David M. Kopec, Extension Turfgrass Specialist

Public enemy number 1, or man's best friend? That pretty much sums it up, right or wrong.

"Control" means many things to many people. Ask yourself as a homeowner, what do you want to "do" to your bermudagrass.

I. Slow the growth of a bermudagrass lawn.

If you have adequate control of your irrigation system, and the system applies water fairly evenly across the lawn, then the easiest way to control growth is to decrease the water applied to the lawn. Start with 3/8 inch every other day, then go to ¼ inch every other day. It works.

If not, you can apply PRIMO PGR to the bermudagrass. This product must be applied to actively growing bermudagrass. It is applied as a spray and must dry on the leaf for at least 3-4 hours for best results. Follow the label instructions for either common or hybrid bermudagrass application rates. These will vary between ¼ to 5/8 liquid ounce per thousand square feet. The suppression will last about 3-4 weeks. After that, another application will be necessary if you want further suppression. Also note that when the bermudagrass starts to "outgrow" the PRIMO, it will grow like a weed for one to two weeks afterwards.

II. Suppression in ornamentals

In this case, bermudagrass is a nasty weed invading landscape plantings. You can't get Round up on the landscape plants when you are spraying the Bermuda!

Not to lose hope:
There are 3 products that will severely damage the bermudagrasss, and still be safe on the true dicot landscape plants.

These products include:
1. Poast (sethoxydin)
2. Fusilade II (fluazifop)
3. WHIP or ENVOY (clethodin)

Yes, you can spray both the bermudagrass and the dicot (broadleaf) landscape plants at the same time. Remember that cactus plants are moncots, and so are Spanish needle plants (and the like). Check the label before spraying these plants to make sure that the landscape broadleaf tree or shrub is safe for application.

It will take repeat applications to get rid of the bermuda, but it does work.

1. Complete eradication of bermudagrass.

"Round-up Pro" is probably the best way to get rid of bermudagrass. Remember, this is a non-selective weed control agent, and will control any and all green vegetation, which receives the spray. There are many commercial products that contain Round-up (active ingredient is glyphosate). Therefore, follow the label directions to the letter. Always make sure that the bermudagrass is "growing like a weed" and it is not water stressed. Apply the Round-up at 10:00 AM, and let it sit one or two days on the leaves. After that, water the bermudagrass, just like if you wanted to keep it. It should die in 8-10 days.

Repeat a second application on any remaining green bermudagrass.