How to Get Rid of Crabgrass – 6 Effective Methods

Crabgrass spreads aggressively, crowds out healthy grass, and leaves bare patches when it dies, and that only gets worse the following year. The solution combines prevention, targeted removal, and long-term lawn care. 

This guide covers all three categories, along with 6 removal methods. Read on to know exactly how to get rid of crabgrass in your situation and build the most effective strategy at any point in the season.

What Is the Best Way to Get Rid of Crabgrass?

Understanding how to kill crabgrass starts with one simple question: how far along is it? After you answer it, it’s time to choose the method. 

If it hasn't sprouted yet, a pre-emergent herbicide applied in early spring is your strongest option. It can stop seeds from growing before they ever become a problem.

If crabgrass is already visible, pre-emergent won't help. You’ll need to choose between hand-pulling small patches, applying one of the post-emergent herbicides, or both.

If you want to prevent this problem in the future, you need a thick, healthy lawn that just doesn't give crabgrass the bare soil and sunlight to take hold. So, you’ll need to combine herbicides, pulling weeds, and good lawn care to stop it for good. 

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6 Methods to Kill Crabgrass in Lawn

What's the best way to get rid of crabgrass? It depends on the season, scale, and whether you prefer a chemical or natural approach. 

These 6 methods cover every stage, from stopping it before it sprouts to rebuilding the lawn after it dies off, and you only need to choose the right one or the best combination for your situation. 

1. Pre-Emergent Herbicide

Pre-emergent herbicides stop crabgrass before it appears. Apply in early spring before soil temperatures reach 55°F and water it in with ½ inch of irrigation within a few days. If you miss that window, the product will become useless. This herbicide has no effect on crabgrass that has already sprouted.

Note that pre-emergents prevent all seed germination, not just crabgrass. If you're overseeding, don't apply pre-emergent until the new grass has been mowed at least three times. 

2. Hand-Pulling

The most direct way to remove crabgrass from lawn patches is by hand. However, this makes sense only if the infestation is small, and plants haven't set seed yet.

Pull when the soil is moist so the roots come out whole. Remember that any root piece left behind can regrow, so you need to try to get the full root system out. Dispose of pulled plants in the trash. Don't leave them on the lawn or compost them.

3. Selective Post-Emergent Herbicide

A selective post-emergent herbicide is what kills crabgrass that's already growing. It doesn’t harm the surrounding turf, but the product and timing both matter. 

Quinclorac works best before 2 tillers or after 5. Fenoxaprop is more consistent and can be applied up to the 5-tiller stage. Mesotrione needs two applications two weeks apart and must be used before 4 tillers.

Before you apply any formula, check air temperature and turf compatibility. Don't apply above 85°F, and check the label. Some herbicides can damage Kentucky bluegrass, fine fescues, or other species.

4. Boiling Water as a Spot Treatment

Boiling water kills crabgrass on contact without any chemicals or products. But it has no selectivity at all, which is why it works for truly isolated spots like driveway cracks or path edges. It will kill any plant it touches, so don't use it within a lawn. 

5. Vinegar as a Spot Treatment

Kitchen vinegar won't work. You need horticultural-grade vinegar at 20% acetic acid. However, even in this case, crabgrass control only reaches 28–45%. The thing is, it burns back foliage on contact but doesn't reach the roots, and mature plants can regrow. It works best on very young seedlings and, just like boiling water, damages any surrounding grass it touches.

6. Overseed and Thicken the Lawn

Getting rid of crabgrass for good is less about what you spray and more about what conditions your lawn provides. A dense lawn just leaves no bare soil and no light for crabgrass seeds to establish.

When crabgrass dies after the first frost, it leaves bare patches which you can overseed in early fall. Core aerate first to improve seed-to-soil contact, and choose fast-growing plants that establish quickly enough to close gaps before spring.

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How to Prevent Crabgrass From Coming Back

Knowing how to get rid of crabgrass in lawn patches is one thing. Keeping it from returning is another. 

Most lawns that struggle with it have the same problem: thin, stressed turf that gives crabgrass exactly what it needs to germinate and spread. The methods below address that at the root level. 

Mow at the Right Height

Crabgrass seeds need light to germinate. Taller grass blocks it. Keep your lawn at 3-4 inches to shade the soil and make it hard for crabgrass seeds to take hold. 

The method is proven to be effective. Research shows that raising mowing height from 1.5 to 2.5 inches in Kentucky bluegrass reduced crabgrass infestation from 80% to under 15%.

Water Deeply, Not Frequently

Shallow, frequent watering keeps grass roots close to the surface, which weakens the turf and thins it out over time. 

Water deeply every 4-7 days instead. That’s an easy way to encourage roots to follow moisture further down and build a denser, more competitive canopy. 

Water once or twice a week, enough to soak 6-8 inches into the soil. That will pull the roots deeper. 

Apply Pre-Emergent at the Right Time

Pre-emergent herbicide is useful only if it's in the soil before crabgrass starts germinating. That window opens when soil temperatures in the upper inch consistently reach 55–58°F for 4-5 consecutive days in early to mid-spring, depending on your region. 

Repair Thin or Bare Areas

Every bare patch in your lawn is an open invitation for crabgrass next spring. Don’t leave those areas exposed through winter — overseed them in early fall. Core aerate them first to improve seed-to-soil contact, especially in compacted spots. 

Plants People Mistake for Crabgrass

Not every grass-like plant is crabgrass, and treating the wrong weed with the wrong method wastes time and money. 

Here are a few common lookalikes that are worth knowing:

• Monkey grass grows in clumping tufts with dark, narrow leaves. It’s often used as a ground cover. It won't respond to crabgrass treatments at all.
• Creeping lilyturf spreads more aggressively than monkey grass and is frequently mistaken for a grassy weed, but it's a perennial ornamental.
• Nutgrass is a sedge, not a grass. It has a distinctive triangular stem and requires a completely different control approach.

If you're not certain what you're looking at, Botan can help you identify the plant from a photo before you decide how to treat it.