# Can I apply insecticide, fungicide, and pre emergent?



## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Good morning folks!

I just bought some insecticides, fungicides, and pre emergent from Home Depot. Their selection is running a little low so I have a bit of a hodge podge of products. I'll show pictures of what I've got.

Not pictured is one bag of Scott's Disease EX.









Individually, the packaging for each of these does not indicate any reason that I can't apply any of these right now. However, I've never used insecticides or fungicides on a lawn. I don't know if they stress it out at all.

My question is, will I be okay to apply and water all these in at once? I work 6 days a week and have precious little time to do my h stuff like this. I'd like to knock it all out this afternoon if I have a window of opportunity. Otherwise it'll be at least a week between apps.

My centipede was fertilized about a week ago and is very healthy overall, with the exception of just a few spots. I have irrigation and can supply plenty of extra water if needed to help it hang on.


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## p1muserfan (Jul 7, 2019)

I wouldn't put down anything I don't need and not sure why you bought 2 insect killers. As for the pre-em, its a bit early for fall treatment. Wait until soil temp falls below 70. Not a fan of pendimethalin either (AI in Halts). If you have to go big box, I would buy this insteadhttps://www.lowes.com/pd/Sta-Green-10-lb-Pre-Emergent-Crabgrass-Control/1000140073


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

I bought two because they only had one bag of each and one bag wasn't enough to cover the whole area. I want something down as soon as I can to hopefully not lose any more grass. I'm assuming they are having supply chain issues due to Covid. Everything is pretty scarce right now. I was there because we needed a washing machine. Washing machines are on back order EVERYWHERE. It's crazy.

I chose this pre emergent because it was all they had. Literally. I wasn't considering this the fall application, I was just hoping to get some down to do something now, then another application in two months of this or something else.

I have EITHER an insect problem or a fungus problem, I haven't been able to determine for sure which. I have a thread and a few posts in other threads about it. And at the very least I'd like to have some preventive protection down.

I also want an insecticide down because I have a terrible and problem. In the house, on the driveway, in the pool house, by the roll cart, in the cars. I hope to start eliminating them all over and maybe they won't be ab issue in the house as much. I think I need an insecticide regardless just for that purpose.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

For the pre emergent, are there no seeds that will be trying to germinate right now?I was assuming there are always seeds going down that will be trying to grow.


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## p1muserfan (Jul 7, 2019)

Then in your case I would think it's ok if you put everything down at once


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## lambert (Sep 12, 2018)

You might want to wait and put the pre down as an early fall app. Most of the summer weeds have probably already germinated and will die out with cool weather in a couple of months anyway.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

If it won't offer me anything beneficial to do it now, then I'll definitely just skip it for now!


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## lambert (Sep 12, 2018)

You have centipede grass which can be sensitive to root pruning pre emergents. It might be somewhat beneficial to use now, but you can only put out so much over year. I wouldn't waste an app now when you could just wait until mid September and put out as an early fall app.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Since I haven't put any at all out, I could do now and then though, or no?


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## lambert (Sep 12, 2018)

Yes put it all out


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

For what it's worth, I disagree that putting down pre-emergent is a good idea if you are suffering from thinning and disease. I believe the pendimethalin may inhibit your recovery in thin areas if there is any root involvement contributing to your problems.

If you don't know what the cause is, I would do the fungicide plus the insecticide plus raise your height of cut. You can spot spray herbicide if you have weeds coming through.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

I've already raised the height of my cut to 2.5" to compensate for some high spots for now. At 2" I would scalp a couple of them. I'm planning to scalp, top dress, and level first thing next season after it greens up.

With that in mind do you still recommend that I raise the cut a bit? I don't mind if so.

I did put the pre emergent out, but only on one side of my front yard. (I did it before I saw that last post) One side is all sod at about 6000 square feet, the other side is sod that was blended into some existing grass that was on the lot already (the money tree could only support so many pallets!). The "blended" side is the one where I really need to focus on weed control and driving out things that aren't centipede, but it's also not the side with a few spots that have issues.

So I did put it out but only on that side. Next time I'll do the whole thing and I'll order something different online.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

I'm not personally familiar with centipede or its cultivation. The idea behind raising your height of cut in distressed areas is to increase photosynthesis which can aide the process of recovery. Based on what I read about centipede, it seems 2.5" would be sufficiently high to be supportive of recovery.

Diagnosis is the most important objective. Without it, you're really at a disadvantage and subject to a lot of frustration. I'm still new at all this. I rely on this community, published literature, and also the pest control professionals in my area to help me understand what I'm seeing in my lawn.

A couple times last year I mistook drought stress for insect damage. I could have put out insecticide, but it wouldn't have done a thing for me. The diagnosis is critical so you can take the right course of action to limit the scope of the problem, especially since you are working 6 days a week.

Typically the first thing I'm looking to determine is whether or not the problem is explained by activity above the soil surface or within the soil itself (root problems). All that being said, as long you aren't exceeding the labeled limits on fungicide or insecticide, you probably aren't going to hurt the grass at all.

Keep in mind that fungicides should generally be rotated to a different mode of action after two applications in a row to avoid fungicide resistance. Both of the products you mentioned are effective for preventive applications.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

I'm not real familiar with centipede either, but it's recommended in the literature that I've been looking over to maintain it at 1.5-2". I asked around here about bumping it up to 2.5 once I started scalping some high spots and they told me it'd be much less troublesome to mow a bit high than scalp a few areas. I don't think I need to bump it up much higher though.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Somewhat unrelated, I have another question. Can I/should I spray some selective herbicides during winter? Right now I have 2-4-d and Celsius. I'd like to get some Certainty, and I have a co-worker who's had great luck with Cimarron for Bahia.

I've read about using Glyph while it's dormant, but this past winter we hardly dropped below 60 for am extended and consistent period. I'm afraid it won't be completely dormant if I tried something like that.


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

@mwemaxxowner - the herbicide label should tell you the temperature and dormancy restrictions. The one I used (containing 2,4-d) over the winter required temps above 45 degrees F. I wrote a little about my experience over the winter here with follow-up picture here.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Awesome, many thanks to you all. There is a big learning curve here over the fescue I've always had previously.

Have some issues? Weed eat to bare dirt, little seed fert and straw and viola! Back in business. Centipede isn't so easy. Lazy man's grass my foot!


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## ionicatoms (Mar 8, 2020)

mwemaxxowner said:


> Centipede isn't so easy. Lazy man's grass my foot!


LOL :lol:

Best cautionary advice I ever got was that one intervention often leads to another. Often, less _is_ more. Some of us (myself included) belong in "Lawn Anonymous" because we have found the enemy in the mirror.


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## lambert (Sep 12, 2018)

ionicatoms said:


> mwemaxxowner said:
> 
> 
> > Centipede isn't so easy. Lazy man's grass my foot!
> ...


The problem with centipede is that if and when things start going south there is almost no way to get it back. It can look ok if you have perfect soil conditions for it.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Yes, and it takes a while to get it back through seed, and takes a while to get it to run and spread from plugs.



Looks good right now, I wanna keep it that way!


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

I scanned the lawn this morning before heading to work. Man it has never looked better!

Not that I think these products have necessarily helped anything, especially this soon, but so far it doesn't appear that they have HURT anything!

I also fertilized it a few days prior to applying those products, and we have gotten a bit of rain since then as well. It's coming along for being very new! I need to look into PGR because it needs to be cut about two days after I mow it.

On a side note....I just paid a $370 water bill &#128561;.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Fresh cut today woop! woop!


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Wow! That centipede looks nice.


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## BigBoxLawn (Jul 8, 2020)

mwemaxxowner said:


> Somewhat unrelated, I have another question. Can I/should I spray some selective herbicides during winter? Right now I have 2-4-d and Celsius. I'd like to get some Certainty, and I have a co-worker who's had great luck with Cimarron for Bahia.
> 
> I've read about using Glyph while it's dormant, but this past winter we hardly dropped below 60 for am extended and consistent period. I'm afraid it won't be completely dormant if I tried something like that.


You may be aware of this but wanted to just jump in. When they talk glyph on dormant grass, they mean BLANKET applied. NOT spot treatment. My neighbor insisted he had spring dead spot this year. Nope. He was dousing weeds with Roundup spot sprays in the Winter.


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## mwemaxxowner (May 30, 2020)

Yessir, I did mean a blanket app.

However, after further reading I find that centipede often does not go into a true period of winter dormancy in mild climates. Much of last winter was at 50-60 degrees. We were in shorts at Christmas. So I don't think it's a good idea for me to bank on that at all. I'll stay away from Glyph aside from spot sprays on really tough weeds.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Don't apply glyphosate during the winter. Our warm-season turfs down here in the southeast never go fully dormant.


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