Foxtail Grass: How to Identify, Prevent and Kill It in Your Lawn

Key takeaways

• Yellow and green foxtail seed can germinate once soil reaches 65°F, with an optimum of 70 to 85°F; seedheads form July to September and plants die at fall frost (Penn State Extension, May 2025).
• Tell the three Setaria foxtails apart by the leaf: long silky hairs near the base (yellow), short dense hairs over the whole upper surface (giant), or no hairs (green). Giant foxtail carries the largest, nodding seedhead, up to 8 inches by 1.25 inches (University of Maryland FS-2023-0658).
• Seven EPA-registered turf labels list Setaria foxtails, but the postemergent choice depends on your grass: quinclorac (Drive XLR8, EPA Reg. No. 7969-272) excludes St. Augustinegrass, centipedegrass and bahiagrass (Drive XLR8 label), and none of the four postemergent labels reviewed here covers a home St. Augustinegrass lawn.
• Foxtail seed does not last: SARE puts seed bank losses at 72 to 93 percent a year in untilled soil, and yellow and green foxtail seed buried 1.7 inches under turf did not survive past three years (SARE, Manage Weeds On Your Farm). Two or three seed-free summers clear most of a lawn.
• The “foxtails” that injure dogs in the West are mostly wild barleys and bromes, not lawn Setaria, which UC weed scientists say is “not typically associated with animal injuries” (UC Weed Science, April 2021). In a UK study of 1,037 dog cases, 90.6 percent came June to September (Brant et al., 2021).

Fact	Figure	Source
Soil temperature at which yellow and green foxtail can germinate	65°F (optimum 70 to 85°F)	Penn State
Seedhead season, yellow and green foxtail	July to September	Penn State
Seeds per plant, foxtails as a group	1,000 typical; 10,000 high	SARE
Seed bank loss per year, untilled soil	72 to 93%	SARE
Best emergence depth	0.5 inch; negligible below 4 inches	SARE
Bristles per spikelet cluster	Yellow 5 to 15; giant and green 1 to 3	Illinois Extension
Dog grass-seed cases logged June to September (UK)	940 of 1,037 (90.6%)	Brant et al., 2021

What is foxtail grass?

Foxtail grass is a common name for grasses with bristly, brush-shaped seedheads. In U.S. lawns it nearly always means three Setaria species: yellow foxtail (Setaria pumila, also listed as S. glauca), green foxtail (S. viridis) and giant foxtail (S. faberi). All three are non-native summer annuals found in every Illinois county (Illinois Extension).

NC State TurfFiles finds yellow foxtail infrequent in highly maintained turf but common in utility turf such as roadsides (NC State TurfFiles), so a foxtail patch usually marks thin or scalped turf.

The same name covers unrelated grasses. Foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum) is a short-lived native perennial bunchgrass 1 to 3 feet tall (Colorado State Extension); hare barley (Hordeum murinum ssp. leporinum) is a winter annual whose barbed, needle-like awns injure animals (UC IPM). Knotroot foxtail (Setaria parviflora) looks like yellow foxtail but is a perennial with short, knotty rhizomes (University of Missouri IPM).

Plant called foxtail	Scientific name	Life cycle	Where it shows up	Animal awn hazard	Source
Yellow foxtail	Setaria pumila (S. glauca)	Summer annual	Most common foxtail in lawns	Not typically linked to injuries	UMD; UC Weed Science
Green foxtail	Setaria viridis	Summer annual	Fields, waste areas, acidic soils	Not typically linked to injuries	UMD
Giant foxtail	Setaria faberi	Summer annual	Crop fields and waste areas	Not typically linked to injuries	UMD
Knotroot foxtail	Setaria parviflora	Perennial (rhizomes)	Pastures, hayfields, roadsides, lawns	Not documented	Missouri IPM; Weed Technology, 2023
Foxtail barley	Hordeum jubatum	Short-lived perennial	Wet, saline or alkaline pasture and roadsides	Barbed awns lodge in mouth, nose, eyes, skin; spike 3 to 10 cm	Colorado State; UC IPM
Hare barley	Hordeum murinum ssp. leporinum	Winter annual	California grassland, roadsides, turf	Needle-like barbed awns	UC IPM

How do you identify yellow, green and giant foxtail?

Check the ligule first, then the upper leaf surface. All three foxtails have a fringe-of-hairs ligule, about 1 mm long, where the leaf meets the stem (Penn State). Yellow foxtail has sparse, long, silky hairs near the leaf base and a flattened stem base; giant foxtail has short, dense hairs across the upper surface; green foxtail is hairless and often rough (UMD FS-2023-0658).

Seedheads confirm it. Yellow foxtail’s is erect, 0.75 to 6 inches long and 0.5 inch wide, with awns that turn yellow; giant foxtail’s is 1.5 to 8 inches long, up to 1.25 inches wide and droops; green foxtail’s is erect, 0.5 to 1 inch wide and the most variable, so University of Maryland Extension says to confirm green foxtail by its leaves (UMD). Color misleads: Illinois notes young foliage looks green and old foliage yellow on all three (Illinois Extension).

Trait	Yellow foxtail	Green foxtail	Giant foxtail	Source
Upper leaf surface	Sparse long silky hairs near the base only	Hairless, often rough	Short, fine hairs densely over the surface	UMD
Leaf width	Under 1/2 inch	Under 1/2 inch	Up to 3/4 inch	Illinois
Stem base	Flattened, will not roll between fingers; may be purplish	Round, hairless	Round, rolls easily	UMD
Seedhead	Erect, 0.75 to 6 in. long, 0.5 in. wide; bristles turn yellow	Erect, 0.5 to 1 in. wide; most variable	Nodding, 1.5 to 8 in. long, up to 1.25 in. wide	UMD
Bristles per spikelet cluster	5 to 15	1 to 3 (sometimes purple)	1 to 3	Illinois
Height	1 to 3 ft (Illinois); 2 to 4 ft (UMD)	1 to 2 ft (Illinois); up to 3 ft (UMD)	Usually 2.5 to 4 ft; up to 6.5 ft	Illinois; UMD
Seed weight	1.9 to 4.2 mg	0.6 to 1.5 mg	1.6 mg	SARE
Where most common	Lawns	Fields; may signal low soil pH	Crop fields, waste areas	UMD

1. Yellow foxtail4
2. Green foxtail3
3. Giant foxtail6.50
4. Foxtail barley3
5. Hare barley3

Source: UMD FS-2023-0658 (Setaria); Colorado State and UC IPM (Hordeum) Green foxtail seedhead length is not given by UMD (shown as 0; width 0.5 to 1 in.). Hare barley height is 'over 3 ft' per UC IPM, plotted at 3. Foxtail barley: CSU height 1 to 3 ft, UC IPM spike 3 to 10 cm (about 4 in.).

Show the numbers

	Max height, ft	Max seedhead length, in
Yellow foxtail	4	6
Green foxtail	3	0
Giant foxtail	6.50	8
Foxtail barley	3	4
Hare barley	3	3

Is it foxtail, crabgrass, timothy or knotroot foxtail?

Crabgrass and timothy have a membranous ligule, not a fringe of hairs; crabgrass seedheads split into 2 to 6 finger-like spikes, and timothy’s spike has no awns and grows from a bulb-like corm (UMD). Knotroot foxtail is the hard one: its seedhead matches yellow foxtail, so dig a plant and look for short rhizomes, which Missouri IPM calls the separating trait (Missouri IPM).

The split decides control. A pre-emergent stops knotroot foxtail growing from seed but not shoots from its rhizomes (Missouri IPM), so a patch that returns in the same spot every year after a pre-emergent is a sign of knotroot. Crabgrass control and its look-alikes are covered in our crabgrass identification and control guide, and the wider weed list is in our common lawn weeds ID chart.

When does foxtail grass germinate and go to seed?

Foxtail germinates later than crabgrass. Penn State gives 65°F soil as the point where yellow and green foxtail seed can germinate, with an optimum of 70 to 85°F, and seedlings keep emerging from spring into early or mid-summer (Penn State). Crabgrass starts when the upper inch of soil holds 55 to 58°F at daybreak for 4 to 5 days (Penn State, Sept. 2024).

Seedheads appear July to September, and plants die after the first fall frost (Penn State). SARE puts emergence to flowering at 5 to 13 weeks and flowering to viable seed at 2 to 3 weeks (SARE), so a seedhead you see in August can already be dropping live seed by early September. Soil temperature tracking by month is in our soil temperature guide.

1. Apply pre-emergent (WSU)50
2. Crabgrass germinates (Penn State)55
3. Foxtail germination begins (SARE)50
4. Foxtail can germinate (Penn State)65
5. Foxtail optimum (Penn State)70
6. Secondary dormancy above (SARE)86

Source: Penn State Extension; SARE; WSU Hortsense Penn State's crabgrass figure is the upper inch of soil at daybreak for 4 to 5 days. Single-value thresholds are plotted with equal low and high ends.

Show the numbers

	Low end	High end
Apply pre-emergent (WSU)	50	55
Crabgrass germinates (Penn State)	55	58
Foxtail germination begins (SARE)	50	59
Foxtail can germinate (Penn State)	65	65
Foxtail optimum (Penn State)	70	85
Secondary dormancy above (SARE)	86	86

Question	What guides often say	What the primary source says	Source
When does foxtail germinate?	“Spring”, same time as crabgrass	Can germinate at 65°F soil; optimum 70 to 85°F; crabgrass at 55 to 58°F	Penn State foxtail; Penn State summer annuals
Lowest germination temperature	A single number	Significant germination begins at 50 to 59°F; above 86°F many seeds go into secondary dormancy	SARE
When to put down a pre-emergent	When forsythia blooms	Soil 50 to 55°F (WSU); Penn State says forsythia bloom is not always reliable	WSU Hortsense; Penn State
Are the seedhead hairs awns?	Yes, barbed awns	Setaria bristles surround the spikelet base; awns come from the spikelet tip	Illinois Extension
Is foxtail a perennial?	Annual or perennial	Yellow, green, giant: summer annuals; knotroot foxtail: perennial	UMD; Missouri IPM

The practical reading: a pre-emergent applied for crabgrass at 50 to 55°F is already down before foxtail starts at about 65°F, but foxtail keeps emerging into midsummer, so the product’s residual, not its start date, decides whether July foxtail breaks through.

How do you prevent foxtail with a pre-emergent?

Apply a pre-emergent that lists foxtail before soil reaches 65°F, water it in, and keep the rate inside the label’s yearly maximum. Penn State names prodiamine, pendimethalin and dithiopyr as the spring pre-emergents for yellow and green foxtail (Penn State). Each of the four labels below lists Setaria foxtails by name, and each blocks grass seed for months.

Active ingredient	Product (EPA Reg. No.)	Foxtails on label	Rate per 1,000 sq ft	Reseeding wait	Source
Prodiamine 40.7%	Barricade 4FL (100-1139)	Foxtails, annual	Yearly max 0.5 to 1.1 fl oz (tall fescue, warm-season); 0.23 to 0.70 (bluegrass, ryegrass)	4 months at 16 fl oz/acre; 6 months at 24 (North); 12 months at 48 (South)	Barricade 4FL label
Pendimethalin 38.7%	Pendulum AquaCap (241-416)	Giant, green, yellow	1.1 to 1.6 fl oz; repeat 0.86 to 1.1 after 5 to 8 weeks	At least 3 months	Pendulum label
Dithiopyr 24%	Dimension 2EW (62719-542)	Giant, green, yellow (pre-emergence only)	0.37 to 0.73 fl oz (1 to 2 pints/acre); 6 pints/acre a year	3 months after one application	Dimension 2EW label
Mesotrione 40%	Tenacity (100-1267)	Yellow foxtail (pre and post)	0.09 to 0.18 fl oz (4 to 8 fl oz/acre); 16 fl oz/acre a year	None: labeled at seeding, except fine fescue	Tenacity label

Steps for a spring application:

1. Confirm your grass is on the label’s turf list and that you will not seed within the reseeding wait shown above.
2. Apply when soil reaches 50 to 55°F (WSU), the same window as a crabgrass preventer; our lawn care schedule gives regional dates.
3. Measure the lawn and weigh or meter product to the label rate; the worked example further down converts each rate for 5,000 sq ft.
4. Water in with about 0.5 inch of irrigation or rain; Barricade 4FL asks for it within 14 days and Tenacity for 0.15 inch within 10 days (Barricade label; Tenacity label).
5. Where foxtail broke through last July, split the yearly maximum and repeat 5 to 8 weeks later, as the Pendulum label allows (Pendulum label).

What kills foxtail in a lawn without killing the grass?

Selective grass herbicides do: quinclorac, fenoxaprop, topramezone and, for yellow foxtail, mesotrione. Penn State lists the first three for yellow and green foxtail in lawns (Penn State). Which one you may use depends on your turf species, and all work best on small plants: Pylex asks for application before the fourth tiller (Pylex label).

Active ingredient	Product (EPA Reg. No.)	Foxtails on label	Rate per 1,000 sq ft	Key restrictions	Source
Quinclorac 18.92%	Drive XLR8 (7969-272)	Giant, green, yellow	1.45 fl oz plus 0.55 fl oz methylated seed oil	2 to 4 tiller plants may need a second spray; bahia, carpet, centipede, St. Augustine, dichondra and colonial bentgrass susceptible	Drive XLR8 label
Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl 6.59%	Acclaim Extra (432-950)	Setaria spp.	0.21 to 0.30 fl oz untillered; 0.46 at 1 to 2 tillers; 0.64 at 3 to 4; 0.90 at 4 to 5	Labeled turf: bluegrass, ryegrass, fescues, zoysia, creeping bentgrass; not within 21 days after 2,4-D	Acclaim Extra label
Topramezone 29.7%	Pylex (7969-327)	Giant, green, yellow (yellow not in Calif.)	0.023 fl oz (0.7 mL) to 2 tillers; 0.034 fl oz (1.0 mL) at 2 to 4 tillers, plus oil adjuvant	Labeled turf: bluegrass, fescues, ryegrass, centipede; bermuda marginally tolerant; 4 fl oz/acre a year	Pylex label
Mesotrione 40%	Tenacity (100-1267)	Yellow foxtail	0.09 to 0.18 fl oz plus nonionic surfactant; repeat in 2 to 3 weeks	Bermuda, zoysia, bentgrass, kikuyu, seashore paspalum sensitive	Tenacity label

Grass type narrows the list fast. The matrix below reads each label’s turf list; “no” means the grass is excluded, listed as susceptible or sensitive, or simply not listed. A shorter cross-weed comparison sits in our lawn weed killer guide.

Your lawn	Quinclorac (Drive XLR8)	Fenoxaprop (Acclaim Extra)	Topramezone (Pylex)	Mesotrione (Tenacity)
Kentucky bluegrass	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (yellow foxtail)
Tall fescue	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes (yellow foxtail)
Perennial ryegrass	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes, 5 fl oz/acre
Fine fescue	Only in a blend	Yes	Yes	Yes, 5 fl oz/acre
Bermudagrass	Yes	No (label suppresses common bermuda)	Marginal: injury expected	No (sensitive)
Zoysiagrass	Yes	Yes, max 28 fl oz/acre per spray	No	No (sensitive)
Buffalograss	Yes	No	No	Yes (yellow foxtail)
Centipedegrass	No (susceptible)	No	Yes	Yes (yellow foxtail)
St. Augustinegrass	No (susceptible)	No	No	Sod farms only
Bahiagrass	No (susceptible)	No	No	No

St. Augustinegrass and bahiagrass owners have no selective foxtail spray among these labels. Their tools are a pre-emergent that lists the grass (Barricade 4FL lists both) plus hand-pulling (Barricade label). For knotroot foxtail, the Weed Technology review notes fall-applied herbicides did not control plants from rhizomes, while a 2020 study it cites found pinoxaden above 95 percent control of yellow foxtail in turf (Dyer et al., 2023).

How much herbicide does a 5,000 sq ft lawn need?

Very little, which is where mixing errors start. At the label rates, a 5,000 sq ft lawn takes 7.25 fl oz of Drive XLR8 plus 2.75 fl oz of seed oil, but only 3.5 to 5.0 mL of Pylex (Drive XLR8; Pylex). A municipal bid tab shows what hired application costs.

Product or service	Label rate used	Amount for 5,000 sq ft	Source
Barricade 4FL	0.5 to 1.1 fl oz per 1,000 sq ft (yearly max, tall fescue)	2.5 to 5.5 fl oz	label
Pendulum AquaCap	1.1 to 1.6 fl oz per 1,000 sq ft	5.5 to 8.0 fl oz	label
Dimension 2EW	1 to 2 pints/acre = 0.37 to 0.73 fl oz per 1,000	1.8 to 3.7 fl oz	label
Drive XLR8 + methylated seed oil	1.45 + 0.55 fl oz per 1,000 sq ft	7.25 fl oz + 2.75 fl oz oil	label
Acclaim Extra, 1 to 2 tiller foxtail	0.46 fl oz per 1,000 sq ft	2.3 fl oz	label
Pylex	0.7 to 1.0 mL per 1,000 sq ft	3.5 to 5.0 mL	label
Tenacity	4 to 8 fl oz/acre = 0.09 to 0.18 fl oz per 1,000	0.46 to 0.92 fl oz	label
Hired pre-emergent (municipal bid)	$75 to $165 per acre, 3 bidders	$8.61 to $18.94 (0.115 acre)	Middletown, Conn., Bid 2025-019, item 38

The bid prices are for city sports fields, so a residential visit with a minimum charge will cost more per square foot. Anyone applying herbicides to other people’s lawns for pay needs a state applicator license; the rules by state are in our pesticide applicator license guide.

This page is general information, not pesticide advice. The label is the law: read the full label for your product and state before you buy or spray, and follow its rates, turf list, protective equipment and re-entry rules.

How do you get rid of foxtail without herbicide?

Pull it before it seeds and thicken the turf so seedlings never get light. Foxtail has a fibrous root system (UMD), so small plants lift out by hand or with a trowel (Penn State). Mowing alone fails: SARE notes yellow foxtail cut at 2 inches forms many new tillers and short seed stalks (SARE).

1. Pull or dig plants from June, before the July to September seedhead window (Penn State); bag any plant already carrying a seedhead.
2. Mow at 2 inches or higher; Penn State gives that as the floor for most lawns (Penn State), and a taller canopy shades the 0.5-inch soil layer where foxtail emerges best (SARE).
3. Clean the mower and shoes after working infested areas, since Penn State lists mowers, shoes, animal fur and renovation soil as the ways seed spreads (Penn State).
4. Fill bare patches in late summer, when frost will kill any foxtail that sprouts with the new grass; seeding dates are in our overseeding guide.
5. Do not till or core-dig deeply in infested beds: emergence is negligible below 4 inches, and turning soil lifts buried seed back into the top 2 inches (SARE depth data).

Vinegar and other contact sprays kill turf as well as weeds; the trade-offs are in our vinegar weed killer guide.

How long does foxtail seed last in a lawn?

Not long, by weed standards. SARE puts annual seed bank losses at 72 to 93 percent in untilled soil, and green and yellow foxtail seed buried 1.7 inches under turf did not survive beyond three years (SARE). Starting from one high-producing plant (10,000 seeds), the table shows what remains if no new seed is added.

Years with no new seed	Seeds left at 72% loss a year	Seeds left at 93% loss a year
0 (one plant at SARE’s high figure)	10,000	10,000
1	2,800	700
2	784	49
3	220	3
4	61	0.2

• 72% loss a year
• 93% loss a year

Source: SARE, Manage Weeds On Your Farm: Foxtails (loss range); our arithmetic Seeds left = 10,000 x (1 minus annual loss) to the power of years. Values match the seed bank table.

Show the numbers

	72% loss a year	93% loss a year
Year 0	10,000	10,000
Year 1	2,800	700
Year 2	784	49
Year 3	220	3
Year 4	61	0.20

One July of seedheads restarts the clock, which is why the pre-emergent plus pulling routine has to run unbroken for two to three summers.

Is foxtail grass dangerous to dogs?

The barbed seed that burrows into dogs is mostly a western wild barley or brome, not the lawn Setaria. UC weed scientists list hare barley, Mediterranean barley, foxtail barley, red brome, cheatgrass, ripgut brome and medusahead as the local “foxtails”, and say Setaria species “are not typically associated with animal injuries” (UC Weed Science, April 19, 2021).

The risk follows seed set. Hare barley flowers April through June (UC IPM), foxtail barley sets seed late May to August (Colorado State), and in UK practice records 940 of 1,037 grass-seed cases (90.6 percent) were logged June to September, with spaniels 7.7 times as likely as retrievers to present (Brant et al., Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 2021).

Where the awn lodges or how often	Finding	Source
External ear canal	51% of 182 dog and cat cases	Brennan and Ihrke, JAVMA 1983
Other sites in the same series	Between toes, eye, nose, lumbar area, chest cavity	JAVMA 1983
Share of that year’s foreign-body cases	61%	JAVMA 1983
Breeds over-represented	Springer and Brittany spaniels, golden retrievers, Airedales	JAVMA 1983
UK cases by month	90.6% June to September; odds in July about 176 times January	Brant et al., 2021
Hare barley flowering	April through June	UC IPM
Foxtail barley seed set	Late May to August	Colorado State
Yellow and green foxtail seedheads	July to September	Penn State

PetMD’s veterinarian-written guidance: pull a shallow awn from fur or skin with tweezers, but take the dog to a veterinarian for anything in the eye, nose or ear, or for toe swelling, repeated sneezing or head shaking (PetMD, Melissa Boldan, DVM, July 23, 2025). Check between toes, inside ear flaps and around the eyes after every walk through dry, seeding grass.

What should you do about foxtail in pastures and hay?

Graze or cut it before seed forms, and do not feed hay that carries seedheads. University of Maryland Extension warns that foxtail awns can lodge in the mouths and gums of horses and livestock eating dry hay (UMD). Colorado State says foxtail barley is safe to graze before seed and calls contaminated hay “unsafe for livestock” (Colorado State).

Oregon State adds that foxtail seed is still viable after 2 to 3 days in an animal’s gut, keeps a 3-inch minimum stubble on fescue or orchardgrass and 2 inches on ryegrass, and found mowing ineffective on its wild-barley foxtails (Oregon State Extension, July 2022). For knotroot foxtail in hay, Missouri IPM suggests pendimethalin (Prowl) for plants from seed and digging out sporadic patches with their rootstock (Missouri IPM).

Which foxtail control fits your lawn?

Match the tool to the grass and the calendar. Before soil reaches 65°F, prevention is cheap; once plants tiller, the label stage limits narrow; once seedheads appear in July, pulling and bagging beat spraying. The table and flowchart hold the same logic, built from the labels and extension sources above.

If your situation is	Do this	Why (source)
Foxtail last summer, no seeding planned, soil under 55°F	Prodiamine, pendimethalin or dithiopyr at label rate, watered in	All three list foxtail; foxtail germinates from about 65°F (Penn State)
Seeding this spring (not fine fescue)	Mesotrione at seeding; skip prodiamine	Tenacity is labeled at seeding; Barricade needs 4 to 12 months (Tenacity; Barricade)
Cool-season lawn, foxtail under 4 tillers	Quinclorac, fenoxaprop or topramezone	All three list Setaria; best before tiller 4 (Pylex; Penn State)
Bermudagrass or zoysiagrass lawn	Quinclorac; fenoxaprop also on zoysia	Drive XLR8 rates both highly tolerant; Pylex excludes zoysia (Drive XLR8)
Centipedegrass lawn	Topramezone, or mesotrione for yellow foxtail	Drive XLR8 lists centipede as susceptible (Drive XLR8; Pylex)
St. Augustinegrass or bahiagrass lawn	Pre-emergent that lists the grass, then hand-pull	No selective foxtail spray on these labels covers them (Barricade)
Same patch returns after a pre-emergent	Dig a plant: rhizomes mean knotroot foxtail; remove the rootstock	Pre-emergents miss rhizome shoots (Missouri IPM)
Seedheads already showing (July onward)	Pull and bag; seed bare spots in late summer	Seed becomes viable 2 to 3 weeks after flowering (SARE)
Dog walks through dry, seeding grass	Check ears, toes and eyes after each walk; vet for ear, eye or nose	Ear canal is the top site at 51% (JAVMA 1983)

1. 1Are seedheads already showing (usually July to September)?

   YesPull and bag the plants, then seed bare spots in late summer; spraying now rarely stops this year's seed (Penn State; SARE).

   NoGo to the next question

2. 2Does the same patch return every year even after a pre-emergent?

   YesDig a plant. Short knotty rhizomes mean knotroot foxtail: remove plants with their rootstock (Missouri IPM).

   NoGo to the next question

3. 3Is soil still below about 55°F?

   YesApply prodiamine, pendimethalin or dithiopyr (or mesotrione if seeding), at the label rate, watered in.

   NoGo to the next question

4. 4Is your lawn St. Augustinegrass or bahiagrass?

   YesNo selective foxtail spray on these labels covers your grass: hand-pull now, pre-emergent next spring.

   NoGo to the next question

5. 5Is your lawn bermudagrass, zoysiagrass or buffalograss?

   YesQuinclorac (Drive XLR8) on plants with fewer than 2 tillers; fenoxaprop is also labeled on zoysia.

   NoGo to the next question

6. 6Is your lawn centipedegrass?

   YesTopramezone (Pylex), or mesotrione (Tenacity) for yellow foxtail.

   NoCool-season lawn: quinclorac, fenoxaprop or topramezone before the 4th tiller, at the label rate.

Source: Drive XLR8, Acclaim Extra, Pylex, Tenacity and Barricade 4FL labels; Penn State; Missouri IPM

Not sure which grass you have? Match it first with our lawn grass identification guide, because three of the four postemergent labels above change their answer by turf species. Related weed, turf and tree guides sit in the Turf and Trees hub.

Stage	Window	Main tool	Source
Prevent	Soil 50 to 55°F, before foxtail’s 65°F start	Prodiamine, pendimethalin, dithiopyr or mesotrione	WSU; Penn State
Kill young plants	Before the 4th tiller	Quinclorac, fenoxaprop, topramezone, mesotrione (by lawn grass)	Pylex label
Stop seed	Before July to September seedheads	Pull, bag, mow at 2 in. or higher	Penn State
Run down the seed bank	2 to 3 seed-free summers	Repeat the routine; overseed thin turf in late summer	SARE