Lawn Weeds and Allergies

Lawn Weeds and Allergies: Yes, There's a Connection

You already know that lawn weeds are ugly, nasty, and thoroughly unpleasant, but did you know that you can be allergic to weeds? Airborne weed pollen can trigger allergy symptoms. Some of the offenders include dandelions, ragweed, lambsquarters, plantain, and pigweed.

If you suffer from allergies, there's no need to tell you that the itchy, watery eyes, sinus congestion, sneezing, coughing, and wheezing can make getting through the day difficult. Though not as common, skin reactions like eczema or hives can have you itching all through allergy season. More severe symptoms can knock you out for a couple of days or even weeks. 

Your first step to managing your allergies should always be to consult with your doctor for the best course of treatment, especially if you have severe symptoms. However, you can take other steps to help save yourself from a headache—literally—like tackling the weeds in your lawn and landscape. 

How to Keep Problem Weeds from Taking Over

While you can't control all the pollen and seeds in the air, you can control the weeds in your yard. Take these steps to control weeds in your lawn:

• Help your grass grow thick and strong by feeding it regularly. Thicker grass naturally crowds out weeds by preventing weed seeds' access to light. It also traps dust, dirt, and extra pollen floating by. 
• Mow your lawn at the proper height for your grass type, which in most cases is one of the 2 highest settings on your mower. Mowing also helps your grass grow thicker blades, which helps deprive weed seeds of their sunlight and keep them from sprouting.
• If you're allergic to grass, contact a pro to help you out and make sure they understand how you want your lawn maintained and mowed to help eliminate weeds.

How to Treat the Weeds in Your Lawn

If it's late spring, you may already have weeds taking over your lawn before getting a chance to crowd them out. The good news is you can tackle those pesky weeds that have already sprouted. Of course, you could always pull weeds one by one. Depending on your weed problem, this strategy can be time consuming, and more time spent with weeds is more time spent with pollen that can activate your allergy symptoms. We recommend doing things the easy way with an herbicide to kill weeds.

If you have lots of weeds in your lawn, apply Ortho® WeedClear™ Lawn Weed Killer Concentrate (North) using the Ortho® Dial N Spray® Hose End Sprayer. This weed control product kills listed weeds, including dandelions, ragweed, lambquarters, and other weeds that may cause allergies, without harming your lawn when used as directed. If you only see a few weeds here and there, spot-treat them with Ortho® WeedClear™ Lawn Weed Killer Ready-to-Use (North). 

For those in the South, use Ortho® WeedClear™ Lawn Weed Killer Ready-to-Use₁ (South) products to treat your lawn for weeds. This also kills listed weeds, but it's formulated to be used on turfgrasses commonly found in Southern regions without harming them (when used as directed).

How to Treat Weeds in Your Landscaping

Unfortunately, weeds don't just live in your lawn—they can also sprout in your landscaping and areas like patios, driveways, sidewalks, and gravel or mulch beds. Kill any weeds that have popped up in these areas by using Ortho GroundClear Year Long Vegetation Killer with Comfort Wand. It gets rid of weeds fast—and for good—by reaching them at their roots.

Allergy Season in Your Area

If you suffer from allergies, you probably know when they kick in. It depends on what you're allergic to, but in general, there are three allergy seasons: spring, summer, and fall. With trees and flowers in bloom, spring is often the worst for allergy sufferers. 

Grass and weed allergies tend to be more prevalent in the summer and fall months, with ragweed as one of the biggest allergens in fall. It's a good idea to start checking your lawn and landscape in summer for weeds that might cause a problem. Even better, get ahead of the problem by using a weed and feed product in spring to crowd out and kill lawn weeds before they can happen. If you have questions about selecting the right weed and feed product, our friends at Scotts have you covered.

Exact allergy seasons can vary by area. For instance, those in the South can find themselves sneezing even in winter. It's a good idea to check your local news and weather reports for pollen counts. You can't stop plants from producing pollen, but staying aware of what's in the air and taking steps to manage your own yard can help you survive this year's round of allergies.