Scorched Earth, Mine Fields, and General Vegetation Decay A.K.A Bayer Weed Killer
Written: Aug 04 '06 (Updated Nov 04 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Big Fat Zero
Cons: Not a safe product to use on lawns.
The Bottom Line: Avoid it, the product does not work as claimed.
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| DeRango's Full Review: Bayer Advanced Southern Weed Killer for Lawns |
Like most Americans I take pride in the general health of my lawn, fertilizing routinely, pulling weeds, reseeding bad or damaged areas, watering, and mowing on a regular basis. So it’s no surprise the anger and frustration one feels when a product that claims to not harm your lawn and kill irritating weeds, not only fails but does the complete opposite
Product Details
Two Products in One
Kills Lawn Weeds Plus Crabgrass in One Step
Won't Harm Your Lawn
Ready-To-Use Contains SmartTrack® Visible Marker to Show Treated Weeds
Where & When to use
On lawns (Do not use on St. Augustine including Floratam, Carpetgrass, Centipede, Creeping Fescue, Dichondra or desirable clovers) When weeds are actively growing
Temperature Limitations
Temperatures above 80°F -- Do not apply on Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass or Tall Fescue
Temperatures above 90°F -- Do not apply on Bermuda or Zoysia
How it works
All-in-One Weed Killer for Lawns is a selective herbicide - it selectively kills weeds in the lawn but won’t harm the lawn itself.(Ha) It is a blend of proven weed killers designed to get broadleaf weeds such as Dandelion, Clover and Chickweed AND grassy weeds such as Crabgrass and Nutgrass/Nutsedge.
Sizes Available
1 gal
1.3 gal
24 Oz
Where to find Bayer Advanced
Available at most home improvement center chains such as:
Home Depot, Lowe’s, Eagle, etc.; as well as mass merchants such as WalMart, Kmart, Target, etc.and most Co-ops such as Ace and True Value hardware stores, independent nursery or plant centers.
List of Claimed weeds it controls:
Aster, Black Medic, Buckhorn, Burclover, Burdock, Carolina Geranium, Carpetweeds, Chickweeds, Clovers, Crabgrass, Creeping Charlie, Cudweed, Curly Dock, English Daisy, Dallisgrass, Dollarweed, False Dandelion, Florida Pusley, Goosegrass, Ground Ivy, leabane, Healall, Heartleaf Drymary, Henbit, Knotweed, Morningglory, Nutgrass/Nutsedge, Oxalis, Pennywort, Peppergrass, Plantains, Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Prostrate Pigweed, Prostrate Vervain, Purslane, Ragweed, Red Sorrel, Redstem Filaree, Speedwell, Spurges, Spurweed, Thistles, Wild Carrot, Wild Geranium, Wild Mustard, Wild Onion, Woodsorrel, and other broadleaf and grassy weeds
When is the best time to apply
When weeds are actively growing. Apply when the lawn has adequate moisture (to promote the rapid uptake of the herbicide by the weeds). If the lawn is dry, water a day or two before using this product. Do not water again for 24 hours after application. Do not use this product if rain is likely within 24 hours.
General Notes
Certain hard-to-kill weeds may need to be retreated in 10 to 14 days.
Newly seeded lawns may be treated after the fourth mowing.
Bare spots may be seeded 3 to 4 weeks after application.
My Experience
Exactly 7 days ago I noticed that crabgrass and dandelions were starting to creep over into my yard from an adjacent lot. Knowing that I had to do something before my lawn became over taken I stood dumbfounded in the yard care section at the hardware store. Although I use a weed control fertilizer I had never used a weed killing liquid, so I juxtaposed the products side by side and read about each one. What I needed was a crabgrass and dandelion killer, so Bayer Advanced stood out claiming “All-in-One Weed killer for lawns, won’t harm lawns, Kills Crabgrass & Dandelions.” Heck, that was the most spot on product I saw all day, or so it seemed.
I also purchased a 1 gallon mixer/sprayer that simply allowed you to add the product while adding the proper amount of mixture of water to the solution. This small plastic container had a clever pump that took used outside air to allow the mixture to fire from the nozzle with slight pressure at the weeds.
So following the directions verbatim I applied the product in the correct temperature (less than 85 degrees for Northern lawns), using the correct mixture ratio, and applying it on a “not to dry lawn, but not recently wet.” Furthermore my grass is sod in the front and seeded 2 years ago in back, so my Kentucky bluegrass was good to go, Right?
Not so much, I came home to realize that none of the weeds were affected by the product, but the grass all around the weed is now dead. How great is that, not only do I have to try and grow new grass in that area, but the weed itself is unscathed. To make matters worse, the areas damaged are the most difficult to keep grass alive in the first place. (against the driveway, along the curb, and in already damaged patchy areas)
Lies, Lies, Lies. My Questions to Customer Service
After seeing the damage it did to my lawn, I felt compelled to call customer service and ask a few questions. Speaking with “Kelly” she was (Somewhat helpful) as our epinions rating would describe. I felt that she was more of a paid “yes man” whom just took the attitude, anger, and questions with a quick statement response of “concern & understanding.” Her claim behind the grass dying was that the recent heat wave this week could have caused it, because we went through every step of how I used the product. (If I made a mistake). Although calm and collective, I basically told her the story of My Experience which lead to the death of my grass and why I felt the product was misleading and utterly frustrating. The company claims no responsibility for selling the product, which I again noted (in a cheerful manner) is a bunch of Deja-Moo.
Deja-Moo: The feeling you’ve heard this bull before.
Questions Pondered
How can one claim kills weeds in once step then in the next breath state that certain weeds may need to be retreated? Why does the product claim that it won’t harm your lawn if it truthfully can and will harm you lawn? All the spurious claims on the bottle in my opinion are questionable. Then when I asked “So what about the weeds that were unscathed?” she said “Oh, well you should reapply in another week, Ok there fruitcake, Maybe I should ask for a hit of what she’s puffin on? I said no thanks, in another 2 weeks I’ll be trying to recover the damage from my lawn. (after the vegetation killer works it way through the soil)
Final Thought
I would highly recommend avoiding this product, if weeds are becoming a problem in your lawn, use a fertilizer that contains a weed fighting ingredient. I have never had a problem with any of Scott’s products, I should have stuck with a trustworthy well known name. Never again!
Also Avoid
Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Fertilizer
Ortho Grass B Gone
Ortho Weed-B-Gon
On the Flip Great Scotts Products
Miracle-Gro
Scotts Turf Builder With PLUS 2 Weed Control
Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard With PLUS 2 Weed Control
Recommended:
No
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