# Killing bermuda in zoysia



## Rydarr (Oct 22, 2019)

I am kicking myself for not killing the bermuda before sodding zeon last year. It was mechanically removed but I've had bermuda fill in the seams in several areas and man does that stuff spread fast.

I'm considering 4 options:
1) do nothing and hope the zoysia will hold its ground
2) use glyphosate (foam application maybe?) on just the bermuda and hope the collateral damage to the zeon isn't too bad. Then let the zeon fill in the gaps.
3) Mechanically remove bermuda from underneath sod
4) go through the whole fusillade and turflon ester regimen and risk killing my lawn with my lack of expertise in precision spraying.

Has anyone tried option #2? Most of my areas tend to be just like they were along a seam in between pieces of sod, so I think that killing it off with glyphosate and then letting it grow back in wouldn't be too bad since the widths are pretty narrow. Anything wider I could cut a V in the grass and try to get the deep roots out. Thoughts?


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## kem5882 (Apr 30, 2020)

I'd go with #4. I'm dealing with the same issue. That combo works and you don't have to be super precise. Just follow the directions and it will be fine. It takes a while but it's way less risky then #2 and less work than #3. I wouldn't go with #1 as it will likely be a losing battle.


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## Rydarr (Oct 22, 2019)

@kem5882 is it possible to spot spray the Bermuda instead of hitting the entire areas? I feel like I could just go around and spray the Bermuda patches with the combination but it would be hard to control the rate. 
I'm looking at about 5k sq ft that are affected out of my 23k sq ft lawn.


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## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

Rydarr said:


> @kem5882 is it possible to spot spray the Bermuda instead of hitting the entire areas? I feel like I could just go around and spray the Bermuda patches with the combination but it would be hard to control the rate.
> I'm looking at about 5k sq ft that are affected out of my 23k sq ft lawn.


23K with a push mower? Dang!!!


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## kem5882 (Apr 30, 2020)

Rydarr said:


> @kem5882 is it possible to spot spray the Bermuda instead of hitting the entire areas? I feel like I could just go around and spray the Bermuda patches with the combination but it would be hard to control the rate.
> I'm looking at about 5k sq ft that are affected out of my 23k sq ft lawn.


@Rydarr, yes, but I would at a minimum also spray the immediate area around the affected area. Just because it is prominent there yet, or easily identifiable, doesn't mean it's not there. To really stop the spread, you have to miss as little of the Bermuda as possible.

You can be conservative on your first application if you're concerned. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised on the lack of negative impact to the Zoysia and can be more aggressive on the 2nd go round.

Good luck!


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## Rydarr (Oct 22, 2019)

@rjw0283 i just got an automower, so that is helping out quite a bit. I push mowed it last year, very time consuming.

@kem5882 so basically what I would do is measure off 1000 sq feet and spray water to calibrate my sprayer and see how much I spray on that 1000 ft. Say it is 2 gallons. Then I'd mix the 2 ml fusilade and 22 ml triclopyr into 2 gallons and spot spray the areas the same I did on the calibration, right? This way I minimize the impact on the yard that doesn't need it and out of the 5000 ft that need it, probably will only spray 2000 ft worth of herbicide.


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## A to Zoysia (Apr 4, 2020)

The turflon and fusillade II will not kill the Bermuda....it will kill the topgrowth but it will come back. The idea is to apply every 30 days, keeping it in check. Continue this until it goes dormant! Hopefully the Bermuda won't be able to store any carbohydrates going into winter and die off or at least make it very weak. Start back with treatments when it breaks dormancy. Everything I treated last year has worked great, I have a few small patches of Bermuda that are still popping up but I have not treated it this year.


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## kem5882 (Apr 30, 2020)

Rydarr said:


> @rjw0283 i just got an automower, so that is helping out quite a bit. I push mowed it last year, very time consuming.
> 
> @kem5882 so basically what I would do is measure off 1000 sq feet and spray water to calibrate my sprayer and see how much I spray on that 1000 ft. Say it is 2 gallons. Then I'd mix the 2 ml fusilade and 22 ml triclopyr into 2 gallons and spot spray the areas the same I did on the calibration, right? This way I minimize the impact on the yard that doesn't need it and out of the 5000 ft that need it, probably will only spray 2000 ft worth of herbicide.


@Rydarr I think you're rolling the dice by only spot spraying in the affected areas. 2k worth of herbicide would seem really light for a 5k sq ft area that has bermuda throughout. I understand if you want to play it safe though. Spray a small patch of zoysia with the herbicide mix that is in an innocuous area as a test run. Then, when you go back to re-apply 30 days later, if that area of zoysia is not damaged, you could apply to the entire 5k sq ft area.

As @A to Zoysia mentioned, this just suppresses the bermuda. You really have to stay on top of it. Even into the fall.

Also, FWIW...I found 1 gallon of water was enough to treat 1,000 sq ft of area with the recommended dosages of each herbicide per 1k sq ft.


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## CenlaLowell (Apr 21, 2017)

Good luck doing this. I will be watching this thread out of curiosity. Here's what I would add to this conversation I'm using

Ethofusmate
Atrazine
Surfactant lawn star

This works but you have to practice patience the way I'm doing it. I could nuke it at 2.25 oz/1k but the st Augustine would not fill in fast enough. Anywho, keep plugging away


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## raymond (May 4, 2018)

Glad i came across this chain...

@Rydarr , FWIW... September of last year i started using #4 approach (fusillade and turflon).. it worked but getting the rates right to be effective took a few attempts... while it did kill some last year with our green flush this spring i saw so much Bermuda that i've completely nuked everything all the Bermuda could find in the Zoysia with gly... i've been pushing the lawn with N to try to push the bermuda out of hidding but the colder temps in ATL have kept it down... my plan is to cut out the nuked spots+15% of grass around it, and put fresh sod this summer.. i'm sure i didn't get it all, but hopefully i can get a better control on it all with f+t over the later summer + fall if i see it more


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## UFG8RMIKE (Apr 21, 2019)

raymond said:


> Glad i came across this chain...
> 
> @Rydarr , FWIW... September of last year i started using #4 approach (fusillade and turflon).. it worked but getting the rates right to be effective took a few attempts... while it did kill some last year with our green flush this spring i saw so much Bermuda that i've completely nuked everything all the Bermuda could find in the Zoysia with gly... i've been pushing the lawn with N to try to push the bermuda out of hidding but the colder temps in ATL have kept it down... my plan is to cut out the nuked spots+15% of grass around it, and put fresh sod this summer.. i'm sure i didn't get it all, but hopefully i can get a better control on it all with f+t over the later summer + fall if i see it more


Plz share doses that worked, and what didn't

.


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## raymond (May 4, 2018)

Using #4 approach (fusillade and turflon) was challenging and after multiple applications in the late summer/fall i saw the Bermuda return this spring.

This spring, since i was able to visually see the bermuda grass and runners in the zoysia, i decided to nuke with Bermuda with Gly. I dont have confidence that this has killed all the roots, but is a good way to monitor and track where i've seen bermuda in the lawn. i'll be respraying it again with gly soon but it's been dry/dead yellow ever since ive sprayed it.

My plan is to dig it out, 1 foot or so down, and refill with fresh soil before putting new sod in it's place.


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## drewwitt (Jun 25, 2018)

I was in the same boat.

Removing Bermuda physically is a waste of time. I tried it. The roots are so deep.

Zoysia won't choke out Bermuda.

I'm year 3 into #4 and have removed 99%. You HAVE to apply every 28 days.

I also got a round up gel. It comes in a deodorant stick thing. When random Bermuda spots showed themselves, I would put a glove on and "paint" the Bermuda with the gel. When I first did that, I bought a pack of 50 irrigation flags to mark the spots so I could keep track. I had to do two passes and had over 100 spots in my 2500sf lawn. Last week I had only 4 spots that snuck through.

I plan on continuing the #4 approach for the rest of this year.

Hindsight: I should have just nuked those spots twice, waited a few weeks, and plugged and sodded.

BUT, I was curious if I could make this work, and I did. I'll try to find pictures.


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## raymond (May 4, 2018)

This won't be a shock but here is my destruction



The tough thing is... I have no way or knowing if those little bubbles I've killed off are maybe connected by a runner or not... so when I go to cut out the turf and replace with fresh sod then I'll have to make a call on how big or an area to ensure I don't leave any behind


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## drewwitt (Jun 25, 2018)

The bad news: Bermuda taking over the new Zeon sod. This was two years ago.



Same area: last week.



After year one, spring of 2019, flagging all the Bermuda that showed its face. Hit with gel glypho





This was last week. This is the only sprig of Bermuda in this area. I'm claiming victory.


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## raymond (May 4, 2018)

@drewwitt - based on my pics and description of my situation, do you think it's necessary to dig out the old Bermuda infector turf a foot deep and replace with fresh soil or Is that over kill?


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## drewwitt (Jun 25, 2018)

I think you could try. I don't trust the Bermuda roots. I dug up an area and pulled some out. They were thick and gnarly, and had a huge system. Perhaps a hybrid approach could work. I chose to not dig up because I was trying to flatten my lawn around the same time and didn't want to have settling issues.


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## Texas_Bermuda (Sep 1, 2018)

drewwitt said:


> The bad news: Bermuda taking over the new Zeon sod. This was two years ago.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


@drewwitt have you documented this? Could you share the process, chems and ratios? I have palisades zoysia and about to test a couple strats on an area. looks like you did great!


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## UFG8RMIKE (Apr 21, 2019)

drewwitt said:


> I was in the same boat.
> 
> Removing Bermuda physically is a waste of time. I tried it. The roots are so deep.
> 
> ...


Can u plz confirm your rates?

.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Did you see https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3455&p=207140&hilit=fusillade#p207140 ? I did 2 apps last season ....


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## Texas_Bermuda (Sep 1, 2018)

jayhawk said:


> Did you see https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3455&p=207140&hilit=fusillade#p207140 ? I did 2 apps last season ....


Thanks jayhawk! sunday morning reading material. After i spray fusilades ill be checking 3-4 times per hour ro see those bstards yellow.


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## drewwitt (Jun 25, 2018)

@Texas_Bermuda 
@UFG8RMIKE

Must apply every 28 days.

Per gallon per 1,000:
Fusillade: 2-4 mL 
Turflon Ester: 4 tsp
Surfactant: 1 tsp

Label for Fusillade said 2-4mL. I accidentally read that as oz for the first time and nuked everything. I started at the low rate of 2mL and thought about working up to 3 or 4 mL, but I noticed the 2 mL knocked out the Bermuda without injuring the zoysia, so I stayed there. Zoysia is slow to recover, so I babied it. As always, test a small area and see how it responds.

Zoysia doesn't like Fusillade or Turflon Ester. But when mixed together at those rates, they cancel each other out and don't affect Zoysia, but still target Bermuda. Go figure. It works though!

I'm now 100% Bermuda free!


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## Texas_Bermuda (Sep 1, 2018)

@drewwitt this is great and my game plan as well. Can i ask a few questions. 1) im using pgr, any considerations before beginning the bermuda be gone program? 2) did you change your fert or watering program at all 3) what month and temps did you begin, and how many months do you need to repeat thuz before its gone for good?
Thanks!!


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## drewwitt (Jun 25, 2018)

Texas_Bermuda said:


> @drewwitt this is great and my game plan as well. Can i ask a few questions. 1) im using pgr, any considerations before beginning the bermuda be gone program? 2) did you change your fert or watering program at all 3) what month and temps did you begin, and how many months do you need to repeat thuz before its gone for good?
> Thanks!!


I used pgr as well and saw no issues.

No change in fert or water.

I started March-nov - my growing season in south Texas


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## Texas_Bermuda (Sep 1, 2018)

Thanks @drewwitt cant want to get this rollin!


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## critterdude311 (Apr 21, 2018)

drewwitt said:


> @Texas_Bermuda
> @UFG8RMIKE
> 
> Must apply every 28 days.
> ...


@drewwitt - thanks for the info. Just to verify, when you say Fusilade, you are referring to "fusilade ii". I'm preparing to buy the product to take out some common, and want to make sure I'm ordering the exact stuff. Thanks for the info!


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## UFG8RMIKE (Apr 21, 2019)

I picked up the fusalide II and turfester. Since this will take precise, monthly spraying, I'm now trying to figure out my sprayer situation. Pretty sure the best choice is gonna be the electric chapin push sprayer. My skills with a 1 gal pump sprayer havent been the best.


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## drewwitt (Jun 25, 2018)

Sorry for the late reply.

Yes, fusillade 2

I have the sprayers plus 4 gal. Battery powered sprayer is a must!


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