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What to do about creeping bentgrass invading my back yard? #926919

Asked March 27, 2026, 3:22 PM EDT

Hi! I live on around a 1 acre lot, and started to notice over the last couple years that some creeping bentgrass appears to be taking over more and more of my back yard. It's soft and spongy, and I didn't think much of for awhile until I noticed that it really doesn't handle fluctuating temperatures and dryer seasons. I'd say about half of the back yard (about 2/3's of the acre) is now creeping bentgrass. When it's ideal conditions, it's great but I know that isn't realistic to manage (especially since I don't have a sprinkler system). Even in ideal conditions, it appears splochty in comparison to the rest of my fescue sun/shade mix lawn. I'm looking for advice on how to approach this problem. I think ideally I don't want the creeping bent in the backyard anymore but not sure what the best, most practical way to resolve that is. I'd like to not have to do an entire lawn renovation, but understand that might be a possibility. I'm fairly committed to tackling this myself, but if a more practical solution would involve a turf expert company, I'd really appreciate any recommendations (along with advice if it would be something that might cost a lot to resolve). It would also be beneficial to understand the impact to the yard if I just left it and let it keep spreading throughout the yard. What could I expect to manage in that scenario. I feel kinda stuck and not sure how to approach this, and would really appreciate any insight you might be able to provide. I'll attach a photo of my backyard to give you a clearer idea of what I'm dealing with. The photo was taken a week or so after fall fertilizer (Scott's Turf Builder Triple Action, weighed appropriately per 1,000sqft, and it did a number on the creeping bentgrass but the fescue did just fine. The second photo, you can kinda see the splotchy-ness of the different turfs. Thank you so much for looking into this and assisting me

Hennepin County Minnesota

Expert Response

Thank you for writing.
This is the best research on this topic that I can find. It is critically important that you follow dosing instructions perfectly for the selective removal of bentgrass to work.  Even so, this takes a while.
This is the toxicity profile. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/registration/fs_PC-122990_04-Jun-01.pdf

Finally you should make your lawn less susceptible to invasion by shallow root weeds. Set your mower as high as possible 4 inches.  Cut only inch off at a time. The taller the grass, the deeper its roots.
Water no more than 1-2 times per week. Frequent weeding assists shallow rooted weeds. Heavy, less frequent watering goes deep to the grass roots.

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