# Sea Urchin Invader



## Orion22 (Oct 5, 2020)

Hello lawn experts! Can anyone ID this weed (grass??). It's popping up in several areas of my yard and resembles a Sea Urchin. It's very dark green and spiky. How do I kill this thing? I zapped most of it with some Meso about 2 weeks ago, but as you can see from the photos it is only minimally impacted.

I'm in Georgia in zone 7a.


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## SouthernCharms (Sep 30, 2020)

I'm in South Carolina and getting it too. It's fescue. Sometimes it is mistaken for crabgrass, especially in turf grasses (crabgrass has a larger flat blade). Most will tell you there is no other solution except to spray it out with the active ingredient glyphosate, "Roundup", but I try my best to dig it out early, as the clump will only get bigger and other clumps may show up. Roundup or digging will leave a bare spot and you will have to add soil and reseed but if treated with Roundup, you can do so in 7 to 10 days later. We've just started to see signs of fall, so now is a good time time to do that by giving the seedlings time to establish before winter. That said, If your lawn is otherwise healthy, it is also possible that the bare spots could fill in on their own if they are basketball size or smaller.


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## Orion22 (Oct 5, 2020)

That's interesting, I thought it looked like some kind of grass and not a weed. Doesn't surprise me, it's growing in several areas of my backyard, which is a mess because I have always neglected it. I am determined to turn it around now, so I've been watching quite a bit of youtube lawn videos and also coming to this website and learning as I go. I will dig up what I can and treat the rest as you suggested. Thanks Much!


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## SouthernCharms (Sep 30, 2020)

Based on the jet stream, we pretty much get your weather. We didn't experience a too terrible summer, but steady rain showers in August and September really assisted with the weed production this year. I'm surprised Meso didn't do a better job. Since the turf grasses are the last to "green up" in the spring, I can see "problems" before the centipede turns. When taking a look today, I noticed the crabgrass has turned darker a darker green. With our crazy weather, I've decided to fight it in early spring. If I kill it now, some other weed will come in and take it's place, because there is no guarantee centipede seedlings would survive the winter. Good luck on getting that fescue out.


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