# MSM vs Speedzone



## anthonybilotta (Aug 11, 2018)

Hey y'all

I have a major spurge problem (no other weeds). I have tried two rounds of dismiss and celsius but no luck. Looking into speedzone or MSM to knockout the spurge. What would y'all suggest? Which would be most effective/least damaging to my bermudagrass? It's cut at around 0.2, currently under PGR suppression, with daytime highs in the 90+ range and nighttime lows in the high 70s.

@Ware @Greendoc any experience with these?


----------



## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

That's interesting. Both Celsius and Dismiss are labeled to control spurge. Kind of odd for neither of them to do the trick, especially after two apps. Speed zone or MSM should do the job. With that said, are you sure it's spurge?


----------



## anthonybilotta (Aug 11, 2018)

Movingshrub said:


> That's interesting. Both Celsius and Dismiss are labeled to control spurge. Kind of odd for neither of them to do the trick, especially after two apps. Speed zone or MSM should do the job. With that said, are you sure it's spurge?


Here's a picture of it.


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Yep... that's spurge. I had it very bad last year and for some reason, Celsius wasn't very effective. It had worked for me in previous years. I've only used Dismiss to spot spray green kyllinga so I don't know how effective it is on spurge. Luckily, I timed my Prodiamine a few weeks later than normal this past spring and have not had a bad outbreak... yet. I've been able to keep up with it pulling by hand. I've learned that once it gets to a certain point you have to spray though.

What rate were you spraying the Celsius? I think spurge requires the high rate. Although if you have already gone two rounds you are probably near your annual max. You could always spot spray at "angry levels". I'm following this thread closely because mine could explode at any moment. That stuff seems to seed almost immediately.


----------



## Darth_V8r (Jul 18, 2019)

Redtwin said:


> Yep... that's spurge. ... That stuff seems to seed almost immediately.


It's born pregnant. that's the problem. MSM worked to get mine under control. It's what I used most of last season. I want to say MSM has some preemergent properties, which makes it effective against weeds like spurge that make seeds as soon as they pop out of the ground. You may need a round of dimension or some other PreM as well


----------



## Jace (Feb 28, 2020)

I use Surge, made by PBI Gordon (same maker as speedzone). For use at temps up to 90, less damaging to Bermuda than speedzone


----------



## anthonybilotta (Aug 11, 2018)

Jace said:


> I use Surge, made by PBI Gordon (same maker as speedzone). For use at temps up to 90, less damaging to Bermuda than speedzone


unfortunately, it looks like surge cannot be shipped to Texas


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

What I use on Spurge in the summer is MSM. 0.5 oz per acre or the equivalent per 1000 sq ft. Apply to the entire lawn. Biggest mistakes made when dealing with Spurge includes spot spraying and not using products with a pre emergent effect. MSM has a pre emergent effect. Isoxaben(Gallery) is a specific pre emergent for Spurge that works well when combined with Speedzone. In my experience, both Celsius and Dismiss are poor herbicides for Spurge unless they are spot sprayed at high rates. Not worth doing even.


----------



## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

Greendoc said:


> What I use on Spurge in the summer is MSM. 0.5 oz per acre or the equivalent per 1000 sq ft. Apply to the entire lawn. Biggest mistakes made when dealing with Spurge includes spot spraying and not using products with a pre emergent effect. MSM has a pre emergent effect. Isoxaben(Gallery) is a specific pre emergent for Spurge that works well when combined with Speedzone. In my experience, both Celsius and Dismiss are poor herbicides for Spurge unless they are spot sprayed at high rates. Not worth doing even.


awesome! I killed my spurge problem last year, but I cannot for the life of me remember if I used dismiss or MSM. Whatever I used killed it. My brain is losing it.


----------



## anthonybilotta (Aug 11, 2018)

Greendoc said:


> What I use on Spurge in the summer is MSM. 0.5 oz per acre or the equivalent per 1000 sq ft. Apply to the entire lawn. Biggest mistakes made when dealing with Spurge includes spot spraying and not using products with a pre emergent effect. MSM has a pre emergent effect. Isoxaben(Gallery) is a specific pre emergent for Spurge that works well when combined with Speedzone. In my experience, both Celsius and Dismiss are poor herbicides for Spurge unless they are spot sprayed at high rates. Not worth doing even.


What precautions should I take around shrubs if going the msm route ? I have box woods, a rose bush, and Mexican heathers within 18 inches of my grass line


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

No more than 0.25 oz per acre equivalent. Do it on a day drift is not likely. Do it when you have control over water IE, not when flooding rain is likely the week after application


----------



## anthonybilotta (Aug 11, 2018)

Thanks for the help everyone. Going to give MSM a shot


----------



## Skenny (Feb 4, 2019)

Is MSM safe in the summer heat? Here in Central FL its going to be about 95 every day for the next forever. I am having an outbreak but afraid to kill the St. Aug.


----------



## Burnie (Jun 13, 2020)

Skenny said:


> Is MSM safe in the summer heat? Here in Central FL its going to be about 95 every day for the next forever. I am having an outbreak but afraid to kill the St. Aug.


I'm 100 miles south of you, and i use MSM (Spot Spray Only) in the summer. August is a big spot spray month for me, and you know how hot it is then. Keep it under .5 oz per acre, when over 90 degrees I normally go about .33 per acre. I have some of the old measuring tubes to measure small amounts for our 2 gallon spot sprayers. Only time it has had any adverse affect, was a little stunting of the grass, you could really see where we had sprayed by the lack of growth, which was noticeable for a couple of weeks, so be careful. I use a blue marking dye so I don't over spray any spots.

This is the tube I am talking about to measure it (got this off the net for the picture of the tube)


----------



## Darth_V8r (Jul 18, 2019)

Burnie said:


> Skenny said:
> 
> 
> > Is MSM safe in the summer heat? Here in Central FL its going to be about 95 every day for the next forever. I am having an outbreak but afraid to kill the St. Aug.
> ...


I use a diet scale. Then I predissolve what I weighed up into a 32-oz container and hose-end-spray at a higher rate based on the initial dilution. I don't like to spot spray the stuff. if I'm going to hit anything with MSM, I prefer to hit the whole yard with it.


----------



## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I might not agree with the hose end sprayer, but I am totally on board with spraying the entire lawn. I do not like to spot spray products that can give me a residual effect. I also do not like to spot spray products that can leave areas of discoloration or stunting. If I make it so the entire lawn does not grow as much, it is less visible than a few spots of stunted grass with overgrown grass all around it.


----------



## padgetttrey (Jun 12, 2020)

anthonybilotta said:


> Greendoc said:
> 
> 
> > What I use on Spurge in the summer is MSM. 0.5 oz per acre or the equivalent per 1000 sq ft. Apply to the entire lawn. Biggest mistakes made when dealing with Spurge includes spot spraying and not using products with a pre emergent effect. MSM has a pre emergent effect. Isoxaben(Gallery) is a specific pre emergent for Spurge that works well when combined with Speedzone. In my experience, both Celsius and Dismiss are poor herbicides for Spurge unless they are spot sprayed at high rates. Not worth doing even.
> ...


If drift is an issue, I always spray after sundown, before the dew falls, as long as it's not a windy night. The droplets fall straight down.


----------



## Backyard Soldier (Jul 29, 2019)

anthonybilotta said:


> Greendoc said:
> 
> 
> > What I use on Spurge in the summer is MSM. 0.5 oz per acre or the equivalent per 1000 sq ft. Apply to the entire lawn. Biggest mistakes made when dealing with Spurge includes spot spraying and not using products with a pre emergent effect. MSM has a pre emergent effect. Isoxaben(Gallery) is a specific pre emergent for Spurge that works well when combined with Speedzone. In my experience, both Celsius and Dismiss are poor herbicides for Spurge unless they are spot sprayed at high rates. Not worth doing even.
> ...


use extreme caution with MSM around trees and shrubs..it can decimate in a hurry. follow label to a tee.


----------

