How do you get rid of Kikuyu growing in your lawn?

Author: Stefan Palm   Date Posted: 27 November 2018 

If there is one thing to be said about kikuyu, it would be that it is HIGHLY INVASIVE. That can be a good thing and a bad thing although if you have it invading your lawn, its clearly a bad thing!

So if you have it in your grass and you don’t want it, the question is can you get rid of it? The answer to that question is yes, and no….

Kikuyu is more aggressive in nature than any other lawn so it’s potential to take over is high. It spreads by both runners and by seed. There isn’t a variety of lawn available in Australia that can successfully compete with it so if you find it showing up in your lawn uninvited, eventually it can completely take over. Kikuyu has an underground network of runners called rhizomes which spread out where they can’t be seen. That means that what you can see on the top is generally the tip of the iceberg. Hand pulling it out is no more successful at getting rid of it than trying to kill a daisy bush by picking the flowers off it. What you leave behind is the rhizomes which send up some more growth to the surface. Even if you dig the area completely out and replace the soil, there will probably still be runners under pathways and in garden beds that surround your lawn area ready to re-invade at the soonest opportunity. Then there is the seed – many kikuyu varieties produce a seed which blows around looking for a place to grow so even if you get rid of the seed and runners at your place, there's nothing to say it wont blow in from a neighbour or from bird droppings.

Sounds pretty bleak doesn’t it! The way I see it is that you have a choice – If you have kikuyu invading your lawn, either let take over and learn to manage it (when maintained, kikuyu looks really good and has some great advantages) or take measures to control it. This usually involves chemical sprays, both selective and non selective.

Selective Control to Remove Kikuyu Grass

There are some selective herbicides that you can use to suppress kikuyu but only in a couch lawn. That means you can spray them all over the couch and they will just target the kikuyu not the couch. It also means that if you have kikuyu invading buffalo, zoyzia, fescue or rye, there is no selective chemical options.  In any case, the hard reality is that you will probably never get rid of it because it will most likely re-invade from its original source, such as a neighbours yard or a park over the road. You can however  suppress it in certain cirmumstances. The most notable chemical for the suppression of Kikuyu in Couch is Monument Liquid by Syngenta. It's one of the only chemicals registered for this purpose. It is a commercial group B herbicide and has some very specific spraying requirements so if your thinking about using it you’ll need to get a licensed sprayer to apply it for you. It's also worth noting that you can't use it within 20m of water ways and within 60m of any other vegetation (which cuts out it's use in home gardens).  Other options for suppression of kikuyu in couch include selective herbicides that contain DSMA and MCPA. These are available off the shelf in hardware stores and usually have names like Paspalum killer or Paskill etc. Although not noted on the bottle for the control of kikuyu, they will burn back kikuyu on the surface without harming the couch. They also selectively control weeds like paspalum, crab grass and broad leaf weeds. Once again, read the instructions and directions before applying. Because of Kikuyu’s aggressive nature, you will need to repeat applications of these chemicals as required to keep the kikuyu in check. The best time to spray is during the warmer months when the kikuyu is active and able to draw in the chemical

Non Selective Control to Remove Kikuyu Grass

If you have kikuyu invading your buffalo, tall fescue, rye or bluegrass lawn then you can't use the selective herbicides mentioned above because they will harm your lawn. The only solution here is to spot spray with glyphossate (eg Roundup) Keep in mind though that glyphossate is non selective meaning it kills all types of lawns. You have to be careful to only apply it to the kikuyu, not the lawn you are trying to preserve. The best time to spot spray is winter. The reason for this is because the damage to surrounding lawn will be minimised.

I hope this helps – feel free to leave comments on your success stories and tips on controlling kikuyu in your lawn.

Comments (21)

Kikuyu in windsor green

By: on 15 January 2022
Hi, I’ve got kikuyu coming out in my Windsor green grass. Will a selective spray be alright on that or will I have to go the spot spray option. Thanks

Paul Munns Instant Lawn Response
Hi Josh Thanks for your enquiry Best to just spot spray / paint on the leaf with something like Round Up. Unfortunately there isn't a selective way to get rid of it in Couch type lawns. Andrew

I have the oppoisite

By: on 9 November 2021
I have Couch taking over a section of Kikuyu lawn. How do I stop it? Should I go full nuclear on the couch and sprigg the nuts out of what's left a few weeks later? I have mainly Kikuyu...I don't want another grass muscling in

Paul Munns Instant Lawn Response
Hi Tim Thanks for your enquiry. Unfortunately there isn't anything selective to control Couch in Kikuyu. You can spot spray/paint on leaf with Glyphosate (Eg Round Up) and if there is any bare spots left you can plug more Kikuyu in Thank you

How do I kill kikuyu

By: on 2 September 2021
Hello I have buffalo grass and kikuyu is growing though my it . How do I get kill the kikuyu?

Paul Munns Instant Lawn Response
Hi Gina Thanks for your enquiry Unfortunately there is nothing to control Kikuyu in a Buffalo lawn All you could try is spot spraying/painting on the leaf with something such as Round Up

New Lawn

By: on 21 June 2021
Have had Winter Green lawn laid and now there is a lot of what I am sure is Kikuyu coming up. Is there a spray that can help control it.

Paul Munns Instant Lawn Response
Hi Carol Thanks for your query Unfortunately there isn't anything selective for residential use to control Kikuyu in Couch type lawns. I would suggest painting on the leaf with a Glyphosate type product such as Round Up. As Kikuyu is aggressive and depending on how much you have in your lawn, you may need to use Round Up multiple times to get on top of it Thank you

Weeds in my Sir Walter Buffalo lawn

By: on 29 June 2019
My lawn was almost weedless till last dry sunmer. I have been using Minna every 3 months. A few months ago, light green upright shoots appeared, growing faster than the buffalo grass. When I started digging them up, I found runners. They grow mainly near the kerb but stray ones are growing in different parts of my lawn. I fear that they could be kikuyu weeds. I do not want them to overtake my lawn. How can I get rid of them? Can I remove it myself or get a specialist to remove it? When's the best time to do it?

Paul Munns Instant Lawn Response
Hey Elaine, That doesn't sound too good! The first thing to do here is to have the weed identified so we can settle on the best course of attack. Can you pull one of them (roots and all) and email it to me at stefan@paulmunnsinstantlawn.com.au. Thanks, Stefan

Kikuyu under fence

By: on 20 April 2019
Maybe establish a spray strip along the fence, no go zone for kikuyu?

Restart

By: on 17 March 2019
I’m planning to start my lawn over, and kikuyu is spreading through the yard from next door - despite my constant futile pulling and chucking efforts.... How do I kill it? I don’t care about my lawn now, as i’m going to completely kill it all and restart. I don’t want to go through the effort to kill the lawn, reseed, lay underground irrigation, etc if these damn weed grasses are still in the soil when I reboot. How do I kill it? I don’t care about hurting my lawn.

Paul Munns Instant Lawn Response
Hi Dave, There is never any guarantees when it comes to Kikuyu control. You could go to all that effort and apply all the advice you have received and still get a re-infestation. Depending on how entrenched the kikuyu is in your current lawn, it may be impossible to completely eradicate it due to the kikuyu leaving seeds behind in your soil or your inability to locate all the runners under the soil. In addition to that, because the source of the invasion is your next door neighbors lawn, it will likely re-invade. There are control measures that you can apply when it comes up again but that essentially leaves you back in the same position you are in now. I have written another blog which might be handy for you to read: https://www.paulmunnsinstantlawn.com.au/blog/kikuyu-friend-or-foe

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