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sunnyfl363

How can I get rid of torpedo grass?

sunnyfl363
14 years ago

I have St. Augustine grass in my back yard but have noticed larger patches of what I thought was crab grass. I called my lawn care service to come check out and was told that what I have growing is "torpedo grass". They claim they cannot treat for this and that my only recourse is to cut out the patches and resod. I'm sceptical as I have never heard of this grass/weed and thought crabgrass was my main enemy for my St. Augustine grass. Can someone help explain why I have this problem and what I could do other than cutting out holes in my yard. Thanks!

Comments (40)

  • texas_weed
    14 years ago

    I have been is the sod biz for close to 30 years in Tx and never heard or Torpedo Grass.

  • bpgreen
    14 years ago

    I had never heard of it, but googled it and it sounds like it's really tough to get rid of. You may need to do what they say.

  • sunnyfl363
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    To answer texas weed's question: according to the University of Florida website, torpedo grass is in the family Poaceae?, including grasses such as cogongrass and bermudagrass. Hope that helps?

  • ccarnes
    13 years ago

    Please help me. Torpedo grass has run rampid in my garden. When I say garden I mean the flower beds the run the length of the front, back, and sides of my house. I've been pulling them up but the roots are so embedded that I can't even get all of them up without digging. I tryed using the round-up that is supposed to kill EVERYTHING down to the roots GUARANTEED but it isn't working either. They are brownish yellow now on top but still alive and thriving under the mulch. Should I just rip everything out? Help!!!!

  • earthworm
    13 years ago

    The trouble is, I do not know what Torpedo grass is.. That is the first thing to know, the other trouble is three things , one - communications ...and two - knowledge and three - advertisments.
    This grass is probably is known by many names, which vary state by state.
    Do not believe advertisements, never believe them.
    We need "truth in advertising" laws.
    I would try a poison in one area and complete digging in another, then step back and see what works.
    Also, contact your state agricultural bureau and see that they say.

  • lomasney3_aol_com
    12 years ago

    I had torpedo grass and totally tilled my yard 3 times and put down a truck load of dirt and resodded the whole thing. Now it is back. I have it coming in on 2 sides from neighbor's yards. I'm about to give up. Now I'm trying to find out from anyone if I can use vantage on St. Aug. grass but haven't had a response. I spent about $1500 redoing my yard (big yard) and now I am totally discouraged.

  • nearandwest
    12 years ago

    Sorry, but as far as I can tell, Vantage herbicide is only labeled for use on Centipede and fine fescue.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    12 years ago

    From looking around at pictures or torpedo brass and a few websites, I believe torpedo grass is another common name for the grass known as coastal bermuda. Researchers are always looking for improved varieties of bermuda. Coastal was one of those experiments. They found it made a relatively good forage and released it back in the 40s for farmers. It is grown throughout the south as cattle feed. Unfortunately it spreads easily and really loves the flooding seen along rivers, swamps, and streams.

    For those of you who have it, does it seem to have runners on top of the soil (stolons)? How about runners under the soil (rhizomes)?

    Can someone who has this grass please pull some out of the ground, clean it off, lay out a strand with several nodes and preferably a seed head, and take a picture with a dime or quarter in the photo for reference.

    If it is bermuda, it can be controlled with Round-Up. You cannot spray bermuda one time and hope it will die. It is a process. Please post pictures and we can figure this out.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    12 years ago

    More questions: Do you live near a swamp or is your area of torpedo grass in continual moisture? Do you water frequently?

  • mickapoo
    12 years ago

    I have been dealing with torpedo grass in my floratam St Augustine lawn for years now. I have it not only through my St Augustine lawn but in the flower beds. When I first found it I tried digging up my entire flower bed to get rid of all the roots, but because it's in the lawn, it just comes back in under the concrete landscape curbing. The only thing that I have known to kill it, would be Round Up concentrate, used at triple strength. But the roots are so large and extensive, it doesn't seem to reach all of it and it continues to come back. Good luck!

  • mickapoo
    12 years ago

    Here is a photo:
    http://www.hear.org/starr/images/images/plants/600/starr-050902-4373.jpg

    Additional info about it:
    http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_pare3.pdf

    From the article:
    "Once established, torpedo grass is difficult to eradicate". (From personal experience, that is an understatement)

  • sanmarcosweets
    12 years ago

    Torpedo grass took over my entire vegetable garden and I had to just remove all the beds and let it become my lawn. It is impossible to get rid of. I have just decided where to make my stand (the shrub/perennial border) and spend my efforts keeping it under control there. It is like a spreading bamboo and moves by rhizome that travel as deep a 2 feet or more.
    The up side is, it is tolerant to heat, cold, pests, pets and traffic. I promoted some duckweed mixed in and it looks pretty but nothing I would lay on. So I mow it, edge it and fight it at the shrub borders. Sometimes lawn is in the eye of the beholder.

  • fruitjarfla
    12 years ago

    Mid-Florida. After two lawn services allowed my back yard to become rubble I re-started doing it myself. I had Floratam St.Augustine. Used RoundUp according to the instructions to kill all vegetation, then in April plugged the area with Empire Zoysia -- 12 inches apart. The Zoysia has covered the area very well although it will be few months before the bumps (between the plugs) totally fill in. There is still Bermuda growing in the yard but it appears to be going away, with the Zoysia overtaking it.

  • ZoysiaSod
    12 years ago

    Fruitjarfla wrote:
    > In April plugged the area with Empire Zoysia -- 12 inches apart.

    That zoysia is really sweet grass, isn't it? And the best thing is you can neglect it, and it still loves ya and looks great for ya.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    12 years ago

    I missed this when it came back around. Here is mickapoo's image...

  • texas_tifway
    12 years ago

    Give "Drive XRL8" a look, I'm not sure if you have to have a license but it seems to kill most types of weeds including torpedo grass. I think the price a little high (around $100) for a half gallon of concentrate. My 2 cents

  • ArgonRon
    11 years ago

    I have a problem with Torpedograss in my plant bed as well and I am in the process of learning about Fusilade II. The picture in a previous post is exactly what it is. The depth of its roots is what makes it so hard to irradicate and trying to dig it out is futile. This stuff has laughed at my Roundup applications and I have received many a blistered hand from digging to what I thought was the bottom of this grassy pest.. Here is my next and last attempt to get rid of this weed..
    http://rosecare1.stores.yahoo.net/fusiladeii.html

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fusilade II

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    11 years ago

    Ack! $95 for a quart?!

  • TonyThePro
    10 years ago

    Short Answer: Quinclorac, found in retail âÂÂlawn weed killer plus crabgrass controlâ products and numerous professional products such as Quincept or Drive.

    Long Answer - :âÂÂCut it out and resodâÂÂ??? Absurd. Quinclorac will kill this stuff, and leave other grasses sick but still alive, but the devils in the details, the application strength and timing must be right ��" too much heat or rainfall and it can hurt your grass. . This also works with unwanted tall fescue infections. IâÂÂm not an expert on southern grasses but I would say a light misted but full strength mix and spot treat only the torpedo grass with a small sprayer ��" twice spaced 1-2 weeks apart until it dies. Then let your grass fill back in. You could even do this with light roundup. Cut around infected/treated areas 3â deep if possible to severe roots leading to uninfected grass, but donâÂÂt dig it up!. Patch with seed later if needed. Wait 2 months to reseed, quinclorac has some residual pre-emergent effect. If you want professional help call a few companies and ask if they are skilled using quinclorac to control torpedo grass. Any hesitation and move on down the list.

  • mfa_2006
    10 years ago

    One writer said "Torpedograss is not difficult to eradicate: It is nearly impossible to eradicate."

    Botanical name is most often cited as Panicum repens, but I've also seen Panicum gouinii. Several control options discussed at http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/management-options/torpedograss/.

    It's not hard to find lots of information (all discouraging) about this plant on the Web.

  • wmrn43a
    10 years ago

    I have SA but it is becoming more infected with torpedo grass. The only way to TRY and kill torpedo grass is a heavy concentration (10%) after mixing. I chase the torpedo grass root and whenever I see a stem I use a small hand sprayer like a cleaning container to avoid over staying as much as possible. It does leave dead spots in the SA but they will grow back. However, once you get it in my experience with my lawn torpedo grass it is becoming more noticeable. I have decide to replace the worst area (side of house) with zoysia grass. Reason to do so is when torpedo grass comes through the zoysia grass you can use Drive XLR8 and it does not hurt the zoysia grass but kills the torpedo that you see. Over time this may weaken the root of the torpedo grass and it may or may not continue to produce stems. My plan is to do this early spring. Spray Roundup on the side of the house wait 2-3 wks spray again wait 2-3 weeks spray again. The re-soding guy will cut out the dead vegetation and re-sod. I have talked with the University of Fl and a sod grower and this seems to be the best way to go for me.

    I'd like to hear from others on their experience.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    10 years ago

    We have a dryland weed called bind weed which is invasive and hard to treat. One way that works with that is to pull some away from whatever it is wrapped around and stick it into a container of RoundUp. Since the RoundUp is taken into the plant and kills the roots, the entire plant and all it's runners die. Don't know if that would work for torpedo grass, but I would certainly try it. You'd have to dig up some all the way to the runner and roots to to that. I used a bud vase with some Round Up in the bottom. I propped up the vase and let it sit for a few weeks. Eventually I could see dead bind weed up to 30 feet away. It was amazing and nothing but the bind weed died.

    Since torpedo grass is a swamp grass, I wonder what happens if you don't water it? Of course in FL you don't always have that option, but it doesn't rain every single week.

  • mfa_2006
    10 years ago

    I have it on my lakefront, where the lake has receded during the last 7-or-so years during the drought(s). The most successful approach has been to first dig it out and get as much of the root system as possible. Them follow up with aggressive scouting for new emergence and hit it with Rodeo (Roundup in a form approved for aquatic application). It can eventually be controlled, but it needs constant monitoring, and native plants will help crowd it out. I would guess it's much harder to control in turfgrass.

  • wmrn43a
    10 years ago

    The rhizome root can grow down to 2 ft below the surface. At the beginning I tried pulling some stems but they break off and you get no root. I do not live near water. This began about 3 yrs ago, Before then never had any torpedo grass. It does produce a few seeds. Also if fill dirt is brought in for a new home and if it has any part of the root from the torpedo grass it will multiply the shoots. I do mix my roundup with nitrogen so the torpedo grass will take the roundup further into the root.

  • bigoledude
    9 years ago

    The roots/rhizomes of torpedo grass grow much too deep to effectively control by pulling. The most effective herbicides for killing torpedo grass are really hard/fatal when used on St. Augustine grass.

    I bought a high quality Bermuda seed and have started reseeding sections of my lawn with it. The selective herbcides quinclorac, such as Drive (this is a commercial product) or Image Crabgrass Killer (homeowner version), will do a good job of actually killing the torpedograss with multiple applications. Bermuda and zoysia can survive the application of these chemicals.

    In my vegetable and ornamental beds I use a homemade "hooded applicator" out of a plastic bleach jug. I cut the bottom of the jug out, and tape the nozzle of my pump-up sprayer into the top of the jug. I set the open bottom over the plant to be killed (make sure jug is touching the soil) and give a quick blast of high-strength Roundup onto the torpedo grass. This prevents any "overspray" from damaging my garden plants.

    This method seems to kill only a short length of the rhizome. But, I stay right on every blade that pokes it's nose out of the ground. If it never makes it to sunlight, it can't grow very well!

    A previous poster suggested having a part of the torpedo grass soaking in Roundup to facilitate killing a longer section of the weed. I might try using a small piece of sponge soaked in Roundup sitting in a foam plate and using a small weight to hold the leaf/blades down onto the wet sponge. Let it drink-up as much Roundup as it possibly can. May sound sorta labor intensive in the beginning but, once I get caught-up the control of this skull-cramping weed may be much easier?

  • wmrn43a
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I have been successful in
    killing torpedo grass. Of course I do
    this on individual sprouts I see. I am
    careful not to spray a large area since this is trying to grow into my St. Augustine
    grass. I use a small diameter can, cut
    both ends open, insert the sprout of
    torpedo grass into the can spray into the can using a small spray container. This avoids over spraying and I do not have
    to re-sod. I may end up applying 2 times
    over a 2 week period but the Torpedo grass is killed. Yes, labor intense but I stay with it so it
    does not become a big problem.

    To mix 1 gal of RoundUp to
    Kill Torpedo Grass:

    I used I cup of RoundUp
    PowerMax (high concentration of glyphosate) to 1 gallon of water minus 1 cup.

    Add Ammonium Sulfate. ¼
    cup. Mix well. Why add?
    Water contains alkaline. Soils
    have the capacity to resist changes in pH. Some plants contain high levels of
    Ca (magnesium) in their intracellular spaces.
    High Ca levels between plant cells can reduce Roundup
    effectiveness.

    Some plants have natural
    defense mechanisms for reducing Roundup effectiveness. Upon misting the leaf
    surface of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti), the plant will release Ca from
    within the leaf onto the leaf surface!
    Nobody knows why this happens, but the effect is the same, Ca interferes
    with the ability of the glyphosate molecule to function properly inside the
    cell. Again, adding AS to the spray tank
    alleviates this physiologically-induced Ca interference.

    Add RoundUp – Higher the
    Concentration the more gets into the root/rhizome. 1.3oz = 1% concentration. Suggest 10.4% concentration. (8 x 1.3oz =
    10.4oz. which = 1 cup).

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    8 years ago

    I do something similar. I have a plastic mailing tube that was originally used to mail large documents like house plans, drawings and blueprints. I cut the ends off and now use it to selectively spray glyphosate (Roundup) on torpedo grass as it creeps from my neighbor's yard into my flowerbed. I don't dare let it cross the bed, or it will be into my lawn!

    I slip the tube over the torpedo grass shoot - no matter how tall, because my tube is about four feet long - insert the spray wand of my pump sprayer and coat that baby until it is soaking and dripping in poison. Wait a second, slip the tube off, and repeat on the next Torpedo grass shoot. I can do this procedure right next to a valuable plant/shrub and not get a drop of glyphosate on it. You do have to be very careful when you pick up the tube to move it so that any inside drips don't fall on anything unintended.


    Carol in Jacksonville

  • RichieD
    8 years ago

    I have it in my Florida vegetable garden and it's really super-hard to dig out. The rhizomes grew right through my weed barrier cloth and I'm finding them more than a foot deep.

    What I'm trying now is digging everything up with a grub hoe, getting out all the torpedo grass rhizomes and pine roots, then starting over on the planting beds. It's exhausting work, but I suppose it's good for me. The rhizomes tend to break into pieces, which you have to sift out of the soil to get rid of the grass. Leave one little piece with roots and it will come back in no time.

    My hope is that the darn stuff can't grow without sunshine, so I'm going to be meticulous about pulling any shoots that come up. It's basic science, plants need sunshine to make sugar and grow. I see this as a long, long project. It's even money as to who dies first, me or the torpedo grass. If there are still live rhizomes down there, but they're not spreading, I'll settle for that.

    I found lots of stuff online about this insidious weed, which has been called one of the very worst weeds in the entire world. I think Panicum repens is the right botanical name. It was brought here deliberately to use for cattle forage, and it turned out not to be worth much for that. Many of the worst weeds in the US were deliberately introduced by meddling people who should have left these plants where they belong.


  • dchall_san_antonio
    8 years ago

    Richie, why aren't you doing what the others have said works? They isolate the torpedo runners, spray with RoundUp, and it dies.

  • RichieD
    8 years ago

    My garden is organic. I don't use herbicides or pesticides in it unless they're approved for organic gardens and farms.

    Roundup contains glyphosate, a chemical that government agencies classify as "likely" to be carcinogenic. It does not dissipate within a short time as the manufacturer has claimed.

    My work with the grub hoe is going very well. I've cleared one of my planting beds completely. I've had torpedo grass invade before, and got rid of it when I processed the soil with the intensive methods I use in the planting beds.

    It's only recently that I noticed how invasive torpedo grass can be, so I'm going over the entire garden now with the grub hoe. I'm really fond of my grub hoe, it's a very powerful tool for ripping out pine roots and underground stolons that invade a garden at deeper levels. Regular garden hoes don't go deeply enough and they tend to break if you use them to clear thicker roots.


  • wmrn43a
    8 years ago

    Here are some other thoughts.

    • Solarization: If you are clearing a larger area of
      lawn, you can solarize it by covering with clear plastic for a month or
      two during the summer. The sun will bake everything underneath, leaving
      you with (hopefully) a clean slate in the fall.
    • Burning: Researchers at the South Florida Water
      Management Division have successfully managed torpedo grass by burning
      it during the winter, then spraying it with herbicide as soon as it
      starts to sprout again.
    • Pulling and Digging: Manually removing torpedo grass isn’t very effective, since the bits of broken plant spread and sprout anew!

    BASF Drive XLR8 Selective Herbicide is another product that kills torpedo grass. I know it can be used on zoysia grass and it will not hurt it. What if anything it may do to your garden I don't know. I have spoken to the people at BASF you might call them and ask.


  • mfa_2006
    8 years ago

    If all else fails, maybe you could saute the torpedo grass with a little organic butter and garlic.

  • j4c11
    8 years ago

    @RichieD

    Government agencies also said that you should limit your intake of eggs and many other foods because of cholesterol, only to change their mind a couple month ago and say that the cholesterol you ingest has little to no effect on cholesterol levels in your blood. They deprived generations and generations of good nutritious food with that one.

    They also recommended not feeding peanuts to small children to avoid peanut allergies, only to just recently do a 180 and say that actually, you should feed peanuts to small children to prevent them from developing peanut allergies later in life. They created generations and generations of adults with peanut allergies with that one.

    Just some food for thought.


  • dchall_san_antonio
    8 years ago

    If all else fails, maybe you could saute the torpedo grass with a little organic butter and garlic.

    I swear I've had that as a soup in Barbados.

  • reeljake
    8 years ago

    Apparently people in India make a tea out of Bermuda grass too. None for me, thanks!

  • Carol
    5 years ago

    I’ve been dealing with Torpedograss here in Florida for years. There’s no way to get rid of it even if you re sod because there’s some under the sidewalk or your neighbors yard. What I do as far as plants is bury them in the ground in their pot. It’s worked out for me.

  • wmrn43a
    5 years ago

    The roots of Torpedo grass are deep, up to 3 feet down. It is a rhizome root and the roots have in nodes. Usually if you use a normal weed killer the chemical only goes to the first node if that far but the rest of the root survives only to return next year or possibly sooner. I have usedRound-Up with a heavy glyphosate concentration of 50-55%. I mix a cup to 1 gallon of water which brings the concentration down to about 13%. It will go past the 1st node of the root and further. This of course kills St Augustine. If you are getting torpedo grass from another area I have found the best thing to do is kill out all your grass and replace with zoysia grass. This grass gets so thick no weed can grow in it. I did this for a neighbor 3 years ago and he no longer has torpedo grass in his yard. Torpedo grass has seeds these can blow onto your lawn or birds can spread by pooping.


  • dchall_san_antonio
    5 years ago

    This topic is full of working suggestions for getting rid of it. Just read it.