# Any weed killers safe for summer heat (90+ daily) with St. Augustine?



## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

I am having a chamberbitter outbreak during a 95 degree every day not much rain period of heat here in central Florida. I am hand picking and can't keep up unless I am out there twice a day. Is there anything safe I can use during this heat or do I need to suck it up and wait until it's over? This particular weed cares not for me putting down atrazine in the spring and pre-emergent in the early summer. It keeps coming back year after year and it is my worst lawn enemy to date.

I have MSM and Image Southern Lawn Weed Killer but both have warnings about spraying in excessive heat so I haven't done anything yet. I use those in the cooler weather but right now this oppressive heat isn't going to let up any time soon. Maybe some rain will be here next week if we are lucky but for now its all sun all the time.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Celsius will control it at the medium rate. Celsius does not have a temperature limit and is safe on most SA varieties. Don't use a surfactant in higher temperatures. You can view the label on the DoMyOwn.com website.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Cool, I can get some of that. Celcius is safer in heat than MSM?

I will get some and get some advice on rates. Still trying to wrap my head around that part of the lawn math.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Celsius is safer all the way around than MSM. MSM scares me. Use the .085 oz per gallon per 1000sf rate. Don't forget that zero to the right of the decimal!
Edit: that's the medium rate for Celsius. Don't go mixing MSM at that rate. You'll kill the whole neighborhood!


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Is there a weight on that? Or is that the weight. I have a tiny little scale thing I could use to measure if possible.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Skenny said:


> Is there a weight on that? Or is that the weight. I have a tiny little scale thing I could use to measure if possible.


The medium rate for Celsius is 2.4 grams/1000sf.


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## TSGarp007 (May 22, 2018)

Concur. I also recommend making sure the SA is nice and hydrated before you spray the Celsius. Definitely no surfactant in this heat. With a lot of weeds it's a slow kill so be patient.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

How long does Celsius last?

I have a bit of a sticker shock right now, a local place is selling it for almost $200. I looked around online and DoMyOwn doesn't even sell it any more and Amazon wont ship it to me here.

Trying to either build myself up to spend that much or wait to see if it ever cools back down to the mid 80s to go back to the Home Depot stuff that usually works.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Skenny said:


> How long does Celsius last?
> 
> I have a bit of a sticker shock right now, a local place is selling it for almost $200. I looked around online and DoMyOwn doesn't even sell it any more and Amazon wont ship it to me here.
> 
> Trying to either build myself up to spend that much or wait to see if it ever cools back down to the mid 80s to go back to the Home Depot stuff that usually works.


With 5000sf it will last several years. You can check the local threads to see if anyone in your area will split. I have found that Site One has the cheapest price at just under $110. $200 is too much in my opinion... someone is price gouging off of recent news regarding Dicamba and the fact that DoMyOwn is out of stock.


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## Stellar P (Apr 13, 2018)

Skenny said:


> I have a bit of a sticker shock right now, a local place is selling it for almost $200. I looked around online and DoMyOwn doesn't even sell it any more and Amazon wont ship it to me here.


This vendor/site was recommended on here back when I was first ordering Celsius, and is who I purchased from.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Does anyone know the Site One price? I can't see if without an account but getting an account will take two days.

What's the bad news about this product? Why is it going out of stock?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

There was some recent news regarding Dicamba which doesn't really apply to turf management. I can't find the link right now. You could try calling your local Site One to see if they would tell you over the phone. Use the COVID-19 excuse that you don't want to make any extra trips down there if they don't have it in stock. I believe my local store had it for $108 and some change but that was a few months back.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

I had no idea about this SiteOne place, there is one t minutes down the road.

Do they sell to regular consumers or just licensed pros?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

My local guys are very friendly to DIYers but I have heard some have had issues.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

$104.

This is exciting, and they sell to homeowners so I can be there and back in almost no time at all this afternoon.

So the weather continues to be 95+ and not really much rain. Grass isn't stressed but it's not getting tons of water outside of the sprinkler running twice a week.

I mowed Saturday morning, water ran Sunday morning. Am I okay to spray tonight? Going to out about a gallon and a half down to cover the two sections in the back where the outbreak is happening. It's contained for now and not the entire yard.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

You should be good to go. You don't want to do it right before or after mowing because you want it to sit on the leaf and be absorbed. If it is actively growing, it will get it. It might take a little time but it will get it.


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## dtec (Jul 13, 2019)

Skenny said:


> How long does Celsius last?
> 
> I have a bit of a sticker shock right now, a local place is selling it for almost $200. I looked around online and DoMyOwn doesn't even sell it any more and Amazon wont ship it to me here.
> 
> Trying to either build myself up to spend that much or wait to see if it ever cools back down to the mid 80s to go back to the Home Depot stuff that usually works.


I bought some from a seller on ebay for under $100. I don't remember the sellers name but I could find it pretty easily. He had a good seller rating and his ad said something to the extent that this was a newer production date (with the most recent packaging). It was sealed and I've used it once this season, seemed to do a good job so I feel like I got a decent deal. The manufacture date on the bottle was sometime in 2019.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Okay so this is also a slow weedkiller, so I am going to spray it on tonight and then just wait? I know it's not an instant round up murder thing but at what point should I see it doing something? How often does it need to be sprayed?


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## TSGarp007 (May 22, 2018)

That's a good question, curious what others say. When spot spraying, I wait three weeks before reapplying. If there's no response by then your spray might have been weak (better that than too heavy).

Will you be able to spot spray? Recommend not broadcasting unless you have to, and I don't recommend broadcast spraying until you've spot treated first.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

The SiteOne guys were pretty cool. He mentioned something about adding dish soap into the water?

That place was intense, they had so many things there. Prices were much better than the other place I have been going to but overwhelming. I wouldn't know what to buy ever since the other place keeps me on a schedule.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Don't add any surfactant when temps are over 80 degrees. Saturday I sprayed Celsius on some dollarweed and doveweed and the dollarweed was already yellow this morning. You should definitely see something within a week in this heat. If you don't see anything within two weeks, something went wrong. In the early spring it can take 3 to 4 weeks because things are growing slower. Be sure to mix it according to the label... more is not more when it comes to these herbicides.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Is there a way to actually prevent this weed as opposed to yearly treatments like this? I put down my pre emergents, I put down post emergents, but this thing just laughs and will grow until I spray it down like I am about to do tonight.


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

You should not spray any product like that on St Augustine in 90+ degrees. Celsius is the best product for this but whatever you choose make sure your spray early in the morning, down here I'm talking 5am early or Right before sunset im talking 8:30pm.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Yes, I dont mean spray any of those now, it's why I went out and got celcius as I needed to get this under control as the heat isn't going anywhere.

I am talking about once things cool down, working on how to prevent this so I don't have to do the same thing next year.

I was going to out the celcius down tonight after work and dinner, around 7pm.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Okay, seriously?

It hasn't rained in weeks and it wasn't supposed to rain today. It's been 100 degrees and dry which is why I went out to buy this stuff.

I go do my application and thirty minutes later a freak thunderstorm appears over my side of town and now it's raining.

Ugh. Will it all just wash away now?


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

And just like that the rain is gone.

I think this was a sign.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I would wait and see what was absorbed. Give it a week or so. As far as preventing, even though it is an annual, it's not listed on the Prodiamine label. I didn't check the other pre-emergent labels. I would think you should be able to control it with a well-timed pre-m. I applied this year about 3 weeks after everyone else was applying for crabgrass because I wanted it to be strong for the "spurge surge". I have had much less spurge this year with the late app. If you don't struggle with crabgrass or any of the other bad grasses, you may want to consider putting down your pre-m when soil is approaching 68-70 degrees. That will still be pretty early for you in Orlando.


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## TSGarp007 (May 22, 2018)

I have these things also, but generally only where the turf isn't nice and thick (as well as in mulched areas). Atrazine supposedly works as a pre-em (and post-em when temps are cool enough). I have Atrazine but haven't used it for at least a couple years now I guess. The area I want to use it the most is next to a neighborhood pond, but I don't use it there b/c I don't want it to runoff into the water. Very frustrating since the bank is a very weedy area. Gallery (Isoxaben) is labeled for it but I have no experience.


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## DuncanMcDonuts (May 5, 2019)

I have Bermuda, but I'm using a mixture of Celsius and Sedgehammer together to cover the majority of my weeds. I mix about 1/3-1/2 gallon at a time just to spot spray. I also add a bit of non-ionic surfactant in it and blue marker dye. Temps in Texas are in the 90s.

I see some yellowing of the leaves after a week. I go out once a week and spot spray. I can tell which weeds are starting to die and skip those, but some of the tougher weeds like dallisgrass get a weekly dose. Most weeds are dead within two weeks.


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

DuncanMcDonuts said:


> I have Bermuda, but I'm using a mixture of Celsius and Sedgehammer together to cover the majority of my weeds. I mix about 1/3-1/2 gallon at a time just to spot spray. I also add a bit of non-ionic surfactant in it and blue marker dye. Temps in Texas are in the 90s.
> 
> I see some yellowing of the leaves after a week. I go out once a week and spot spray. I can tell which weeds are starting to die and skip those, but some of the tougher weeds like dallisgrass get a weekly dose. Most weeds are dead within two weeks.


Your not killing dallisgrass with that mix..


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## DuncanMcDonuts (May 5, 2019)

@CenlaLowell It'll kill the young ones. My neighbor let me spray two of his mature ones that bordered our property. I'm talking 1.5' wide mature dallisgrass with multiple seed stalks. It turned yellow after two doses of Celsius but after a month, he just dug it out with a shovel.


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## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

I will wait until the weekend after this one to see if anything has happened with my spray.

I still can't get over that the only rain that has been anywhere for weeks and the only rain scheduled for anytime in the next week happened exactly over my side of town 20 minutes after I sprayed. Talked to co-workers and no one else got any rain and also have not seen anything measurable for weeks.

Meanwhile here I get soaked.


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