Yes, Fusilade II Herbicide would be a great and lower cost alternative to the Pylex herbicide. It can be used in a fescue lawn to kill bermuda grass. It can be VERY difficult to kill completely, and will take multiple treatment to get it done but Fusilade II is usually the go to product for this issue.
This is directly off the product label:
Apply 0.07-0.14 oz/1000 sq. ft (3-6 oz/A) along with 0.25% V/V (1/2 pt./25 gals.) of non ionic surfactant. Application should be made every 28 days when the grass weeds are actively growing. The higher rates may result in temporary discolorization of the desirable turf with recovery in 10-14 day. Do not apply to desirable turf under stress. For best results, make applications in spring and fall and avoid treatments during July and August.
Complete control of undesirable grass may take 1-2 growing seasons.
We recommend calling your local county extension office as they usually know the optimum times for spraying lawns in your area.
Pylex Herbicide should be applied when you are not expecting rainfall 24 hrs following the application after it has dried completely.
There are two application options for using Pylex Herbicide to treat for dallisgrass and bermudagrass. Please refer to the product label and chart below.
Option A: 3 applications at 0.023 to 0.030 fl oz per 1,000 sq ft applied at 3-4 week intervals
* First application mid to late summer or approx 9-12 weeks before fall resseding period for cool season grasses.
Option B: 2 applications at 0.034 fl oz per 1,000 sq ft applied at 3-4 week intervals.
* First applciation mid to late summer or approx 6-8 weeks before fall resseding period for cool season grasses.
Pylex Herbicide is mixed at 0.023 - 0.034 oz. per 0.75 gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft. The amount of the surfactant will vary depending on the one that you have and dilutions can be found on the product label.
Pylex Herbicide states on the product label that MSO is the only type of surfactant that would be safe to mix with it. For bermudagrass it does state you need to do so and tank mix with a triclopyr product so would be safe when used as directed. Be sure to not apply to fescue during the heat of the day or when it is stressed by drought.
Pylex Herbicide does come in a tip and pour measuring bottle. If smaller amounts need to be measured, most folks will get a child’s medicine dropper or other pipette from a local pharmacy to measure. These are almost always free.
Yes, on page 4 of the Pylex Herbicide Label it states you can combine Triclopyr Ester with Pylex Herbicide for better control of bermuda grass in cool season grass. It may take multiple years of applications to completely control bermuda grass in cool season grass. Please read and follow the label instructions.
Pylex Herbicide is best applied with a crop oil or methylated seed oil surfactant. We would suggest using Dynamic or Prime Source Duo Stick.
Pylex Herbicide is mixed at 0.023 - 0.046 oz. per 1,000 sq. ft. So if takes you 2 gallons to cover the 1000, you would use 0.069 to 0.138 fl oz in 6 gallons to cover 3000 sq. ft.
Pylex Herbicide states on the label when using for selective control of bermudagrass in cool season turfgrass you should wait 3 weeks after the final treatment. That is the time to follow.
Pylex Herbicide is labeled for use in bluegrass and fescue turf, and it should at least suppress the zoysia. Please see the product label for complete application instructions.
It is recommended that you wait at least 28 days after applying Pylex Herbicide to reseed your lawn.
We apologize, but there is not a product similar to Pylex that is lower in cost.
Pylex Herbicide is a broad spectrum, systemic post-emergence herbicide for residential spot spraying and is not labeled for nutsedge. You would either want to use Sedgehammer Herbicide or Dismiss Turf Herbicide for post emergent control of your nutsedge. Both will do a great job and cover a large area. The Sedghammer is primarily for Yellow and Purple Nutsedge and Kyllinga. Each bottle of Sedgehammer would treat roughly 1 acre so you would need 6 of these to complete the treatment. The Dismiss covers sedges as well as may other broadleaf weeds in established lawns. The Dismiss gets used at the rate of 8-12 ounces per acre for Bermuda grass so at the lower dilution you would need 8 bottles to cover all 6 acres of your property as a broadcast spray. A surfactant is not needed with the dismiss, however if you use the 1.33 ounce bottle of Sedgehammer a surfactant would be required. These are the top products on the market for nutsedge control. There are no products on the market that will control nutsedge as a pre-emergent. We can not offer any information on MSMA as it is no longer on the market for purchase. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
We would suggest using the Non-Ionic Surfactant for Herbicides with Pylex Herbicide. The use will increase the effectiveness.
Pylex Herbicide is only labeled for spot treating the actively growing weeds on residential turfgrass and athletic fields to limit contact with people and pets who would use the area once dry.
Although it can be used to eliminate Bermuda grass, Pylex Herbicide cannot be applied to St. Augustine grass. Unfortunately, Bermuda grass is so closely related to St. Augustine grass that there is nothing that will remove Bermuda from St. Augustine without also harming the St. Augustine as well. In your situation it is recommended to spot treat the Bermuda with a nonselective herbicide such as Roundup QuikPro, and then replant/resod with St. Augustine in those areas in a couple of weeks when the Bermuda is gone.
We would not recommend using Pylex Herbicide in a hose-end sprayer since it has very low use rates that would be extremely difficult to apply accurately using a hose-end sprayer. If you are going to be mixing multiple products together, it would be much more accurate to use a tank sprayer so that you can be sure you're using the correct rates for each of the products you are mixing. Please refer to the chart on page 7 of the product label here for rates and program options for controlling Bermudagrass.
