When it comes to maintaining a healthy and lush lawn, preventing weeds from taking over is a crucial step. One effective way to accomplish this is by using a pre-emergent herbicide like Barricade.
But when is the best time to apply Barricade to ensure maximum effectiveness?
Climate Considerations
The ideal time to apply Barrocade pre-emergent herbicide is in early spring before soil temperatures reach 55 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of 4″. The timing may vary depending on your location and climate – so keep an eye on the soil temperature in your area.
It is very effective against a large number of weeds, including:
- Barnyardgrass
- Annual Bluegrass
- Carpetweed-04,
- Common and Mousear Chickweed
- Large and Smooth Crabgrass,
- Crowfootgrass
- Woolly Cup Grass
- Annual Foxtails
- Goosegrass
- Henbit
- Itchgrass
- Johnsongrass
- Junglerice
- Knotweed
- Kochia
- Common Lambsquarters
- Lovegrass
- Browntop
- Fall and Texas Panicum
- Pigweed
- Common Purslane
- Florida Pusley
- Rescuegrass
- Shepherdspurse
- Signalgrass Broadleaf
- Persian Speedwell
- Sprangletop
- Prostate Spurge
- Witchgrass
- Yellow Woodsorrel
It can be applied either separately or as an additive to other products to help save time.
How Lawn Pre -Emergents Work
Let’s first start by taking a look at how pre-emergent formulas like Barricade herbicide help prevent weeds from showing up in your lawn.
Herbicides in general use a variety of different mechanisms to stop weeds from growing, but pre-emergent herbicides specifically prevent growth after germination in the weed seed by inhibiting a particular vital enzyme in the seed.
Because of this mode of action, it only keeps seeds from sprouting and does not control weeds that have already sprouted, requiring it to be used during, in general, times during the growing season.
It also means that it won’t work on a lawn that has been freshly seeded, or rather that it will work to keep the weeds away but will also keep your lawn seed from sprouting!
Check out Tenacity if you are seeding and looking to prevent weeds.
Safety First!
When it comes to applying any type of pesticides or herbicides, you must pay close attention to safety.
As an example of what not to do:
A local college greenhouse had been advised to mix a couple insecticides together for a particular problem in the greenhouse. Both students involved who applied the insecticide had trouble breathing following the application and had to stay home for several days. The reaction could have had far reaching health and legal consequences for the student workers, the university and the supply company that recommended mixing the products.
Another example is testing done on inert products in glyphosate, or RoundUp, which had been considered a fairly safe for general use based on tests of the glyphosate.
This study found that an inert ingredient essentially smothered human cells, killing them, including embryonic, placental and umbilical cells, causing miscarriage.
By doing something as simple as checking the warnings on the Barricade herbicide label, you will be able to find the information needed to safely apply the herbicide.
One of the first things to look at is what personal protective equipment (PPE) you’ll need before applying it. This information is on one of the first few pages of the label.
For Barricade, you’ll want a shirt with long sleeves, long pants, socks, shoes and protective gloves.
A commonly used glove are nitrile exam gloves, available in the first aid section of most drug stores or major multi-department chain stores. Nitrile is by nature resistant to chemicals that can otherwise cause skin injuries or can be absorbed into the skin.
When you’re done for the day or the season, it’s very important to store herbicides safely.
Keeping them where children cannot get to them whether it is in a locked cabinet or building, labeling and securely closing mix bottles to help ensure limited accidental exposure and makes it much easier to dispose of it properly.
Application
There are many tips and tricks you can pick up to make herbicide application go faster and more safely.
Whether you’re spraying a liquid or dispersing granules of Barricade, you’ll want to wait for a relatively calm day.
If you have to put it down on a windy day, start on the downwind side of your property and work your way upwind. This will help keep the herbicide blowing away from you.
If you do have to apply in a breeze or wind, be very careful to control overspray onto a neighbor’s property. You do not want to get the pre emergent spray on landscaping that can’t handle the application, so be careful!
I strongly advise not spraying on windy days. It’s not safe for you or your property.
Spring applications, which control summer weeds, should take place after air temperatures reach 65-70 degrees F during the day for four days in a row.
Fall applications, which control winter weeds, need to wait until night air temperatures reach a low of 55-60 degrees for four days in a row.
Figure out how many square feet you’ll need to treat and then use that figure to determine how much Barricade to mix or distribute. You can find this figure on the label, usually in terms of how much to mix or distribute per 1,000 square feet or per acre (43,560 square feet).
Combined Products
Combined products are those that contain not only Barricade herbicide but also an additional lawn care product.
One of the most popular are weed and feed products, which include a fertilizer component. These types of products can help save you time by requiring a single application rather than one of each product.
Fertilizer mix products should not be applied on southern lawns or warm season grasses, as the fertilizer will burn the desired grass seedlings, causing significant damage to your lawn.
It is very important that you not try to mix your own combination solutions without consulting a landscaping professional.
Much like the college greenhouse example above, mixing products without knowing exactly what they will combine into can create a significant health threat.
You can also perform a “bucket test” to see if the products mix well together. Meaning, you should mix a small amount of each product in a container to see how the react. If they turn into crud, you don’t want to put them in your sprayer at the same time as they will clog it.
Advantages Over Other Herbicides
Barricade has a low odor and forms a clear liquid, providing an esthetic advantage which is unlike many other herbicides on the market.
Many other products often cast a yellow tone to areas that have been treated.
Because it is relatively concentrated and does not take much to get the desired effect, it can be applied using a very low dosage. It is a relatively safe herbicide, and is not restricted in terms of who may use it and whether training, a certificate or a license is needed.
Now that you’ve had a chance to educate yourself about the basics of Barricade, you can start thinking about where and how to apply it to prevent weeds from popping up.
By providing a good quality pre-emergent herbicide such as Barricade, you’ll be able to enjoy your lawn more and weed it less!