Taking care of a traditional grass lawn can take a lot of time and resources. Lots of homeowners try to keep their yards pristine using herbicides to kill weeds, but this can lead to disaster. One person learned this the hard way when they used the wrong ingredients and damaged nearly their whole lawn.
Posting to r/lawncare, one Redditor shared several photos of a brown, desiccated lawn that they treated with two different types of herbicide. Even though many common herbicides are meant to kill weeds and not grass, they can sometimes do more damage than intended.
"My grass was nice and green this summer with all of the rain we had. The only problem was it was also full of weeds," wrote the OP. They went on to explain, "I ended up spraying my entire front and back lawns … Well, a week later, this is what it looks like. Is there any saving this lawn?"
They included three photos of their yard showing a sad expanse of dead grass. In a sad turn of fate, the weeds seem to be the greenest part of their lawn.
Business Insider reported on the proliferation of grass lawns, "Grass is actually the biggest irrigated crop in the United States … over 40 million acres of land in the continental U.S. has some form of lawn on it."
Keeping all of these grasses healthy and green takes a ton of money and water. "American consumers spend about $35 billion per year on lawn and garden products," wrote Consumer Reports.
To save money and time, many homeowners have opted for lawn alternatives. Some people have chosen ground cover that needs less water and mowing, like clover. After making the switch, you could save $225 per year on water, $100 on fertilizer and pesticides, and save time you'd have to spend on mowing. Others choose to let their lawns grow in their natural state or plant native gardens.
While this poster was likely looking for some hope, the folks on Reddit didn't offer much advice.
One person wrote, "RIP grass."
🗣️ What's the hardest thing about taking care of your yard?
🔘 Mowing the lawn 🏡
🔘 Controlling weeds 🌿
🔘 Keeping pests at bay 🐿️
🔘 I don't have a yard 🤷
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
In a humorous exchange, another commenter said, "Well, now you can see the weeds."
The OP responded, "I know … it's like it worked the opposite of how I thought it would."
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