What Kills Dallisgrass in Lawns? | Control Tactics That Work

Killing dallisgrass in lawns takes digging or spot herbicide, since no simple selective killer works in every turf type.

Dallisgrass is among the toughest weeds a lawn can face. It forms dense clumps with deep, tough root masses, spreads by both seed and rhizomes, and shrugs off many common lawn treatments. The honest answer to what kills dallisgrass depends on your turf type, the size of the infestation, and whether you can accept some damage to your lawn. In most cases, the most reliable route is manual digging or careful spot treatment with a non-selective herbicide.

Why Dallisgrass Is So Hard To Kill Selectively

Dallisgrass is a perennial grassy weed that behaves more like a small, aggressive bunchgrass than a typical lawn weed. It thrives in thin, wet, or low-lying areas, which means a healthy, dense lawn is your first line of defense. University of California IPM guidance says the best strategy is removing young plants before they form rhizomes or set seed, noting that once clumps mature, persistence is required because the weed is perennial.

Mature dallisgrass has a strong, woody root clump that makes hand-pulling nearly useless. As Texas A&M’s turf guidance describes it, mature plants are shovel work, not a simple pull. Misidentification is also common—dallisgrass is often confused with other grassy weeds like crabgrass, which leads people to apply the wrong product and then wonder why nothing happened.

How To Kill Dallisgrass In Bermudagrass Lawns

Bermudagrass owners have one of the few genuine selective options. The University of Arkansas Turfgrass program recommends Tribute Total for residential bermudagrass lawns, applied repeatedly in late summer and early fall, with a follow-up the next growing season. The catch: this product is specifically labeled only for bermudagrass, so using it on fescue, bluegrass, or other cool-season turf is off-label.

Even with the right product, the University of Arkansas materials stress realistic expectations. If you want a broad-spectrum option for other warm-season grasses, Celsius WG is repeatedly cited by extension sources as a post-emergent option for established dallisgrass, though results improve with repeat applications timed to active growth.

How To Kill Dallisgrass In Cool-Season Lawns

Cool-season lawns like tall fescue or bluegrass have no reliable selective herbicide for dallisgrass. Here, the practical answer is digging or spot treatment with a non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate. Texas A&M’s guidance for established clumps is straightforward: spray the clump with glyphosate, protect surrounding turf with a shield or sponge-type applicator, then dig out the root clump after it dies and reseed the bare area.

This method works because glyphosate kills the weed from the roots up, but it is nonselective—any desirable grass or ornamentals it contacts will also die. That trade-off is exactly why spot treatment matters. Keep the spray only on the dallisgrass leaves, shield your lawn, and plan to repair the bare spot once the weed is gone.

For detailed product comparisons and our tested recommendations, see our best dallisgrass weed killer roundup to match a product to your lawn’s specific situation.

What Not To Do When Treating Dallisgrass

The mistakes people make with dallisgrass usually come down to impatience and misidentification. Expecting one spray to eradicate it is the most common error; university and extension sources uniformly stress persistence and repeat applications. Applying nonselective herbicide broadly across the lawn instead of spot treating is another frequent failure, and it creates dead patches that invite more weeds while damaging desirable turf.

Using a product outside its labeled use is also risky. The University of Arkansas database, for example, notes that MSMA spot treatment is legal on sod farms and golf courses but does not present it as a general residential-lawn solution. If you are considering any chemical route, verify the product’s label allows your turf species and site before spraying.

FAQs

Can I just pull dallisgrass by hand? Young plants can sometimes be pulled if you get the whole root. Mature clumps have deep, woody root masses that break off when pulled, leaving fragments that regrow. For established plants, digging is the reliable approach.

How long does it take to get rid of dallisgrass? Perennial weeds require repeated applications timed to growth flushes, and even effective programs like Tribute Total in bermudagrass need a follow-up the next growing season.

Will pre-emergent prevent dallisgrass? They do nothing to established clumps, which need digging or spot herbicide treatment. Use both approaches together for the best results.