Bermuda grass is very difficult to kill because it has undergound storage which will allow it to regrow when the foliage has been killed. Roundup will translocate down into the underground plant which makes it more effective on Bermuda grass, but still not able to eliminate it in one application. Anything which only kills the foliage will be very ineffective on bermuda grass. I have never heard of Roundup once it has dried on the foliage causeing ill effects on any living thing. Al

I agree with Al - I don't know of any animals being harmed by Roundup. I use it all the time, and I would never do anything to jeopardize my precious poochies.

However - if you use Roundup on Bermuda grass this time of year, you're just wasting your money! Bermuda is winter dormant, and plants must be actively growing for Roundup to be drawn down to their roots. So it's best to wait for warm weather, when the new growth starts. Also, weekly applications will be overkill - it can take close to two weeks to see the effects of one application.

Here's how I do it: spray the grass thoroughly, then wait until it all looks dead. Then remove as much as you can, using a steel rake (or a rototiller if you have the energy). Then water the area well, to encourage any remaining underground runners to re-sprout - and spray again where you see it's needed. It could take three or even four applications, spaced apart like this, to make sure Bermuda is all gone. Once again, don't even start this process until spring.

Here's my 2 cents. I have tried several round up applications to no avail. This is the true weed from hell of them all. You can dig over a foot down and you will find this grass. Ive tried the round up and then the removal and then waited for more to grow and re-sprayed. All I got was a couple of months of not seeing it and wallah! its back again... Ive asked gardeners in my neighborhood how to kill it and most said that they cant. One suggested using concentrated roundup instead of the regular, but at $40+ a small bottle, you'll go broke trying to kill it.

If its in your lawn, then St. Augustine will overtake it. If its in planters, good luck. Thats where my problem is.

Round-up will work; apply it in late spring/early summer when your Bermuda is really growing fast. Do not use old Round-up, the active ingredient (glyphosate) is designed to break down quickly in the environment (and will also break down quickly in the bottle). I think the best way is to buy concentrate, dilute it appropriately and apply it immediately.

It will work if you are diligent, patrick in fb gave a good synopsis of the process for eliminating bermuda. Remember that if you don't kill it in all areas of your yard it can re-invade. I am constantly battling the bermuda that comes through the fence from the neighbor.

Also, bermuda root "clusters" or knots, whatever they are, will grow if they are left on the ground.

Don't try to use regular Round up concentrate on Bermuda grass. You really should use "Round up Pro". It contains a "surfactant" which makes it stick to the plant and not wash away like regular Round up does.

I'm a landscaper, but you don't need a special permit to buy this stuff. You have to go to a real nursery to find it or they should be able to order some for you. It comes in a powder and liquid concentrate form.

It costs a little more, but it works a lot better, especially on something as tough as Bermuda grass.

All comments have been helpful and much appreciated.

Another great investment is a product called "Turf-Mark." It's a blue-green dye that you add to your sprayer tank, and it helps you to see exactly where you've sprayed and where you've missed. A bottle goes a long way; you only use one capful per tank. You can probably find it at any garden or farm supply store.

I also have Bermuda grass in my garden they are raised beds.. I have layed down cardboard and this weekend will put a couple inches mulch over that. Hopefully it will die out before time to plant? You think this will work.
What if I deciede to let my lawn be bermuda grass. We are under construction so everywhere our red clay soil was exposed is not covered in Bermuda grass. i have red it is very drought tolerant, and hold up to traffic well. That could be good since I have 3 100 pound dogs in my 1 acre yard. I'm thinking there to much to kill of and would like to know if I'm screwing up by letting it take over the lawn areas.
My flower bed is raised 4ft all my other plants are in containers except the veggie garden which is closed in with railroad ties. Will this grass hurt my flowering shrubs or trees?

Some people have reported success in suffocating Bgrass. Others have not. I think it may depend on whether you are just trying to kill off a specific area but not everywhere. "Spot" methods have less chance of success than doing a complete elimination. Bgrass is tough and persistent; if it is nearby a bed, it will make every effort to creep, lean, or seed itself wherever it can. I have had it come from underneath 2' of concrete to try to reestablish itself in my garden.

Spraying and watering/respraying works; we were successful. But it takes a lot of time, and lot of Roundup -- we bought a backpack sprayer for the concentrate mix. And the suggestions you have received are correct; you need to wait for warmer weather before Roundup can achieve its maximum ability. Otherwise, you're just wasting both $$ and time.

Bgrass doesn't "hurt" anything. The trouble with it is that it is so difficult to control those rhizomes and seeds. My neighbor hates using chemicals, she won't even use Roundup. As a consequence, I am constantly fighting to keep her Bgrass and ivy out of MY yard. Yank it, pull it, singe it with weed killer around the fence edges, put down mulch -- Bgrass, like ivy, retreats only momentarily and within a few months, it's right back there, banging on the door and trying to creep underneath at the same time, LOL. I speak from experience -- it has been four years since we eliminated the stuff from our lot, and I fight it back from BOTH my neighbors all year round.

It simply isn't a "neat" grass, and keeping it within bounds and out of garden beds will require continual vigilance. It can be done, using anything from a V-trench to deep-buried concrete/stone/brick edging, but you won't be able to keep it away from where you don't want it unless you spend a fair amount of time. So most gardeners just prefer to eliminate it completely. There are other lawn grasses, such as fescue, which are drought resistant and much better behaved.

I've heard that Round-up doesn't really work against Bermuda. I was told that a product called Turflon-ester is the only thing that will knock it back and even then you will need to repeat spray periodically.

I actually removed some from a small strip (about 4x20) in my yard by digging and sifting and resifting the soil to get out all the roots and pieces of roots and then keeping vigilance for any sprouts during the next couple of years. Time consuming and tedious, but it worked for me and I was bulldog determined to get rid of it.
That stuff has roots that go down to China and wrap horizontally around the world!

wanda

Smothering is effective against Bermuda and the even worse Kikuyu, but covering only a portion of the area is of no value: growth from adjacent areas will supply nutrients to stolons which will overrun the beds from above and below unless some sort of barrier is in place to stop them.

Several years ago I converted a Kikuyu lawn to an eclectic garden of native and exotic xerophytes by covering it one foot deep with wood-chips obtained for free from local tree trimming companies (a technique borrowed from an everglades restoration project I heard about). I see a few seedlings here and there and occasionally some runners come through gaps in the cinder block wall along the property line, but otherwise it has remained Kikuyu free for the last five years.

But everyone knows I'm crazy :-)

Ryan

Roundup definitely works on Bermuda grass but you do need to keep up with a mainenance as the stolens from other areas come and reinfest.

Here is a link that might be useful: My pond

Wanda, how far did you dig down to sift the dirt?

I too want to get rid of this stuff - the good news is that both my neighbors and their neighbors have already gotten rid of it, so it's just mine to deal with!

Jeez, I'm not really sure. I did this over a couple of weeks. All in all, I would estimate about 1 1/2 to 2 shovel lengths...maybe approx. 2'.
First I dug it all up, then went back by hand and pulled all the big pieces. Then I re-dug and went through all that dirt with my hands pulling out all the larger and any root pieces I could find. I kept turning the dirt and regoing through it all, finally using a sifter. I did it in "pieces", doing about a 3' length of dirt each time.

It was very labor intensive and I spent many hours over the course of about 2-3 weeks. But I won!

wanda

I've found Roundup Pro to be effective on the bermuda. It does takes 3 or 4 times to kick it in the head, but it eventually kills it all the way to the root. You do have to be diligent and stay after it.

We live on over half a acre and found we were using about two quarts of Roundup regular for our weed control. Two quarts x $40 some dollars added up. I found we can buy it at from the farm suppliers for $120 for 2.5 gallons. That makes it $12.00 a quart. Big savings. You don't need a special permit to purchase from a farm supplier. It has a shelf life of at least 5 years.

Try this to cut back on the costs of the Roundup.

Elaine

You can kill bermuda grass with Turflon Ester available at this link: http://www.outsidepride.com/gardening-supplies/herbicides/

Here is a link that might be useful: Bermuda Grass Killer