Bermuda needs full sun. Mulch allows just enough sun to let some through. Mulch alone will allow plenty of bermuda to grow. Now if you cover the bermuda with 2-3 inches of sand, the sand will not let the light through. Then if you cover the sand with 3 inches of mulch, you can stop the bermuda. You will have a sprig or two come through so keep an eye on it and pull them as soon as you see them. With sand and mulch it is pretty easy to pull if you get it early. Pull as much of the underground runners as you can find.

You should be able to keep the underground runners (technically called rhizomes) you can block it with a solid barrier going at least 4 inches deep. 6 inches is better. The barrier has to extend up above the ground an inch or so so you can edge or weed-eat against it.

The top growth of Bermuda grass can be killed with proper mulching techniques, covering the grass with a barrier of something impervious to light such as newspaper, Sand will not work and neither will the fabric "weed" barriers that you can see through. However, given the extensive root system of the Bermuda grass this covering will only allow the rhizomes to move on until they can find a light source, like in you flower garden so you also need a good, solid barrier to keep the rhizomes from moving in as well as any stolens from creeping over that barrier.

I used a fabric barrier and a good thick mulch on top of that and that worked.

Round up for me.

There's a reason why they call them devil's grass....

Lou- Seriously, **you are on an OG forum**. The suggestion of Round Up is not only not helpful to the poster, who specifically asked for an organic solution, but infuriates those of us that are trying to find ways to do things without pouring toxins into our land. To give this advice to a newbie at Organic Gardening is ridiculous. Thanks for NOT helping.

Even Malcomb Beck would use it... What's your point? Have you actually dealt with bermuda grass?

Sand will not work and neither will...

Sand worked for me as I described above. Several inches of sand will block the light. Several more inches of mulch on top of the sand ensures the light is blocked.

Since any glyphosate product is not acceptable for organic gardeners anyone suggesting using it is not an organic gardener. What I have read of Malcomb Beck tells me he is not someone an organic gardener should be listening to.

lou- Yes, I live is So. Cal, so I have VAST experience with Bermuda grass. Unfortunantly, my only success with it is with regular weeding. We have done fabric weed block, 6" of gorilla hair mulch, and 6" of compost/humus mix, and still it comes back. I seriously think that it is just part of life here. I find that regular weeding (like every few weeks) is the only deterrent, so I didn't offer my opinion, as the poster is obviously looking for something else.

And if you *seriously* think that an organic gardener can use Roundup and still call themselves an Organic Gardener with a straight face......wow.......I just don't even know what to say to that one.

My grandmother used us, the grandkids. No fried chicken until the grass was pulled. This worked better later in the season when watermelons were ripening.

arwmommy, that didn't work for you? Hmmmm. What I did was like a foot of leaf mold on top of the fabric. It did come up where there were holes, but other than that, I really had no issue. OH! But I was digging the soil the other day to put in a 5 gal plant. I about threw a FIT, when I saw a bermuda grass root over 10" down! !@#$$^%$%^&! I think they'll survive a nuclear bomb.

I fought with Bermuda grass when we lived in Berkeley, CA. The front "lawn" (maybe 15' x 25') was nothing but Bermuda grass.

So I started at one side and dug the stuff up with both a pitchfork (to break soil) and a square shovel. I dug about 8 inches or so down.

I screened these diggings over my wheelbarrow through 1/2-inch screen staple-gunned to a frame of 1x2's approx. 36" x 20" x 2". The grass, roots, runners (stolons) which did not pass through the screen were shipped off in the yard waste. The dirt which passed through was returned to the ground, with compost added to improve drainage/soil health. (Berkeley has adobe-worthy clay soil.)

This obviously wasn't a one-day exercise, but I did prevail!

So, yes, you CAN defeat Bermuda grass organically; it just takes tenacity and sneakiness both. heh heh...

Cynthia H.
El Cerrito, CA

Vinegar, vinegar, vinegar...plus a little liquid soap to keep it on the grass longer....You may have to reapply, but it works. My stepdad was "Mr. Roundup" and he now buys several gallons of vinegar at a time after he saw how it works. There are lots of recipes online. You just put the mixture in a garden sprayer and go to work.

albert 135, I am with you, but children today do not know it, if it is not on the gameboy or Ipod. I taught my daughter how to pull weeds at a young age. She came home from a "clean up the city project" beaming because she had shown 3 other girls how to pull weeds(all were 13).They were amazed that she knew to pull from the bottom not the top of the weeds.They wanted to know how she knew this, she said "My dad taught me".:-)Proud Father!
Jennifer in 8B, I will try your vin,vin,vin + soap on my Bahia grass. I have a NON organic gardener brother, well he is a hybrid that compost, but uses chemicals too. He killed the tops with round up, but next month the underground stems/ roots ran up new shoots. I Know this is a BURMUDA GRASS thread, but it is the same problem. I will let you know what happens.

Agh!I've tried everything too. Vinegar mix, sand, mulch, weeding. Still can't figure out what to use to kill this Bermuda grass for good. Down here in S. Tx we have awful clay soil. The bermuda roots STILL go thru.

We may have to "Just Move"!

zeldasnows, you have level ground, then cut the grass as low as your lawnmower setting will allow to. Then cover clear plastic, weight down the edges for 1-2 weeks then cover he clear plastic with black plastic for 2 weeks.
After the lawn has been with out water for a totally of 3-4 weeks, pull back the top layer (black plastic only to look for signs of life.
If you find signs of life, put the black plastic back in place & wait 2 more weeks.