Skip The Hacks And DIYs: Keep Grass Out Of Mulch With An Affordable Spray

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Once you get your garden beautifully cleaned up and mulched, the last thing you want to see is that pesky grass peeking through. It's frustrating when you've done everything to prevent grass from growing in mulch around your garden, and yet it keeps popping up. While there are plenty of hacks and DIYs on the internet, it's not worth taking the risk of mixing up magic potion recipes from Pinterest. Instead, for the most effective way to get rid of grass that won't leave your garden beds alone, go with a pre-made spray solution. One affordable option is Ortho Grass B Gon Garden Grass Killer, which you can find in a 24-ounce bottle at Walmart for less than $20.

Grass B Gon's active ingredient is called Fluazifop-P-butyl. It's an herbicide used to kill grassy weeds once they've begun growing where they're not wanted, like in your garden mulch. The application process is simple, mainly because it comes in a ready-to-use formula for an easy point-and-spray method. From crabgrass and foxtail to goosegrass and quackgrass, Grass B Gon works to attack these growing grasses and rid your mulch of them. One thing customers really love about this product is that, while it's effective at saving your mulch from grass, it won't affect any nearby plants or flowers. A happy reviewer said how well it worked on the grass that had grown up around her hostas, saying that after using Grass B Gon, the grass died but the "hostas look great!"

The process of using Grass B Gon is fairly straightforward. The solution comes pre-mixed so there's no measuring or diluting needed. Position the spray bottle about 1 to 2 feet away from the grass you want to get rid of. Spray an even layer across all the grass that's growing in the mulch. The manufacturer advises that the most ideal conditions for success with Grass B Gon is when the weather is steadily between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. While the soil must be moist before application, it's good to wait out any windy periods and avoid spraying when there is rain in the forecast.

How long it takes for the grass to die will vary from garden to garden. While one review said their crabgrass was gone within a day, they noted that it was very young grass, which is an important factor because this particular herbicide works best when applied before the weeds are fully grown and established. Other reviews advise users to be patient. One in particular said that it took about a week for it to work on their grass, while another said it took almost a month and several applications of Grass B Gon to work on their thickest grass growth. If you do need to spray more than once, wait at least seven days between applications. It's also worth noting that this method won't address why grass keeps invading your mulch, as it's not a preventative measure, but it will certainly take care of it once it's there.