July 2014 Update

Yes, I'm still battling the torpedo grass in my yard.  This year I was unable to find the Sethoxydim product I have been using in previous years (pictures on previous pages), but was able to purchase a product called Vantage, which contains Sethoxydim. I'm posting a couple of pictures taken about 3 weeks after a recent application.  Vantage recommends 2 different mixtures depending on infestation.  Of course I chose the stronger application since I'm battling something that never get killed.  I believe that was 3 tablespoons per gallon.  I'm happy with the results.

The yellow grass is the dead tips of the torpedo grass in the midst of my centipede yard.

I pulled off one of the torpedo grass tips to show how far back the torpedo grass has been killed. 
the Vantage clearly hasn't killed the torpedo grass, but it definitely stops it from growing.  A constant spraying program keeps it from feeding the roots and spreading.  Since my infestation isn't nearly as bad as earlier years I believe it actually causes some of the rhizomes to die eventually, but not without constant spraying.

We had a pretty hard winter here in South Louisiana in 2013/2014.  I noticed the torpedo grass was very slow to start growing again this spring.  I guess that explains why people further north have no problem with it.  It appears unable to survive harsh winters.  I'd almost welcome a very harsh winter just to kill off some of this stuff!  But that would kill my orange trees, so I guess not.

Till next time!

 

August 2013 Torpedo Grass Battle Update

I've been in the torpedo grass battle for about 4 years now.  Only the last 3 have I actually been spraying aggressively.  Looking back, I must admit there were times when I didn't think I could win.  But looking back at pictures of my lawn before I started spraying, and comparing those with new photos, it is clear that I'm ahead in the struggle.

Look at this original picture from July 2009...  Those dead looking areas were places I was sitting on the ground (for hours) and painstakingly painting the torpedo grass tips with Roundup and a very tiny brush.  As you can see, the entire lawn area in the picture was infested with the exception of the far right from the trees to the fence.  It is hard to tell from the photo, but torpedo grass is the dominate grass in the entire area.

 

Now, fast forward to today, August 4, 2013 and look at the same area.  I'd like to say there was no torpedo grass left, but that would be a lie.  However, where once it was the dominate grass, it now is getting scarce and the centipede is flourishing. 

 

 

I do still broadcast spray this area with sethoxydim, but now I can spot spray pop-ups and keep the torpedo at bay.

 

Here is a picture of torpedo popping up in this lawn area, even though it was broadcast about 10 days ago.  Obviously this torpedo tip had not yet surfaced when sprayed, or perhaps it was just hidden under a centipede sprig.  Regardless, I can now come back and spray this pop-up and keep the entire torpedo infestation on the run.

 

If you've been following this from the beginning, here is a 2009 picture of the other lawn area infested with torpedo grass.  Look for a distinct color change on the back half of the picture.  That entire area was overrun with torpedo grass.

 

Here is a current photo (Aug. 4, 2013) of the same area.  The torpedo grass is hardly noticeable.  It is still there, but certainly not in the quantity is was 4 years ago.

 

As I said, it is still here as seen in the photo below.

If you look closely you can see the torpedo grass pop-ups, but considering 4 years ago torpedo grass was dominate, I can definitely say I am winning the battle.

 

 

I thought I should update this as people occasionally still stop by.  I guess that means not everyone has given up the fight to control their torpedo grass.  Most people in my area have simply surrendered.

To sum up the current situation, I have the torpedo grass on the run.  I certainly haven't eradicated it, but with frequent spraying using any product containing the active ingredient "sethoxydim", I can keep it from growing.  It takes about 2 weeks to see the initial results, but with regular spraying I actually feel I am winning the war.  It is a war of attrition I'll admit, but I am winning.  Now, if I just live long enough I can claim victory.

Just to reinforce... sethoxydim only works on centipede lawns.  It kills St Augustine, or so I've been warned.  Of course I haven't tried it, but if the instructions say don't do it, it's probably a good idea not to test it out.  An upside for me, it also kills Bermuda Grass... another bane of the south.  I hate Bermuda too, although not as much as torpedo grass.  Anyway, I also control infestations of Bermuda when spraying for the torpedo grass.

The downside... it is expensive.  I pay around $50 for a pint bottle of the grass killer I use (see earlier updates) and it takes 4 gallons of mix, or 4 ounces of grass killer, to cover my infected area.  With only 16 ounces in a pint, I can get 4 sprays out of a pint.  I'm spraying every 1 1/2-2 weeks so I go through 3-4 bottles each summer.  Not everyone is willing to pay $200/year to fight what seems to be a never-ending battle.

I'll try to remember to publish some updated photos later.  Good luck if you're fighting the same battle.

I'm not promoting this product.  This is the only product I can find with the active ingredient "sethoxydim".  It works on torpedo grass in centipede, to some extent.

 

7-10 days after spraying with sethoxydim you will see the last growing tip of the torpedo grass turn yellow.  Gradually the growing tip will die back.

 

This was an area I accidently spilled "weed and feed" in early spring.  It killed my centipede, but the torpedo grass was elated to have food and space.  It flourished briefly until I began my Spring spraying campaign.  That dead grass in the middle is torpedo grass after several treatments over 2-3 months.  The Centipede is beginning to retake the vacant area.

 

 

 

December Update - Torpedo Grass Battle

We've had quite a bit of cool weather recently which stopped all the grass in the yard from growing, but I'm going to post some pictures to show the impact the Vantage has had. I don't think I'll be able to rejoin the battle until spring 2010 when the grass begins to grow again, but I'm convinced I have turned the tide. Using Vantage (sethoxydim) to stunt the torpedo grass growth, and my "paint by number tactical strike" using roundup around the edges, I'm convinced that next year I will make great strides in eradicating torpedo from my yard.

Till next time... The Torpedo Grass Killer

Sorry for my shadow in picture.  You can see where the torpedo grass infestation begins with the change to brown about the top of my head.  I thought the Vantage (sethoxydim) was really having a big impact, but later discovered that the torpedo is just less tolerant of cool weather and frost.  When Spring arrived, the torpedo grass was back in fine form.

Area of torpedo grass killed back with my tiny paintbrush and Roundup method.  This is effective in driving torpedo grass back around edges of infected area, but not very realistic when facing large areas.

 

 

Torpedo Grass Control

If you will carefully look at the top photo above you will see a line about 1/2 way across my front lawn. The foreground is uninfested centipede sod. The distant area (which actually looks better in the picture) is heavily infested by torpedo grass. Photos taken Oct. 25th, 2009. The picture immediately below it is the same view on Dec. 5th after a bit of cool weather. The important part is the infested area has been treated with 2 broadcast sprays of Vantage. While the cool weather has caused all the grass to start turning brown, the torpedo grass is dying... or at least some of it is.

I've been fighting a torpedo grass invasion in my cedtipede lawn for almost 6 years. I live in southern LA (that's Louisiana, not Los Angeles, for those who might be confused). When we built our new home in 2003 the fill dirt was hauled in from behind the Mississippi River levees. Most of the dirt was OK, but some loads came pre-infested with torpedo grass, which was introduced in this area to control levee erosion (or so I've read). I put down centipede sod and everything looked great for a year or two, but gradually the torpedo grass came through and began to spread. I had no idea what it was and tried to control it initially by normal weed and feed process, pulling it up, and ignoring it. I soon realized that ignoring it was a mistake, but still didn't know what it was.

I began searching the internet to find help. After learning what it was I was dumfounded to discover there was nothing that could be done. Most advice consisted of humorous sugestions to "move" as a solution to avoid the stuff. The information did reinforce my own experience that it was very invasive, very aggresive, and very tolerant of flooding, drought, full sun, no sun, no matter what... it would grow just fine. It was also apparently resistant to any chemical treatment that wouldn't also kill my centipede.

In the spring of 2008 I stopped by my local County Agent's office to ask for help. He said basically the same thing I'd read on the internet, that there's nothing you can do. I went home discouraged, but a few hours later the agent called me and said that he had been contacted by a professor with the LSU ag center looking for test plots for a graduate student's work on torpedo grass. He asked if I'd be willing to allow them to use my yard. I quickly agreed.

The LSU people inspected the yard and agreed it would be a good test plot. They blocked off 2 areas in the worst infected areas of about 24' x 36' subdivided into 4' square blocks and marked with turf paint. They had a CO2 powered sprayer with a 4' wide head which sprayed evenly across the 4' blocks. It was about as scientific as possible for such an operation. Each block was sprayed with a different chemical, and some control blocks with nothing.  Every 2 weeks they would record the impact of their efforts, then spray again. I was hoping the test might result in some control, but because most of the chemicals were ineffective not much was accomplished. I believe the paper was published, but I've never seen it on the web. The grad student left me a small bottle of the chemical he said was most effective. The name I thought he gave the chemical was clethodim (sp?) and that I could get it through a chemical supply house. I haven't seen a brand name weed killer with this active ingredient and don't have access to a chemical supply house. He said it would not completely control the torpedo grass but would stunt it and perhaps kill it back for 2 or 3 nodes. He suggested broadcasting it at a weak rate since it does damage the centipede also. The tips of the centipede grass would turn a dark reddish brown after application, but no permanent harm was done. It would kill the tips of the torpedo grass.

I had to stop my battle during the winter of 2008 since nothing was growing, torpedo or cendipede. In mid-summer 2009 I again began applying the clethodim, but ran out after 2 applications and honestly couldn't tell that it was doing anything. I wasn't yet ready to surrender to the infestation. Most of my neighbors have given up, or have never tried to get rid of the stuff, and maybe they are better off. But, I felt I had to do something. After the frustration with the clethodim I decided I would eat the elephant one bite at a time. I mixed up a small bottle of roundup at a stronger than recommended rate, borrowed one of my wife's paint brushes (you know, tiny ones for painting on canvas) and began my assault on the torpedo grass.

I started my "paint by number campaign" by dipping the brush in the roundup, then touching it to the ends of the torpedo grass around the outer edges of the infected area. Without going into detail, the method is effective and after several applications you can begin to drive the torpedo grass back. Of course if you accidently get some of the Roundup on the centepede you will kill it also. After sitting on the ground and bending over for hours just to cover a small area I would stand up and look at the huge infected area an get discouraged. The magnitude of the task seemed overwhelming. I just had to remind myself that if every day I killed more torpedo grass than it could grow that day, eventually I would win... if I lived long enough. As soon as I figure out how to do so I will post some pictures of the battle.

 

 

The only grass killer that seems to actually kill torpedo grass is roundup or the roundup generic equivalents, and it takes several applications to completely eradicate it from any area. Unfortunately Roundup is even more deadly to my Centepede grass. I had read on the internet that a chemical under the brand name Vantage could be used for control on centipede lawns, so I began searching for the product. I finally found a small container of the liquid gold at a feed & seed store and mortgaged my house to buy bottle.

I've applied Vantage to the infested area twice now and am encouraged by the results. Although the cold weather (it's December 2009 here now) has stopped the entire yard from growing, I was able to see the impact of the Vantage before the cool weather shut down everything. I'll also post pictures of that when I learn how to do so. With roundup herbicide, you get fast food results. Usually within 2-3 days you can see the torpedo grass beginning to turn yellow, but I've discovered the Vantage works much more slowly. The first indication that you've even sprayed the stuff comes 7-8 days later and the impact becomes more and more noticeable for 2-3 weeks. As far as I can tell it has not damaged my centipede as much as the clethodim, and without a doubt has impacted the torpedo grass more. The active ingredient in Vantage is sethoxydim and the bottle I purchased was distributed by Southern Agricultural Insecticides, Inc.. The name on the bottle simply says "GRASS KILLER contains VANTAGE herbicide.

You can read more about sethoxydim here: http://www.invasive.org/gist/products/handbook/19.Sethoxydim.pdf