Bermudagrass Control Guide: How to Stop, Suppress, and Manage Bermudagrass Effectively

This page is written for one clear purpose: to help you suppress bermudagrass as much as possible and, where conditions allow, kill it as effectively as possible.

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) is one of the most aggressive perennial grasses in the world. While it is intentionally planted as turf in some climates, it becomes a serious weed problem when it invades lawns, landscapes, crop borders, orchards, non-crop areas, and industrial sites where it is not wanted. Once established, bermudagrass spreads rapidly through stolons, rhizomes, and seed, making simple mowing or single-application treatments ineffective.

If you are here, you are likely not looking for a cosmetic improvement. You are looking for real control, meaning fewer plants, less regrowth, reduced spread, and long-term suppression. Achieving that requires understanding how bermudagrass grows, why it survives common treatments, and how control strategies must change by growth stage and use scenario.

What Is Bermudagrass and Why Is It Hard to Control?

Bermudagrass as Turfgrass vs Bermudagrass as a Weed

Bermudagrass occupies a unique position among grasses. In warm climates, it is widely used as a turfgrass because of its tolerance to heat, drought, and traffic. In places where it is intentionally planted, those same traits are considered advantages.

However, when bermudagrass appears in lawns, gardens, orchards, crop fields, or non-crop areas where it is not desired, those traits become serious liabilities. Bermudagrass does not respect boundaries. It spreads laterally, creeps under fences, invades planting beds, and competes aggressively with desirable plants for water and nutrients.

The key problem is not that bermudagrass grows fast. The problem is that it is structurally designed to survive damage.

Growth Habits That Make Bermudagrass Persistent

Bermudagrass spreads through three primary mechanisms:

Stolons (above-ground runners).
These allow bermudagrass to move horizontally across the soil surface. Even when cut or damaged, stolon fragments can root and form new plants.

Rhizomes (underground stems).
This is what makes bermudagrass exceptionally difficult to kill. Rhizomes store energy below the soil surface, allowing the plant to recover after mowing, drought, or herbicide injury. Many treatments damage leaves but leave rhizomes intact, leading to regrowth.

Seed production.
Although vegetative spread is dominant, bermudagrass also produces viable seed. Once a seedbank is established, new plants can continue to emerge even after visible plants are suppressed.

Because of these traits, bermudagrass rarely responds to single-event control. Any strategy aimed at killing or suppressing it must account for regrowth potential and repeated emergence.

Bermudagrass Control vs Bermudagrass Elimination

Why Complete Bermudagrass Eradication Is Rare

It is important to be direct: complete elimination of bermudagrass is difficult and often unrealistic, especially in open or unmanaged environments.

The reason is not product weakness. It is biology. As long as viable rhizomes remain in the soil, bermudagrass has the ability to return. Mechanical disturbance can even worsen the problem by breaking rhizomes into smaller pieces that each generate new plants.

This does not mean control efforts are pointless. It means success should be defined correctly.

What Successful Bermudagrass Suppression Looks Like

Effective bermudagrass suppression means:

• Killing above-ground growth repeatedly
• Weakening rhizome energy reserves over time
• Preventing new seedlings from establishing
• Reducing spread into adjacent areas

In professional weed management, bermudagrass is managed through pressure reduction over multiple cycles, not through a single “kill event”.

How to Get Rid of Bermudagrass: Control Strategies by Growth Stage

When Bermudagrass Is Actively Growing (Post-Emergent Phase)

Post-emergent control targets bermudagrass plants that are already visible and actively growing. This is the phase where users most often expect immediate results, and it is also where unrealistic expectations cause disappointment.

Post-emergent herbicides can kill or severely injure existing bermudagrass foliage, especially when plants are young and actively photosynthesizing. However, their ability to kill underground rhizomes varies widely by chemistry, timing, and application coverage.

Key factors that influence success include:

• Plant maturity (younger plants respond better)
• Environmental conditions (active growth improves uptake)
• Coverage and contact with foliage
• Whether the herbicide is systemic or contact-based

Late-season applications on mature bermudagrass often result in top-kill only, followed by regrowth from rhizomes.

When Bermudagrass Is Dormant or Re-Establishing (Pre-Emergent Phase)

Pre-emergent control does not kill established bermudagrass plants. Instead, it targets new seedlings emerging from seed. This distinction is critical.

Many failures occur because pre-emergent herbicides are expected to control mature bermudagrass. They do not. Their value lies in preventing new infestations from replacing plants that have been killed or weakened by post-emergent treatments.

In long-term suppression programs, pre-emergent control is often the difference between temporary improvement and sustained control.

Pre-Emergent vs Post-Emergent Bermudagrass Control

What Pre-Emergent Herbicides Can and Cannot Do

Pre-emergent herbicides interfere with early root or shoot development during germination. When timed correctly, they reduce the number of new bermudagrass plants that establish.

They cannot:

• Kill existing bermudagrass
• Control plants spreading from rhizomes

They can:

• Reduce seedling pressure
• Slow reinfestation
• Support long-term suppression programs

What Post-Emergent Herbicides Can and Cannot Do

Post-emergent herbicides act on existing plants. Depending on the active ingredient, they may be contact or systemic.

They can:

• Kill above-ground growth
• Reduce vigor
• Suppress spread

They cannot reliably:

• Eliminate all rhizomes in a single application
• Prevent new seedlings without pre-emergent support

Successful bermudagrass control programs use both, not one or the other.

Bermudagrass Control Methods Beyond Herbicides

Cultural and Mechanical Control Limitations

Mechanical removal, tillage, solarization, and shading are sometimes used as supplementary tools. These methods can reduce bermudagrass pressure but rarely solve the problem alone.

Tillage often fragments rhizomes. Shading can slow growth but not kill established plants. Solarization requires long durations and ideal environmental conditions.

For serious infestations, non-chemical methods are supportive, not primary, when the objective is maximum suppression or killing.

Choosing the Right Bermudagrass Herbicide by Use Scenario

Herbicides for Bermudagrass Control in Turf and Lawns

In turf systems, the challenge is selective control: suppressing bermudagrass without destroying desirable grass species. This significantly narrows herbicide options and makes timing critical.

Post-emergent grass-selective herbicides are commonly used where label permits. These products suppress bermudagrass growth and reduce spread, but repeated applications are often required to weaken rhizomes.

Pre-emergent herbicides are used to prevent seed-based reinfestation, especially along turf edges and disturbed areas.

Herbicides for Bermudagrass Suppression in Non-Crop Areas

In non-crop areas such as roadsides, industrial zones, and infrastructure corridors, control objectives differ. Selectivity may not be required, allowing for stronger systemic options.

In these scenarios, non-selective herbicides are often used to kill bermudagrass foliage aggressively, followed by repeated treatments to exhaust rhizome reserves. Pre-emergent herbicides are then applied to limit recolonization.

Common Active Ingredients Used for Bermudagrass Control

Pre-Emergent Active Ingredients Commonly Used

Pre-emergent herbicides widely used in bermudagrass management programs include:

• Prodiamine – long residual activity, commonly used for season-long prevention
• Pendimethalin – effective barrier when applied before germination
• Dithiopyr – provides early post-emergent activity on very young seedlings
• Oxadiazon – contact-type pre-emergent often used in turf and non-crop areas

These products target seedling establishment, not established plants.

Post-Emergent Active Ingredients Commonly Used

Post-emergent control options vary by use site and regulation:

• Glyphosate – non-selective, systemic, commonly used in non-crop and renovation scenarios
• Fluazifop-P-butyl, Clethodim, Sethoxydim – grass-selective herbicides used in specific crop or turf contexts
• Atrazine – used in limited scenarios and regions; subject to strict regulatory controls

Atrazine deserves special mention. While effective against certain grasses under specific conditions, its use is highly regulated and restricted in many countries. Any application must strictly follow local laws and label directions.

Is There a “Best” Herbicide for Bermudagrass?

Why There Is No Single Best Option

There is no universally best herbicide for bermudagrass because bermudagrass control is context-dependent. The best choice depends on:

• Growth stage
• Desired vegetation protection
• Site type (turf, crop, non-crop)
• Regulatory environment

A product that works well in one scenario may be unacceptable or ineffective in another.

How Professionals Decide What Works Best

Professional programs evaluate:

• Whether suppression or complete kill is the objective
• How much regrowth can be tolerated
• Whether long-term prevention is in place
• How products fit into rotation strategies

This decision framework matters more than brand or formulation.

Bermudagrass Control FAQs

How to get rid of bermudagrass permanently?

Permanent elimination is rare. The most reliable results come from repeated suppression combined with prevention, gradually reducing rhizome strength and seedbank pressure.

What kills bermudagrass most effectively?

Aggressive post-emergent herbicides kill visible growth most effectively, especially when plants are actively growing. However, without follow-up and prevention, regrowth is common.

Can bermudagrass be controlled without chemicals?

Non-chemical methods alone rarely provide lasting control for established bermudagrass. They are most effective when used alongside chemical strategies.

Why does bermudagrass keep coming back?

Because underground rhizomes survive many treatments, and seeds continue to germinate. Control requires persistence, not one-time action.

Final Thoughts on Bermudagrass Control

If your goal is to suppress bermudagrass as much as possible and kill it wherever conditions allow, you must think in terms of programs, not products.

Effective bermudagrass control is built on stage-based strategies, correct herbicide selection, repeated pressure, and prevention of reinfestation. When these elements are combined, bermudagrass can be pushed back significantly instead of repeatedly returning.

Always follow product labels and local regulations, and align control strategies with your specific site conditions.