Darn Bermuda Grass

HELP!! I made a big mistake and planted Bermuda grass in a small area outside my back door where the dogie door is and all winter I have had to vacume at least three times a day because my dogs, who happen to be long haired, track in all the dead junk. Now I need to know what I can do. I thought of planting winter rye this fall but don't know anything about it and I have heard that it is almost impossable to get rid of Bermuda. Can anyone tell me the solution?

You can never fully get rid of Bermuda with out digging out each and every root down to several feet deep.

I suggest the standard dilution of Round-Up. You may have to re-apply it a couple of times. Keep your pets or kids off it for 24 hours. It should work.

I have used the round up - I have even covered with cardboard 6 layers thick and planted ontop... nothing tends to work.

Roundup (used according to label directions and only during the growing season - not when it's dormant - can kill the topgrowth of Bermudagrass.

But unless you've personally dealt with Bermudagrass, it's hard to imagine just how pervasive and aggressive it is. Roundup can kill the top growth, but only manual extraction can permanently remove it. (And even then, if it grows in a neighbor's yard or anywhere within a several-mile radius, roots can and will spread, and seeds will drift.

I agree with MitchF - if you've got a small space, the best way to eradicate it is manually: dig it all out (good gloves, good kneeling pad, and some plastic bags to hold the roots and rhizomes - you don't want to compost them.

Then if you plant a thick-growing cool-season grass, you *might* be successful in smothering it.

But it's still dicey, especially this first season. I'd keep a close eye for stray wisps of it coming up, and get them with Roundup aplied directly to the growing stems and leaf blades.

Yep, you made a big mistake! ;-)

I use Ornamec to eliminate Burmuda grass. It outperforms Round Up for me and does not harm any other plants (unless stated on the label). It is a specific herbicide for Burmuda. It's hard to come by; I had to order it online and the smallest amount they offer was enough for my entire neighborhood. Every now and then I get another sprig popping up but quick spray takes care of it for me.

Thanks for the tip!

thank you for the advice. I will try to get some of the Ornamec. You didn't say where on the net you found it. My neighbors have Bermmuda and that is how it got started in my yard so I thought it was the thing to plant in the area next to it. WRONG!!!!! How long will I need to keep my dogs away from the area after applying the Ornamec? They love this area and spend a lot of time in it but I can fix it so they go out the front instead for awhile.

They have ornamec here.
It's local for me, so I think I'm going to grab some the next time I'm down there. THANK YOU for telling us about it... I've got 3 patches of it somehow, and I need to get rid of it!

http://thesunflowerfarm.com/products.php?openparent=121&keyword=&offset=&pid=518&openparent=121

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, somehow I "unwatched" this thread. I really don't rememeber where I got the Ornamec; it was a year or so ago. The bottle I have should last forever as you only use a small amount and I have shared plenty. A neighbor has the directions right now so I can't tell you how long to keep kids and dogs off - I would use plently of caution.

My neighbor and I were looking at her border the other day and noticed it was finally free of any Burmuda. It had grown wild on a vacant lot I own and spread into her flowers. I was horrified because I could not control it until I found the Ornamec. It was bad enough in my own beds but having it invade a neighbor's was bad. I actually sprayed it on her shasta daisies, where the heaviest concentrations of grass were, and they were not harmed at all. I have not had enough nerve to spray it on something more valuable yet.

Bump

farmergray, thanks for bumping this up. I've been wanting new beds for a few years now and just can't bring myself to start them because of the nightmare of bermuda grass.

Melissa....how did things work for you?

We happily spread our Burmuda seed out when moving to a new home with no landscape. 2 years later and much learned on Dave's and we sure regret it. We would never use it again. I was hoping to have softer grass...like that found up north vs the thick wild look of augustine (which uses more water than Burmuda) but the Burmuda was NOT a good substitute for northern grasses...it is thin but it is still stiff to walk on barefoot. So we'll just stick to the favorite down here...augustine.