10 Best Weed Killers to Have Weed-Free Lawn
Gardens are beautiful and everyone wants to have one. But while they are beautiful, tending to a garden can prove to be quite laborious and tedious since you do not want your garden to be run over by weeds that can damage your flowers and beauty of the garden. Weeds can also destroy the quality of the soil if let to be around for a while.
Weed killers are also known as herbicides. Basically, they are pesticides that are used to get rid of pants that are unwanted. They work by restricting their growth significantly. There are all kinds of weed killers available on the market today. As such, you need to have the right information to choose the right weed killer for your needs. But truth be told, it can be a tricky process. To help you out in choosing the best lawn weed killer, we have put together a list of products to consider and some factors you should consider during the process.
You can also read other product reviews such as weed barrier, weeding tool, weed eater.
10 Best Lawn Weed Killers - Reviews
Image | Product Name | Visible Result Timing | Size | Rating | Current Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1. Compare-N-Save Concentrate Weed and Grass Killer | 24 hours | 1 gal | 4.6 | |
 | 2. Roundup Weed and Grass Killer Concentrate Plus | 12 hours | 36.8 oz | 4.5 | |
 | 3. Roundup 5725070 Extended Control Weed and Grass Killer Plus | 3 hours | 1.33 gals | 4.4 | |
 | 4. Ortho GroundClear Vegetation Killer Concentrate | Few Hours | 2 gals | 4.5 | |
 | 5. Ortho Weed B Gon Weed Killer for Lawns Concentrate | Few Hours | 1 gal | 4.5 | |
 | 6. Sedgehammer Plus Turf Herbicide | N/A | 13.5 grams | 4.6 | |
 | 7. Tenacity Turf Herbicide | 5 - 7 days | 8 oz | 4.4 | |
 | 8. Gordon Speed Zone Lawn Weed Killer | Few Hours | 20 oz | 4.5 | |
 | 9. Preen Garden Weed Preventer | 2 days | 5.625 lbs | 4.4 | |
 | 10. Southern Ag Crossbow Specialty Herbicide Weed Killer | 2 hours | 32 oz | 4.5 |
#1. Compare-N-Save Concentrate Weed and Grass Killer
Editor's Rating: 
(4.6 / 5)
This is by far one of the best weed killers there is on the market. This product will get rid of weeds for you. This liquid contains 41% of Glyphosate concentrate which is the all-time weed killer recipe. The product comes in a liberal holder and is easy to recognize. The effect of the product will be felt in about 2-4 days when you do it right.
This product should be able to work on grasses such as crabgrass, bluegrass, Florida pusley, redroot pigweed, mouseear chickweed, Pennsylvania smartweed, ragwort, wild mustard and much more. In addition to these, the product can help you to get rid of artichoke thistle, cattail dandelion, curly dock, kudzu, zoysia and much more.
The product is best used during the day when the temperatures are higher than 60 degrees Fahrenheit and no rain for about 24 hours. Note that this product has been designed to kill the roots also, hence its effective nature. You should as such avoid spray mists onto other plants that you may not want dead.
When stored properly, away from sunlight and sealed, the product lasts for a very long time – decades even. If left open and exposed to the sun, the product will only last for 90 days.
#2. Roundup Weed and Grass Killer Concentrate Plus
Editor's Rating: 
(4.5 / 5)
This unit has been designed to be an assassin and the best weed and grass killer. The product kills the toughest grasses and weeds down to their roots. The chemical does not leave anything to chance. The fact that the product works by killing the target plant roots means that the weeds will not come back anytime in the future. You can use this product around trees, shrubs, flowers, on driveways, patios gravel areas and walkways. You should, however, be careful not to use this product on and around edibles as the results and consequences can be disastrous.
When using this product, you will be pleased to note that the unit is rainproof in just 30 minutes. This is perfect since you will not have to worry about the chemical making its way to the waterways and contaminating the natural water source.
Courtesy of the fast acting technology that this unit features, the product can and will provide you with visible and impressive results in just 12 hours. The product comes in a container that is well designed and labeled and that can hold 36.8 ounces of the liquid.
#3. Roundup 5725070 Extended Control Weed and Grass Killer Plus
Editor's Rating: 
(4.4 / 5)
This is yet another great product from the popular brand on the market and one of the best grass weed killers. Roundup is always looking to outdo its previous release. The case was the same with this unit – the Roundup 5725070 weed killer. That said, you will be pleased to note that the unit is very efficient in killing existing weeds in your garden or patio. But in addition to this, this product also has the ability to prevent the growth of any and all weeds for a period of 4 months. So not only does this weed killer get rid of weeds, it also protects your space.
Even better is that the weed killer kills the unwanted plants down to their roots. Also, in less than 10 minutes, the product will rainproof. This is faster than what many products offer. As for the results, you will start seeing them in about 3 hours or so. While other products have you waiting for about 1 or 2 days, this unit asks for only 3 hours.
You will also love that the unit comes with its own inbuilt sprayer - the Pump n Go 2 Sprayer. This sprayer provides a maximum of 10 minutes of continuous spray.
#4. Ortho GroundClear Vegetation Killer Concentrate
Editor's Rating: (4.5 / 5)
This product comes in a 2-gallon bottling. Sure there are other variants that you can prefer but this is the one we chose to review. The Ortho GroundClear weed killer will certainly do what the name suggests – it will clear your ground and garden of all and any weeds and even better, it will prevent the growth of any subsequent weeds for up to 1 year. You can use the product on walkways, patios, fence rows and other areas for a whole year. Part of the active ingredients in this product is glyphosate which together with isopropylamine salt take up 5% of the concentration.
Using this product, you will get results in a few hours. The fast acting technology allows for this. In addition to this, the product is easy to apply using a tank sprayer or a sprinkling can. Be aware that this unit does not, however, sell in CA. the formula has been designed to be easy to use. This way, you do not have to struggle or bother yourself reading technical instructions of how to mix up the product for great efficiency.
#5. Ortho Weed B Gon Weed Killer for Lawns Concentrate
Editor's Rating: (4.5 / 5)
This product has been designed to work on weeds such as dandelions, clovers, and any other broad-leafed weed. The product will kill any and all weeds down to their roots which are perfect for all. The product is perfect to be used on a lawn since the weed killer does not kill grass. It is one of those selective weed killer types.
Speaking of being selective, the product has been designed to kill more than 250 weeds. The names of most of these weeds are listed on the label of the product. Spraying the product, you should know that the weed killer needs at the very least an hour to be rainproof. As such when it is just about to rain, do not spray it since it will only end up in streams, rivers and big water bodies where the rain water drains.
You will receive the results in a few hours. For best results refer to the label for the instructions on how to use the product. The unit has been made to be ready to spray – you can get to work immediately you get home.
#6. Sedgehammer Plus Turf Herbicide
Editor's Rating: (4.6 / 5)
Nutsedge is a grass like lawn weed that tends to grow faster than normal lawns in hot weather. This weed prefers moist soil and will thrive best even when in dry soil. They can be very tough to get rid of. This weed killer has however been designed to specifically work on them fast and without harming your lawn.
The Sedgehammer Plus Turf will get rid of the purple and yellow nutsedge. Purchasing this product, you will not need to do any difficult mixing. It is rather straight forward. All you need to do is mix the water and spray away.
The active ingredient in this product is Halosulron-methyl which will work wonders for your lawn. For an affordable price, you get 13.5 grams which are more than enough.
#7. Tenacity Turf Herbicide
Editor's Rating: (4.4 / 5)
This is probably the only approved weed killer that selectively gets rid of bent grass and nimblewill at the same time. The product also controls over 40 monocot and dicot species that include clover, goose grass, yellow nutsedge, ground ivy, windmill grass, oxalis and yellow foxtail.
This Tenacity product provides an unprecedented freedom with which you can manage weeds, both grasses, and plants with broad leaves without limiting some important key aspects of the turf.
With the active ingredient, mesotrione, this Tenacity weed killer functions as both a post-emergence and pre-emergence herbicide. The chemical formula of the product is based on a naturally occurring compound that works to inhibit photosynthesis in the target plant species. With time the leaves lose their chlorophyll, turn white and die.
The product has a reduced risk status for the favorable Ecotoxicity. Overall, this product falls under the systemic type of weed killer.
#8. Gordon Speed Zone Lawn Weed Killer
Editor's Rating: (4.5 / 5)
The product indeed lives up to the name it has been given. The product acts fast and with great efficiency. This weed killer will get rid of the target weeds in a matter of hours. With this product, you can cover an entire area of between 14,000 and 18,000 square feet. This feature makes this unit the best for large property owners.
The product can get rid of all common lawn weeds fast and with great ease. What is even better is the fact that the unit will not harm the grass on your lawn. In addition, the product can work even in cold weather most products are designed to work less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit which can be rather restricting.
This product, however, does not ship to other most states so you should be careful and go through the list of states catered in the shipping. To use this product in the best possible way, you should read through the provided directions.
#9. Preen Garden Weed Preventer
Editor's Rating: (4.4 / 5)
This product will stop weeds even before they grow. This weed killer comes in a little nice packaging that is bright and attractive. 31.3 pounds of this weed killer will serve an impressive 5,000 sq. feet. Now back to the preventatives feature, the product keeps weeds from growing for up to 3 months.
You can use the product on other 200 established flowers, trees, vegetables, and shrubs. You will be pleased to note that the unit can be used at any time of the year be it fall, summer and spring. You should, however, note that the product cannot be used on lawns. Also, the product does not kill weeds that are already grown but is instead a weed preventer. You can use the product around ornamentals.
#10. Southern Ag Crossbow Specialty Herbicide Weed Killer
Editor's Rating: (4.5 / 5)
This is an effective non-selective post-emergent weed killer. The product is designed to target woody plants and brush that include poison oak and blackberries. The list also includes perennial and annual broadleaves but still manages to leave the grasses unharmed. After two hours of applying the product, the product becomes rainfast.
Now while the product may be not a well-known product, it surely is effective at what it has been designed to do. While working with this unit you should first read the caution directions available on the packaging.
The active ingredient in this product is 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and butoxy ethyl ester at 16.5%. The product comes in a 30 oz packaging which can serve quite a large area. many have gone on record to say it is the best weed killer for lawns.
Types of the Weed Killer
Not all weed killers are the same. Weed killers come in 5 types: systemic weed killers, residual weed killers, contact weed killers, selective weed killer and non-selective weed killer. All these have varying properties and features and they all have distinct mechanisms in which they achieve their results.
1. Contact Weed Killers
Contact weed killers just as the name suggests have been designed to kill every plant that they come into contact. There are those that are absorbed through the roots and others through the stems and leaves.
2. Residual Weed Killers
Residual weed killers are perfect for use on patios or driveways and any other hard surfaces. When used on the soil, they will sit for months thus preventing the growth of any plants and as a result rendering the piece of earth inactive and useless for gardening.
3. Selective Weed Killers
Selective weed killers kill specific weeds. For instance, a selective weed killer for lawn weeds would kill plants like dandelion, daisy, and buttercup and leave the grass intact. they are mostly used in forests to kills grasses and protect young tree saplings.
4. Non-selective Weed Killers
Non-selective weed killers, on the other hand, kill just about anything and everything that they come into contact with. So in the event, you are not looking to kill your entire garden, it is imperative that you exercise caution not to touch unintended plants. This type needs to be handled with great care lest you end up with no garden. They are best used on garden you want to get rid of everything.
5. Systemic Weed Killers
Systemic weed killers are designed to get into the plant transport system and kill them through that. Be cautioned that they work slower than other types of weed killers though. If you want a fast acting product, this is definitely not the product for you.
How to Choose Best Weed Killer
To get the right unit there are some factors that you will need to consider. The different products type and brands make the consideration of these factors an important process of decision making. Below are some of those factors.
#1. Types of the Weed Killer
There are 5 types of weed killers. You can read detail above.
#2. Purpose
We have just learned that there are different types of weed killers all of which work differently and on different products. To know which type of weed killer to choose, you need to know the kind of weed that you are looking to eliminate. For instance, to get rid of dandelions, getting the selective unit will work best for you. To have a fresh start, a non-selective weed killer will be great.
#3. Emergence
There are products that have been created to kill products either after or before the emergence of the weeds. For the pre-emergence weed killer, you will need to apply the product several weeks before the weeds emerge while the post-emergence weed killer deals with the weeds when they are already grown (not shoots).
#4. Persistence
Here persistence refers to just how long a product remains in the plant system. Persistent or hard to kill herbs should be worked on by tough weed killers. For those foods, non-persistence, typically those that stay for a few hours can be used. If you are looking to keep your garden free from weeds, the persistent weed killer types.
#5. Chemical substances
There are about 50 chemicals that can be used to kill weeds. Each chemical has its own unique properties. There are those that are contact killers, selective killers, and emergence killer. Others still are persistent. If you are looking for a product that features natural ingredients including vinegar, clove oil, citric acid, and garlic. But bear in mind that most natural ingredients are the contact type and are non-selective.
#6. Form
Weed killers come either as pre-mix, ready mixed or granular form. The ready mixed type requires no mixing and can be used as they are bought, while contact herbicides are the inexpensive option preferred by most farmers.
Granular weed killers are designed to be more of emergence week killers. They are activated when dissolved by rain.
Conclusion
It is important that you get the best weed killer on the market to control the growth of unwanted plants in your beautiful garden. There are lots of products that you can use, clearly, but not all of them are perfect for your garden, for this, you need to take your time to learn the industry and the products available. Sure the process will be time-consuming but all so worth it when you land a product fitting for your garden. Pay keen attention to the ingredients of the weed killer as well.
Source: gardensite.co.uk, popularmechanics.com, familyhandyman.com, gardeningknowhow.com
Last Updated on August 7, 2020 by Tom Bradly