5 Ways to Stop Grass Runners in Their Tracks

Grass runners are one of the ways that grass spreads and continues it’s growing. This can be great when you are trying to get your grass to cover bare patches or to take over other areas and cover large areas. That said, for many others, there are times when grass runners are not wanted, or needed and need to be tended to and stopped in their tracks.

Whilst most varieties of grass that send out runners can be a great benefit. Specific varieties can also quite problematic when they are invading your garden bed or taking over your pathways.

How then do you stop the grass runners from spreading?

• Build some garden edging. Whether it is plastic, wood or stone, garden edging installed all the way around the space you want to keep grass free will help prevent runners from taking root and taking over your garden.
• Invest in a lawn edger. These can be picked up for reasonable prices at your local garden store or Bunnings. They are quick, effective and the best part, easy to use.
• Dethatch your lawn on a regular basis. You don’t want to dethatch to a deeper level, as that can destroy your entire lawn. Instead, you want to just set it on a really shallow setting and let it remove the runners and thatching on the upper areas of your lawn instead.
• If you are not dealing with a huge outbreak of runners, or are simply removing them from a smaller area you can always just dig them out as well. Of course, this method won’t work in runners that have taken over your lawn. Or even in runners that have taken over larger areas but it will work in much smaller, confined spaces like a small garden bed.

Choosing the right lawn variety

Ultimately the best way to ensure you do not have issues with your lawn invading unwanted areas is to select the right variety. Choosing a lower maintenance lawn, which is slower growing is the most effective way to prevent unwanted grass in your garden beds and pathways. When installing your lawn consider purchasing a variety such as a buffalo, zoysia or couch lawn over an invasive variety such as kikuyu. Choosing a buffalo lawn is ultimately the better option as it is not an invasive grass variety, yet also is tough; tolerating wear and tear over other varieties. 

Depending on what type of runners you are dealing with, where they are and how severe the problem will determine the best ways to stop them in their tracks. If you are having no success in curbing them, or need some more ideas, our team at Greener Lawn will be happy to provide you the advice and expertise needed to overcome grass runners. Visit us today.