds as you mow. They work best on flowering weeds that have gone to seed or grasses that have already grown seed heads. In this way, they will no longer spread across your lawn.

Avoid using contaminated mulch.

Yes, mulch can be beneficial when controlling weeds, but contaminating them will only spread them more. Only use clean grass clippings and leaves as your mulch, not the ones with weeds already in them.

Don’t mow large weeds.

Apart from mowing them early, you should also keep in mind that you should not mow weeds that have already grown. This can damage the engine of your lawn mower. For fully grown weeds, proceed to cut them, uproot them, or use some herbicidal spray.

Try to pull them out manually.

You can never go wrong with the traditional way of removing weeds by manually pulling them out. However, this only applies to small lawns or lawns with only a small number of grown weeds. All it takes is time and effort for them to no longer spread on your lawn.

Use a weed killer

Yes, you can eradicate weeds by spraying them with herbicide. Using a weed killer before or after mowing should be done properly, though. When you spray them before, make sure you wait five days before you proceed with mowing them. If you’re considering mowing first before you spray, this might not be as efficient since the part where it can absorb the weed killer has already been cut off.

Use weeded lawn service.

You can always opt for professional services if you can no longer handle how vast the weeds have spread. Many businesses already offer to mow and trimming services for such cases who know what’s best to keep your lawn healthy. Depending on how large the area needs to be fixed, these services can be affordable and surely won’t break the bank.

Additional Reminders To Keep In Mind

Once you’ve already done all the mentioned ways of preventing and handling weeds while mowing, here are other tips to make sure weeds will be kept under control next time:

• If you plan to manually pull weeds the sooner you see them grow, do it before you mow. Already trimmed weeds via mowing can make it hard to pull them out.
• If you see weeds growing again after you mow, let it be. It happens. As long as you mow them regularly, they will surely exhaust quicker sooner or later.
• If the grass in your lawn doesn’t need mowing, but the weeds need it, you can give it a quick trim.
• Try to lessen the frequency of watering them. This will slow their growth since they grow more when they have moisture.

Key Takeaway

Your garden is one of your most sacred spaces outdoors, and you do not want anything to ruin it, not even the beneficial weeds. The sooner you take preventive measures at the onset of these weeds; you don’t have to worry for it to damage your lush green lawn. (Read When To Remove Straw Blanket From New Grass)

If things have already gotten out of hand, no need to panic! There are still ways to handle these persistent weeds despite the risks of frequent mowing can do. Just trust the process and you’ll surely get your healthy garden back!