Better Weed Control Results - Kill More Weeds

To get the best results from our pre and post emergent weed treatments, it's critical that our clients in Carlsbad prepare the lawn and other areas to be treated before our arrival. In both the Spring and Fall, Southeast New Mexico has a lot of wind that can leave a lot of debris, limbs, and leaves all over the lawn. It all needs to be cleaned up before we get there.

Clean Up The Lawn & Bed Areas

As I said, Spring and Fall Weed Spray treatments generally require a yard clean up of dead leaves, limbs, trash, and other debris. This is an important step especially for pre-emergent applications but also to expose weeds to the broadleaf herbicide. The more pre-emergent we can get to the lawn surface and the most weed killer we can get on the leaf surface, the better.

Mow The Lawn To Expose Weeds

While proper mowing and manicuring are actually part of good lawn health, it's not within the scope of our services. We just help you get control of the weeds. The rest is up to you.

• Don't Mow Too Short - Mowing the lawn real short isn't necessary and can often hinder the best results of the broadleaf herbicide. The more weed leaf surface we can apply herbicide to, the more the plant can absorb. If you mow the weeds down to where there is no leaf surface, the plants will absorb very little herbicide resulting in a low percentage of a kill.
• Clean It Up - If the lawn is seriously overgrown and some weeds are very tall, mowing high to pick up debris and expose the weeds will be helpful.
• Don't Mow Less Than Two Days Before A Treatment - When mowed, plants go into (for lack of better words) shock. They need two days to come out of it and start growing again before we treat them.

Water Before The Treatment

Watering the lawn at least a week before we arrive will be helpful. This serves a few purposes. First, it prepares the soil by softening it up and settling the dry dust that can accumulate over the Winter and drought conditions of a rainless Summer. Second, it makes the weeds alive and growing which will result in a better kill. A weed must be actively growing in order to kill it. And the faster they grow, the faster they die.

Here's a little science behind the necessity of watering -

In order to survive drought conditions, weeds and other plants shut down growth. This can happen both in Winter and Summer if there isn't enough moisture. Most folks overlook this especially in Winter because, well..., it's Winter. Weeds and other plants in a drought or stressed condition can also create a waxy coating to prevent evaporation and ensure survival. Once this waxy coating is on the plants, the herbicides have a very difficult time penetrating into the plant. Watering to get the weeds growing and lose the waxy coat is a critical step to a better percentage kill.

Timing Of Weed Spray Treatments

Timing is everything. We recommend at least two sprays a year and sometimes three for certain weeds. The best time for lawn weed control in Southeast New Mexico is dependent on a few factors -

• The time of last spray application - If you're an existing client, you should already be on a custom schedule designed for the specific weeds in your lawn. If you're doing it yourself, the label of the herbicide you use should tell you the minimum and maximum time between applications.
• The types of weeds we're trying to control - This can get quite detailed if you have many different types of weeds in your lawn that germinate at different times of the season. If you're doing it yourself, see most common broadleaf weeds in Southeast New Mexico. You'll have to do a little research on each weed and then pay attention to soil temperature.

• Soil temperature - It would be so simple if the soil temperature was consistent throughout an entire region. However, in a region like Carlsbad New Mexico for example, being in the Pecos Valley, there are several micro-climates with varying seasonal changes.

  In the foothills along Miehls and Fountain Drive near The Living Desert State Park, it's windy and colder. Areas along the river and Lake Carlsbad like the North Shore neighborhood and East Riverside Drive Neighborhood, it's much warmer. Areas along bodies of water are usually warmer as the water retains the radiant heat.

  We use the soil temperature map to give us an accurate idea of the best time to apply pre-emergents in Carlsbad. This is generally once the soil in a given area is at 55 degrees for five days in a row. at this point many weeds seeds begin to germinate.

Professional Weed Control Services

You can either choose to spray your weeds yourself or give Horizon Pest Control a call today at 575-200-5964. We offer weed spraying services to Carlsbad, Artesia, and all of Eddy County. We know the weeds in Southeast New Mexico and we know how to control them.

Now that the lawn is cleaned up, mowed to expose weed leaf surfaces, and watered so that the weeds are happy and healthy, you should be able to get the best results possible from a weed spray treatment.