What is a weed, anyway? It’s not a botanical term, that’s for sure. A weed is a human invention—it’s a plant that grows where we don’t want it to. Some of the common garden weeds are native plants that want to flourish, while others are opportunistic exotic species.

Knowledge is power, and knowing what weeds you have is a powerful tool. You may decide to let the native weeds grow into a meadow or forest-like setting. If you see an invasive species, you’ll know to act quickly to remove it. 

No matter what you prefer your garden to look like, it’s helpful to know what belongs and what doesn’t. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a weed you want to cultivate! Or, you’ll discover a hidden patch of unruly invaders. Let’s dig in and learn how to remove these weeds that look like grass. 

Bamboo

Tiny types squeeze into compact garden corners.

Bamboo comes in all shapes and sizes! There are dwarf types that stay under a few feet tall, and there are giant varieties that reach well over 16 feet. When young, these weeds look like grass.

As bamboo grows taller, its grassy stems grow woody and hollow. You’ll quickly notice the difference as spring evolves into summer. Don’t let the shoots grow! Bamboo is difficult to remove once it establishes itself.

You shouldn’t have issues with bamboo in the U.S. unless it’s growing nearby. It tends to spread through rhizomes and underground roots rather than with seeds. Remove the patch by digging it out routinely until it disappears. 

Yellow Nutsedge

Summer warmth encourages seeds to form along stalks.

This weed invades my garden! It’s lovely when full-grown, but it spreads rapidly and readily. It’s a southern U.S. native plant that readily escapes its range and invades surrounding regions. It looks like grass when young.

As the growing season progresses, yellow nutsedge stalks elongate to flower and produce seeds. The stalks grow upright, and a fan of blades sprouts at the tips. Flowers emerge from the centers of the fans, and seeds form after the flowers fade. Yellow nutsedge spreads through rhizomes year-round and seeds in summer and fall. 

Removing these weeds that look like grass early in the year is a great way to reduce their spread. Don’t pull it; dig up the clumps and pull out the rhizomes. Bulbs may pop out, as this nutsedge stores energy in underground bulbs. Check the area after a few days, and dig up any sprouts that reappear. 

False Brome

Shade or sun doesn’t slow its persistent growth.

Like yellow nutsedge, false brome is another invasive spreader that’s common in the Pacific Northwest. It also appears near the East Coast. It colonizes forests and shady areas where it outcompetes native vegetation. A prompt removal is best, as it’ll self-seed throughout your yard.

False brome prefers the shade, but it’ll flourish in sunny and shady landscapes alike. It has wide, grassy blades that arch as they elongate. Flowers emerge from some bunches on drooping stems. They’ll turn into seeds that germinate readily with cool, moist weather.

False brome resprouts from roots below ground. Dig out established patches after identifying them. If this weed that looks like grass is already growing in summer, mow it down to prevent it from spreading seeds. Then, remove the patch next spring when the soil is soft and moist. 

Crabgrass

Digging out patches early prevents further unwanted spread.

Everyone knows crabgrass! This lawn weed is common in lawns with bare spots. Crabgrass grows wide rather than tall, crowding out other species and spreading during the summer. It has finger-like appendages that root and form new shoots.

Crabgrass is one of the weeds that’s difficult to control in warm-winter regions, like Southern California and Florida. It’ll creep year-round in these regions, forming dense stands of rough grass. 

Remove patches by digging them out. If they’re on a lawn, consider raising your mowing height to allow the other grasses to crowd them out. It’s best to pull the young seedlings when they’re weak-rooted before they mature into adult weeds. 

Quackgrass

Shallow roots spread quickly through the spring soil.

Quackgrass, or couch grass, is a shallow-rooted perennial weed that looks like grass. It’s one of the most unruly weeds in the U.S., but it’s native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. It spreads through shallow-rooted rhizomes, and it sows seeds at the end of the growing season.

Watch for upright, triangular grass blades that emerge in spring from the roots. They’re light green and they glow when well-lit. Bunches form over time as the clusters mature, making dense stands. The best time to pull the plants is in spring when fresh growth appears.

Unlike the other grasses, this species produces relatively few seeds per plant. It’s easy to eradicate with repeated pullings for a year. Don’t throw the weeds in the compost heap, or they’ll regrow! Let them wither under the sun first, then mix them in your compost. 

Horsetail

Pulling repeatedly slows growth but never fully stops.

Horsetails are ancient. They’re unlike any other plant group, though they resemble ferns in their habits. They have stems that attach at junctions, and they use spores instead of seeds to reproduce. 

Some horsetails are graceful and dainty, like field horsetail. Tall scouring rush and rough horsetail are giant specimens that make an impact in the landscape. All horsetails are unruly weeds that look like grass, although they’re native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. 

Once you have horsetail in your yard, it’s nearly impossible to eradicate. You’ll need to pull out as much as you can, snuff the growth with a tarp, and repeat the process seasonally. Choose to live with it, or battle it with fury!

Annual Bluegrass

White seed heads crown delicate, persistent little clumps.

Annual bluegrass is one of those annoying weeds that look like grass. It spreads aggressively, but it’s not particularly difficult to remove from the yard. It’s more of a nuisance than anything else.

Watch for small, needle-like grass blades that emerge in fall and late winter. These grow into small tufts of fine foliage with white seed heads at their ends. The seeds scatter and germinate when cool weather returns. Clumps may die in summer or live year-round, depending on how hot the weather gets in your region.

You may use a wide variety of eradication methods for annual bluegrass. Pull plants and mulch the bare soil, or snuff the plants out with cardboard. The trick is preventing the seedlings from growing seeds. Remove young plants promptly when you see them.  

Pampas Grass

Late summer brings giant, feathery flowering plumes.

Pampas grass is gorgeous but invasive. It’s on watch lists in multiple states, like California, Oregon, and Washington. Tall, sharp blades grow to 12 feet tall. Giant flowering spikes emerge in late summer and early fall, and they dump hundreds of seeds.

Sharp weeds like pampas grass are hard to eradicate. They’ll cut your hands and skin if you touch them. Wear gloves, pants, and long sleeves when tackling the clumps, and use tools to help uproot them. 

Small clumps are easy to dig up, while large ones require significant effort. Ask for help from a friend or neighbor to take turns digging and ease the workload. Fractured roots will sprout new growth, and you may have to dig a few times over a year to eradicate the weeds that look like grass.

Common Carpetgrass

Thrives in sun and wet soil without complaints.

Common carpetgrass is native to the U.S. It’s a superb lawn alternative in southeastern states like North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas. Carpetgrass likes warm weather, wet soil, and lots of sunlight. 

If you’ve had trouble growing grass lawns in the past, consider letting carpetgrass spread and flourish. It tolerates mowing and foot traffic. It’s not as soft as common lawn grasses, but it’s hardy in its native range and requires little maintenance to thrive. 

Consider removing carpetgrass if it’s spreading in warm regions of California. It likes the state’s coastal weather, and it may grow out of control in the garden. Pull out young plants in spring, and dig out large clumps if they’re hard to pull.

Foxtail

Spring is perfect for stopping their spread early.

Foxtails are a dog parent’s worst nightmare. They have seed heads with burrowing hooks that dig themselves into pet noses, ears, and fur. If left to fester, they can dig deep and require surgery to remove. It’s best to remove this grass from your garden if you have pets.

California is chock-full of foxtails, though some species grow in many states across the country. Find green, yellow, and giant foxtails in wild areas and disturbed sites. Identify them by their thin leaves and bushy, cattail-like flowers. 

Foxtails use seeds to colonize bare soil. This is why they’re abundant in disturbed lands and sites with empty plots. Chop them down in spring, place cardboard on them, then cover the cardboard with soil. This will snuff out the weeds, after which you can transplant new plants into the soil on top of the cardboard. 

Goosegrass

Fan-like flowering stems spread seeds quickly everywhere.

Goosegrass is easy to get rid of early in the season. As the weather warms and rain falls, the seedlings sprout into large clumps with robust roots. The short, fibrous root systems anchor the weeds, making them difficult to pull.