Post-Emergent: Southern Ag 2,4-D Amine

Where do you get it? #

Southern Ag Amine 24-D Weed Killer, White Bottle

Why should you buy it? #

Southern Ag Amine 24-D Weed Killer is a herbicide that should be used only if you have existing weeds coming up because you didn’t put down a pre-emergent at the right time according to our guide. Ideally, you want pre-emergent + a thick healthy Bermuda grass lawn to drown out any weeds and prevent them from growing. You should ideally never have to use a post-emergent herbicide.

The other option is to follow our guide with the pre-emergents and fertilizer and simply ignore your weeds for a while until your lawn is healthy again. You just have to keep mowing them down and ignore that they come up higher and quicker than your grass for a small period of time.

Tenacity herbicide is very popular for Bermuda grass weed control but also extremely pricey.  It is more of a specialty weed killer.  The 24-D Amine is just as effective in killing all the popular Bermuda grass weeds we face in Texas at a fraction of the cost. 24-D Amine will work against all broadleaf weeds including crabgrass. It will not work against monocots (grass-like weeds) like Poa Annua (Annual Bluegrass) which is a grassy weed. You will need to use a pre-emergent to prevent Poa Annua (Annual Bluegrass) weeds or use Image Herbicide if they are already growing and you need to kill them quickly.

What’s in it? #

The active ingredient in “2,4-D AMINE” is “2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D)” which will selectively kill broadleaf weeds and has been around since the 1940’s. Dimethylamine salt will stick to the leaves of certain weeds and cause it to burn and die. You can read more about it on the EPA website and NCBI website.

It will not kill Bermuda grass but it will stunt it’s growth temporarily. It almost acts like a grass growth regulator in this way. Your weeds will turn yellow and die but your grass will be green and just grow a little bit slower than normal.

Here is a closeup of the label:

How do you use it? #

Do not buy a surfactant to go with this as it will be a waste of money.  It is true that many weeds are hydrophobic so liquids bead on them and don’t cling. You can just mix a little bit of Dawn dish soap into your sprayer after mixing your solution which will act just like a surfactant as you spray and breaks the water tension allowing the herbicide to stick to the blades of the weeds. 

A 32 oz bottle (1 quart) diluted can cover up to 2 acres (87,120 sq ft) so this will last you many seasons.  Spot treat your weeds only with this.  I do not recommend spraying it all over your grass as it will stunt it’s growth. Dilute at 2 oz. per gallon of water and a teaspoon of dish soap and test on a few test weeds on your lawn to monitor how long it takes to work at that dilution before spraying other weeds later. 

Ensure you are wearing proper PPE (gloves, goggles, and rubber boots) as it’s a very strong product and does have hazards listed here to be aware of. It is very toxic to fish when in ester form, and this isn’t, but as a precaution, I would not recommend using it around ponds.  Though it’s safe on bermudagrass, again, do not spray your whole lawn with it as it can slow bermudagrass growth.

It will take between 7-14 days for the weeds to die after they have been sprayed. It will be absorbed by the weeds within 48 hours. You will notice them start to whiten. A few days in you may be able to walk up to some weeds and pull them up easily because the roots have gotten so weak. Just leave them alone and they will wither and die on their own. You may also notice surrounding bermuda grass yellow a bit but it will bounce back.

Spray it in the evening as the sun goes down so it doesn’t evaporate off the leaves. Ensure that the daytime temperatures are in the 80’s or below. Don’t put it down in the summer or it will hurt your grass too much. Make sure it won’t rain for 48 hours after application so the weeds have time to fully absorb it. Don’t run your sprinklers either for 48 hours.