How to Remove Pampas Grass
Pampas grass is an ornamental grass that produces large, decorative seed pods that look like the spray of a fountain when they disperse their seeds. The grass can appear exotic when it is first planted, but in the warm climates of the south and west, it can grow enormous and become invasive. If you want to remove pampas grass from your lawn, you can dig the grass up if it is small. But large clumps of pampas grass must be pulled out of the ground.
Treat pampas grass with a broad spectrum herbicide that contains glysophate. Allow the plant to die so that roots will easily release from the soil. Pampas grass blades will turn brittle and brown when the grass dies.
- Pampas grass is an ornamental grass that produces large, decorative seed pods that look like the spray of a fountain when they disperse their seeds.
- Pampas grass blades will turn brittle and brown when the grass dies.
Wrap the sheaf of grass with a piece of rope. The rope will help to hold the grass sheaf closed and help prevent the grass blades from cutting your skin if you come in contact with them.
Insert a shovel into the ground approximately 12 inches away from the sheaf of small pampas grass bundles. Work the shovel completely around the grass. Then slide the shovel under the grass and lift to remove the bundle from the ground.
Rent a truck with a winch attachment from an equipment store. This is a less labor- intensive method of removing large clumps pampas grass than digging.
- Wrap the sheaf of grass with a piece of rope.
- Insert a shovel into the ground approximately 12 inches away from the sheaf of small pampas grass bundles.
Wrap a winch cord around the base of a sheaf of pampas grass, and attach the hook on the end of the winch to the rope.
Water the soil around the pampas grass to loosen it. This will make the grass pull up from the soil easier.
Activate the winch and allow it to pull the bundle of pampas grass out of the ground.
Kill Pampas Grass
With its low maintenance requirements and ability to grow in areas where other plants cannot, pampas grass can quickly spread and become out of control. It grows between 6 and 10 feet tall in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 11. However, with determination it can be done. Forcefully jerk the grass out of the ground. Try to remove the entire root crown to reduce the chance of new plants sprouting. Bag all removed plants -- especially the ones that have gone to seed -- and send the bag to the landfill. Grasp several pampas grass stalks, bunching them together. Put on a pair of rubber gloves. Spray the cut stalks immediately with a ready-to-use herbicide containing glyphosate as the active ingredient. Repeat the treatment seven days later.
- Wrap a winch cord around the base of a sheaf of pampas grass, and attach the hook on the end of the winch to the rope.
- Water the soil around the pampas grass to loosen it.
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Writer Bio
Tracy Morris has been a freelance writer since 2000. She has published novels and numerous online articles. Her work has appeared in national magazines and newspapers including "Ferrets," "CatFancy," "Lexington Herald Leader" and "The Tulsa World." She holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Arkansas.
