Typical UK weed grasses and how to get rid of them

At first, you may notice certain areas of your lawn sporting thicker, green grass and might think you’re onto a winner, however this ‘grass’ will quickly reveal itself to be a lawn weed and become unsightly and invasive.

Fortunately, this guide will assist you in identifying the type of lawn weed you may be experiencing in your garden and the correct measures to take to get rid of them!

What causes weed grasses to appear

In the UK, weed grasses typically enter the lawn in natural ways, such as after birds have dropped seeds or the seeds have laid dormant in the soil until conditions have been right for growth.

If your lawn is in poor health, then these weeds are far more likely to crop up. Conditions such as compaction, a drought-stricken lawn or grass that has been excessively mown, allow the weed grasses to thrive as the lawn is under stress.

What are the most common weed grasses in the UK

The four most common types of weed grass you will come across in any UK lawn are Poa Annua (also known as Annual Meadow Grass), Couch Grass, Yorkshire Fog and Rough Stalked Meadow Grass. 

How to identify them

What problems can UK weed grasses cause

General unsightliness isn’t the only downside to the presence of weed grasses in your lawn. The presence of weed grasses can disrupt the balance as they suffocate out the grass you do want and spread quickly. Their roots can become entangled in shrubs and bushes making them difficult to remove and allows them to hop from garden to garden without much difficulty.

Preventing weed grasses in your garden

Lawn maintenance

As with most lawn-related problems, preventing it is much easier than trying to remove it. A healthy lawn is a great barrier to weed grasses as thick, well-established grassroots can help prevent their spread. Maintaining a healthy lawn with regular practices such as scarifying, aerating and most importantly, feeding can really improve grass root strength.  This can also help the lawn fight off all types of weeds, not just unwanted grasses.

Reseeding

Reseeding is an important practice for lawns that are particularly old. It is the process of completely killing off your old lawn and starting a new one from scratch, sowing fresh grass seed in the prepared soil. This process means you can ensure you are eliminating any dormant weeds in the soil and creating a lawn of just grass.

Overseeding

Lots of UK lawns contain species such as perennial ryegrass and fescue, which are considerably long-lasting grasses - but overseeding every few years can really help the composition of your lawn and make sure no alien species sneak into your lawn undetected. This process helps to repair any damaged, vulnerable areas on your lawn before weeds set in!

How to get rid of lawn weeds

Option 1

If your weed grasses appear in clumps, you should use a blade to cut vertically at the roots. Remove the clumps, prepare the soil from scratch and replace it with seed.

Option 2

In almost all cases, the first option will work for homeowners. However, if the digging out and reseeding method fails, and the weed grasses spread, then this leaves the option of a Feed, Weed and Moss Killer.

Like with lots of weeds, a glyphosate solution (Roundup) can be applied to the area to kill off weed grasses, bare in mind this will also kill off your grass - so only choose this method if you are willing to start your lawn from scratch again.

The main thing to remember with any weed grass is that it’s important to identify, prevent, and control infestations as quickly and effectively as possible to stop them from becoming a more prominent addition to your garden.

Find out more about how to remove weeds from your lawn.

If your lawn is also suffering from moss, then we also have a guide with helpful tips to remove that - thankfully, removing moss is a bit easier!