The Pros and Cons of Weed and Feed for Lawns

Weed and feed fertilizers are well known among homeowners in Oakville and Mississauga as they serve the dual purpose of lawn maintenance tasks, that is, to apply weed to the lawn and feed the lawn with the chemical application.

In recent years, weed and feed products have been increasingly used by home gardeners and lawn service companies alike.

Weed and feed for lawns is specifically designed to kill weeds while also fertilizing your lawn at the same time. However, weed and feed labels are not all glossy or everything they appear to be. They also come with some downsides, which is why even the best lawn care in Oakville might avoid using it at times.

In this post, we’ll look at the pros and cons of weed and feed products, along with how they work and the reasons why you should partner with the best lawn service in Mississauga while using these products and getting the best out of them.

What are Weed and Feed?

Weed and feed refer to a specifically designed chemical lawn treatment that homeowners and lawn service companies use to kill harmful weeds and make the lawn grass healthier by feeding it fertilizer.

What is important to keep in mind is that weed and feed is a broad category, with many different chemicals being used for such treatments.

In general, weed and feed treatments contain two different elements. While one is specifically to kill weeds, the other is in the form of fertilizers to feed the grass.

To use these products, lawn care companies in Mississauga simply attach the package or bottle of the label to the garden hose and spray the solution onto the lawn. As mentioned above, the key purpose of weed and feed is to kill unwanted weeds from the garden while simultaneously offering a healthy boost to your lawn.

Pros of Weed and Feed Treatments

The main benefits of weed and feed are as follows.

Kills Weeds and Strengthens Grass

The main benefit of weed and feed is that it help kills harmful weeds and strengthens the lawn grass. However, not all weed and feed products or labels have the same level of effectiveness.

If the right weed and feed chemicals are used properly, it helps to get rid of weeds and offers your grass the required nutrients to establish itself.

Saves Time and Resources

Another benefit of weed and feed application is time and resource savings. With weed and feed products, you get the advantage of two different products in one.

So you get both weed killer and fertilizer in one single product, thus saving time, money, and effort.

Encourage a Healthier Lawn

Using weed and feed for the lawn gives your grass more light and space. This, in combination with feeding the grass the appropriate balance of nutrients, leads to healthier and greener lawn growth.

Besides, it gives your lawn a better chance of surviving extreme weather conditions such as heat, drought, and winters.

Disadvantages of Weed and Feed

Among the main disadvantages of weed and feed products are the following.

Harmful to Pets

Weed and feed products can be very harmful or even poisonous to pets, especially dogs. Further, the iron content present in the product can leave marks or stain your pet’s fur.

It is, therefore, important to thoroughly read the labels of any weed and feed product you choose so that you know the guidelines regarding how to let pets around the area after the chemical application.

Harmful to the Environment

Weed and feed products mostly use quick-release fertilizers that include strong chemicals and nutrients. These fertilizers are likely to wash off the grass when watered or after it rains.

The best lawn care service providers avoid too much use of these weed and feed products as the pesticides and heavy chemicals could travel through drains to the nearest water bodies and harm the aquatic life forms found in ponds, rivers, streams, and even the ocean.

Uneven and Excessive Application of Herbicides

Another disadvantage of weed and feed for lawns is their uneven and excessive application. Generally, these labels are applied to the entire lawn instead of just specific areas with weed growth.

This is also the reason why some lawn clean-up services avoid this treatment, as broadleaf weeds typically only occupy a small percentage of your lawn, meaning the unnecessary application of herbicides where they aren’t even needed.

This exposes your lawn to potentially harmful chemicals and can affect its health in the long run.

Apart from this, professional lawn clean-up services also make sure not to use weed and feed chemicals either on a new lawn or freshly-sown grass, especially within the first few months of planting grass, newly-laid turf, sod Oakville or sod Mississauga.

Alternatives to Weed and Feed

If you are not sure about using weed and feed products due to their harmful nature to the environment, health, and beneficial organisms found in the yard’s soil, you can switch to natural alternative methods to keep your lawn weed-free, beautiful and healthy.

Among these alternatives are the following.

Slow-Release Fertilizers

As the name suggests, slow-release fertilizers are typically applied once a year for lawn care in Oakville. In this method, fertilizers are typically coated to ensure a very slow release of the fertilization chemical.

The method works primarily because the need for constant fertilizer in any lawn is minimal as these fertilizers continue to release throughout the year.

Natural Herbicides

Natural herbicides or weed killers used for best results in landscaping Oakville include things such as water at high temperatures, vinegar, and salt.

All of these elements, when applied directly to weeds, can be quite effective for keeping lawn health in the best condition.

Discourage Weeds

This is yet another method to prevent the use of weed and feed. All you need to do is to mow your lawn less and mow it higher.

Also, make sure to water your lawn less often, but whenever watering it, do it deeply to encourage root development and prevent weeds from growing.

How to Apply Weed and Feed?

Here are some tips you can use to apply weed and feed products for the best results.

The weed and feed products that are in liquid form are best applied with the sprayer as recommended on the label and by following all the label instructions for using the product.
In the case of weed and feed labels that are in granular form, lawn treatment services recommend using a spreader (either rotary type or drop type).
The best way to use drop spreaders is by applying fertilizer carefully directly below the spreader, whereas a rotary-type spreader requires chemicals to typically spread over a larger area. This makes it important to focus on the method of chemical application thoroughly and follow all the label instructions carefully.

Other Weed and Feed Application Tips

Make sure to avoid heavy raking of the lawn as it is likely to disturb the weed prevention methods used and reduce the overall efficacy of the product.

Several weed and feed products require you to wait 24 hours before watering in. It is therefore recommended to consult your specific label before use.
For best results, make sure to mow your lawn 1-2 before chemical application. Also, it is advisable to leave clippings from your next two-three mowings on the lawn.

To Conclude

While weed and feed products help you save a great deal of time, money, and effort, they come with certain disadvantages too. Even the best Mississauga landscaping companies require multiple applications to manage weeds well and get the desired outcomes for a healthy lawn.

In addition to this, weed and feed products pose various risks to the health of your lawn and the overall environment.

The ideal way to navigate this and get the maximum out of weed and feed for lawns is to take assistance from a professional lawn care service provider. At Dependable Lawn Care, we offer the best advice and lawn treatment services to help you with an impeccably well-maintained lawn.

With several years of experience in the industry and expertise in working with weed and feed labels, the professionals at Dependable Lawn Care make lawn maintenance super simple and easy year-round. With us as your lawn care partner, you can get rid of all your worries about maintaining a healthy and beautiful lawn.