Dollar weed control

Sherrie S
by Sherrie S
Because of poor upkeep at my neighbor's home only one side of my house was filled with the dollar weed. It took awhile until I realized how bad it was. I love Roundup but it would kill my grass, too.
I called my lawncare company & asked for help. They stopped my problem by spraying some chemical a few feet into the neighbor's yard and they now do this every quarter of the year. The nice part is they did not charge me more for this service and that side of my yard is nice again. Sometimes we need experts.
  24 answers
  • Miriam Illions Miriam Illions on Mar 07, 2012
    That is really nice. You can post a review about them here and we'll be sure to recommend them when we see someone looking for a lawn-care company in your area. I'm sure they'll appreciate it!
  • Becky Becky on Mar 07, 2012
    Sherry, do you know what chemical they used? I have the same problem & so far nothing seems to work. Sprayed part of my lawn with Weed B Gone yesterday before it got too windy and am waiting to see if it works. Would love to know what your lawn service used.
  • Walter Reeves Walter Reeves on Mar 08, 2012
    The selective weed killers like Weed B Gon and Weed Beater control dollarweed....it just takes persistent spraying, about once every three weeks, until it's gone.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Mar 08, 2012
    Miriam, the company I use serves only 4 counties in Florida: Volusia, Lake, Flagler and Seminole Counties. Name of company AARON. Becky, I will call them and see what they tell me. I'll bet it can't be purchased by mere homeowners. I'll tell them to join hometalk, too. Walter, I would like to do a test with Weed B Gon or Weed Beater on my rental property (across the street from my home). If that fails I know I can call my "bug company". Although I have St Augustine in my yard I had Bahia installed in the rental because it is easier/cheaper to care for.
  • Laurie L Laurie L on Mar 08, 2012
    I have found that products with atrazine works better on dollar weeds than most other products out there without. Most of the lawn companies use a atrazine based product in their control and broadcast it over the yards. Also too much watering will cause dollar weeds to go crazy.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Mar 08, 2012
    Becky, my vendor said they used atrazine. Laurie L had also mentioned it. The vendor suggested being quite careful since if it is applied wrong it could also kill the grass. I have so much fun in the yard doing nice things that I will leave that job to the pros.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Mar 08, 2012
    A general word of caution on herbicides. It is crucial to know what type of lawn you have and to follow the label directions carefully. The atrazine that worked on Sherrie's St. Augustine would have killed her bahia across the street. In general, dollar weed is spurred by excess moisture, so unless you address that issue, it will be back, no matter what you use.
  • Becky Becky on Mar 08, 2012
    Wow, didn't know that excessive water can cause dollar weeds. Sure makes since in my yard as we had 12 Queen Palms planted & were told to keep them well watered. I did and that area if full of dollar weeds. Update on Weed B Gone that I sprayed on part of my lawn---it seems to be working as the dollar weeds are turning yellow. Today I sprayed Round Up on some of the dollar weeds in our back yard in 300' of flower beds along our picket fence as well as around the palm trees. I'll have to remove the ones in the front beds by hand :( Thanks everyone for the discussion. Such great information on hometalk
  • Becky Becky on Mar 08, 2012
    Wow, didn't know that excessive water can cause dollar weeds. Sure makes since in my yard as we had 12 Queen Palms planted & were told to keep them well watered. I did and that area if full of dollar weeds. Update on Weed B Gone that I sprayed on part of my lawn---it seems to be working as the dollar weeds are turning yellow. Today I sprayed Round Up on some of the dollar weeds in our back yard in 300' of flower beds along our picket fence as well as around the palm trees. I'll have to remove the ones in the front beds by hand :( Thanks everyone for the discussion. Such great information on hometalk
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Mar 08, 2012
    Douglas, I'm concerned about your statement re: atrazine. Yes, it did work well on my St. Augustine. My concern is about the bahia. The same vendor that does my St. Augustine I believe said they will use atrazine on my neighbor's BAHIA. Did I misunderstand him? I need to find out ASAP as the neighbor's job will be done next week.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Mar 09, 2012
    Sherrie: From "Bahiagrass for Florida Lawns" by the University of Florida Extension Service: "Note: Many popular "weed-n-feed" fertilizers for home lawns contain the herbicide atrazine. Atrazine will result in some damage to bahiagrass; therefore, it is not recommended for use on this grass." Here's the whole article: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh006 This is why it's very important to know what your lawn service is using. If they won't tell you, or give you some vague answer like "it changes every month," switch.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Mar 09, 2012
    Douglas, it is possible that my vendor was talking about my grass which is St. Augustine. My rental has bahia. I am positive the vendor knows what he is doing but I will call them today to find out what they will use. I will report my findings today. Thank you so much.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Mar 09, 2012
    Got the answer. My vendor said they NEVER, NEVER use atrizine on Bahia as it has deleterious effects on that type of grass. For Bahia they will use 2-4 d. This is a huge lawn so I won't be doing it myself. I'm just happy with Hometalk people keeping me informed. Thanks again Douglas.
  • hahahah! love it. hope you have some pina coladas too!!
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Mar 10, 2012
    Glad to help, Sherrie. Sounds like you've got a good lawn service.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Mar 10, 2012
    Miriam, when I called the company I use I suggested they join Hometalk. When they do so I will give them a great review.
  • Miriam Illions Miriam Illions on Mar 10, 2012
    Awesome :)
  • Charles Charles on Apr 25, 2012
    Outrageous that you (and the company) would poison your neighbor's yard without permission.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Apr 25, 2012
    Charles, my neighbor had been using roundup on his st augustine grass to kill dollarweed. I first asked my vendor what could be done and then talked to my neighbor who thanked me for the "free" service on his lawn. I didn't assume anything.
  • Melissa G Melissa G on Apr 25, 2012
    Is dollarweed the same as silver-dollar flowers (I don't know the proper name for them)? The flowers are purple and the leaves turn into round paper-thin shell-colored leaves that are pretty for floral arrangements. I replanted one from my mom's garden and hope I didn't make a mistake.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Apr 25, 2012
    Melissa, I looked up silver dollar flowers and they are pretty. Our horrible plants are called dollar weeds. Your mom got a nice pretty plant.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Apr 26, 2012
    Sherrie's right, Melissa. You don't have to worry about having too many silver-dollar flowers, or money plant, as it is often called. Would that the same could be said for dollar weed.
  • Vickie Davis Vickie Davis on Apr 26, 2013
    Be careful if you use any product containing atrazine. It creeps into the soil and kills other plants, poisons water such as ponds, and is dangerous to animals.
  • Sherrie S Sherrie S on Apr 26, 2013
    @Vickie Davis I'm not fond of using chemicals & enjoy plants and care for wildlife. Despite these facts I do live in a HOA with rules re: everything including grass. My lawn care people know when & how to use chemicals & have kept my lawn beautiful for over 20 years. Although I'd prefer NOT using chemicals - there is no other way I know of to keep my lawn looking good.