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Hi all,
I live in CT and I have a lot of crabgrass in my yard (CT). They all yellow now because they are dead. Do I need to detach/ remove them so I can seed grass? Or this dead crabgrass will disappear in the spring if I use pre-emerging crabgrass preventer? Thanks in advance!

Crabgrass is a perenial. It comes back every year. Pre emergent is a good idea to fix this problem.

I would try dethacthing also to see how that works.

Crabgrass is an amazing weed. If it didn't die in the winter, some say they would just cultivate it and let it be their lawn. In Hawaii, there is a variety of Zoysia that looks just like Crabgrass. Sometimes I wonder if it is and we're being told it is really Zoysia just to throw us off.

On your lawn in New England, seed has no doubt already dropped from this years plants and those seeds will be up in the Spring. While pre-emergent helps, I have found that the best way to rid your lawn of Crabgrass is to be diligent about Crabgrass killer during the growing season. I use Ortho "Weed-B-Gon Max plus Crabgrass Control" with very good results. You have to be patient. Crabgrass can take weeks to die from an application. During the heaviest growing times, I spray once a week. I only spray on active Crabgrass rather than the entire lawn. At the SAME TIME, I drop fresh GRASS SEED to fill in what is about to die from my spraying.

This method has worked wonders for me. My neighbor has let his entire yard go to Crab, and it invades my lawn something terrible. I spray on his side as I see the invading Crab inch toward me diligently to stop it dead. Literally. Then I reseed with grass seed.

Cutting your lawn high enough to CHOKE OUT emerging Crabgrass is important too. A healthy THICK lawn will keep all weeds at bay including Crabgrass. My neighbor scalps his lawn weekly in the Summer. Thus his horrible Crabgrass problem.

Good luck!

actually you'd want a post emergent, and don't over seed for 6, because of the chemicals active period. if want to over seed now just know its a little late in the season. you may not get the results you where hoping for

I didnt know post emergent existed. Then again, the U.S has a bunch of lawn products. More than here.
It would of been good to overseed a few weeks back to dominate the crab grass. I talked with some one in the fert biz and he said that crabgrass is weak and it was a good idea to hit it hard with grass seed and as stated mow tall to choke it.

Forget the chemicals. Take your lawnmower and cut the crabgrass short. Keep the clippings. Now rake the crabgrass out hard. Get right down into the dirt. Spread one third of your seed over the area. Now rake it out hard again going the opposite direction. Now spread another third of your seed. Pick all the clipping up and raked debris and spread it out over the area. Spread the last third of the seed and work it all down firm with the back side of your rake. Walk the area down good. Water it and walk it in again. Then water it a couple times a day until the grass comes up. If it survives the winter come spring fertilize it with a starter fertilizer. Add more seed if needed. start mowing it just as often as you can get it to grow to three inches all spring. You can start killing crabgrass after its been mowed a few times with post emergence herbicides like Weedbgone plus crabgrass killer. You can also start using pre emergent herbicides after your grass is well established in the late spring after being mowed several times. I have done this about a hundred times with cool season grass seeded into crabgrass. It works darn near every time but a month earlier would be better.

possum said:

Forget the chemicals. Take your lawnmower and cut the crabgrass short. Keep the clippings. Now rake the crabgrass out hard. Get right down into the dirt. Spread one third of your seed over the area. Now rake it out hard again going the opposite direction. Now spread another third of your seed. Pick all the clipping up and raked debris and spread it out over the area. Spread the last third of the seed and work it all down firm with the back side of your rake. Walk the area down good. Water it and walk it in again. Then water it a couple times a day until the grass comes up. If it survives the winter come spring fertilize it with a starter fertilizer. Add more seed if needed. start mowing it just as often as you can get it to grow to three inches all spring. You can start killing crabgrass after its been mowed a few times with post emergence herbicides like Weedbgone plus crabgrass killer. You can also start using pre emergent herbicides after your grass is well established in the late spring after being mowed several times. I have done this about a hundred times with cool season grass seeded into crabgrass. It works darn near every time but a month earlier would be better.

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not sure about weed b gone, I'd just mix some pbi Gorden redline in the sprayer tank and spray the entire lawn. but I'm sure whatever you're talking about works to. your best option is hire a lawn care professional with a chemical license, and some kind of turf management certificate.