Key takeaway: The best weed killer for lawns is the one registered for your weed and safe on your grass. For buffalo, use a buffalo-labelled broadleaf product such as Bow & Arrow (test a patch on ST varieties first), never a dicamba product. For couch and kikuyu, an MCPA and dicamba bindii spray works, Sedgehammer handles nutgrass on all four main grasses, and propyzamide-based Munns Professional Winter Grass Killer handles winter grass.
Picking the best weed killer for lawns starts with two questions, not one: what’s growing, and what’s it growing in? A bindii spray that’s perfect on couch can scorch a buffalo lawn. A nutgrass product does nothing to clover. And the glyphosate under the laundry sink will kill the weed and the lawn around it.
So instead of a single “best”, here are eight products sorted by job, each checked against its current APVMA registration and approved label. If a guide recommends a weed killer without naming the active ingredient or your grass type, it isn’t really advice.
Before You Spray: The Label Is the Law
In Australia, the APVMA-approved label is the legal instruction for using a herbicide. That covers the rate, the grass types it’s safe on, the weather limits and when people and pets can go back on the lawn. The rates below were read from each product’s APVMA eLabel on 14 October 2026. Products get reformulated and re-registered, and two on this list changed in 2026, so always follow the label on the pack in your hand.
Spray on a still day, keep children and pets off until the spray has dried (or longer if the label says so), and don’t let spray drift onto garden beds or into drains. Wear the protective gear the label lists.
Best Weed Killer for Lawns at a Glance
| Job | Product (APVMA no.) | Active constituent(s) | Safe on buffalo? | Label rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadleaf weeds in buffalo | Bow & Arrow Herbicide (64580) | Diflufenican, MCPA, clopyralid | Yes, but test a patch on ST varieties such as ST85 | 50 mL in 2 to 5 L water per 100 m² |
| Bindii and clover in couch | Searles Bindii & Clover Killer for Lawns (90706) | MCPA, dicamba | No | 15 mL in 2 L water per 10 m² |
| Broadleaf weeds, hose-on, couch and kikuyu | Yates Weed ‘n’ Feed (94599 and 2026 re-registrations) | MCPA, dicamba | No | Varies by version; follow the pack |
| Nutgrass and Mullumbimby couch | Amgrow Sedgehammer (64928) | Halosulfuron-methyl | Yes | 1.3 g in 10 L water per 100 m², plus surfactant |
| Winter grass (Poa annua) | Munns Professional Winter Grass Killer (97714) | Propyzamide | Yes | 1 L per 100 m² (Qld blue couch 0.5 L) |
| Pre-emergent plus feed | Oxafert (70376) | Oxadiazon (granular, with fertiliser) | Yes | 3 kg per 100 m² for summer grass; 4 kg for winter grass |
| Pre-emergent, liquid | Spartan Herbicide (88727) | Prodiamine | Yes (established turf) | 30 mL per 100 m² for summer grass and crowsfoot |
| Paths and edges only, NOT lawns | Yates Zero Weedkiller Ready to Use (80629) | Glyphosate | No: kills all lawn grasses | Ready to use, spot spray only |
Not sure which weed you’re looking at? Identify it first. Our guides to bindii and clover, nutgrass, summer grass and cudweed cover what each looks like. Not sure of your grass? Check how to identify buffalo, kikuyu and couch before you buy anything.
1. Best Weed Killer for Buffalo Grass: Bow & Arrow Herbicide
Buffalo is the lawn most easily damaged by the wrong spray, so it gets its own pick. Bow & Arrow combines three actives (15 g/L diflufenican, 300 g/L MCPA and 20 g/L clopyralid) and is registered for broadleaf weeds in turf, including bindii, white clover, cudweed, capeweed, plantain, catsear and creeping oxalis.
The label rate is 50 mL in 2 to 5 L of water per 100 m². The same label warns that varietal differences in certain buffalo grasses (e.g. ST85) may produce more pronounced effects, and recommends testing a small area first. It also says not to spray if rain is expected within 4 hours, or when the turf is stressed or frost is imminent. The label also says to avoid mowing for 3 to 4 days before and after treatment.
Watch for: kikuyu, carpet grass and Queensland blue couch can show temporary discolouration. Don’t use the clippings as mulch or compost.
2. Best Bindii Killer for Couch Lawns: Searles Bindii & Clover Killer for Lawns
For couch, blue couch, fescue, ryegrass and similar lawns, an MCPA and dicamba mix is the standard bindii and clover treatment. Searles’ version (150 g/L MCPA, 25 g/L dicamba) goes on at 15 mL in 2 L of water over 10 m², or 5 mL in 1 L for spot spraying. Respray after 3 weeks if needed.
Watch for: the label says not to use it on buffalo, lippia, strawberry clover or saltene lawns. Don’t spray if rain is likely within 8 hours. Timing matters more than product with bindii: spray from late autumn through winter, before it sets its prickle.
Yates Weed ‘n’ Feed is the hose-on alternative with the same two actives. Its label says DO NOT USE ON BUFFALO LAWNS, and not when shade temperatures are expected to exceed 30°C. The product was re-registered in 2026 in versions with different strengths, so follow the pack you buy.
For buffalo owners, Yates registered a new Buffalo Bindii & Clover product in October 2026 (bromoxynil and MCPA). Its label lists buffalo except ST varieties. It may not be on shelves yet.
3. Best Nutgrass Killer: Amgrow Sedgehammer
Nutgrass ignores broadleaf sprays, because it’s a sedge. Sedgehammer’s active, halosulfuron-methyl, is the standard turf-registered option. Amgrow lists it as safe on buffalo, couch, kikuyu, bent grass, perennial ryegrass, Queensland blue couch and tall fescue. That makes it one of the few weed killers here that suits all the main warm-season grasses.
The rate is 1.3 g in 10 L of water per 100 m², with the measuring spoon in the pack, plus a non-ionic surfactant. Apply to actively growing nutgrass in spring and summer, and expect to repeat it. Our nutgrass guide explains why one spray rarely finishes the job.
Watch for: not for newly laid or seeded turf, or turf weakened by scarifying, coring or top dressing.
4. Best Winter Grass Killer: Munns Professional Winter Grass Killer
Winter grass (Poa annua) is a grass growing in a grass, so most selective sprays can’t touch it. Munns’ propyzamide-based hose-on can, on the right lawns. The label rate is 1 L per 100 m² on buffalo, kikuyu and common couch, and 0.5 L per 100 m² on Queensland blue couch. Water it in straight away.
Watch for: the label says not to use it on bluegrass, ryegrass, fescue or bent lawns, which are the cool-season grasses common in Melbourne, Tasmania and Canberra. Use only on established turf, and don’t re-seed for 60 days. The older registration (85752) expires on 31 October 2026 and has been replaced, so check you’re reading the current label.
5. Best Pre-Emergents: Oxafert and Spartan
Pre-emergents stop weed seeds establishing rather than killing weeds you can already see. They’re the best defence against summer grass and crowsfoot, which are hard to remove once established.
Oxafert is a granular oxadiazon product with fertiliser. The label rate is 3 kg per 100 m² for summer grass and crowsfoot, and 4 kg per 100 m² for winter grass and creeping oxalis, watered in with at least 10 mm. It’s labelled safe on kikuyu, buffalo, common couch, most hybrid couches (not Santa Ana), Queensland blue couch and zoysia, and the label advises against use when daytime temperatures are consistently above 32°C. It does not control weeds that have already emerged.
Spartan Herbicide is a liquid prodiamine pre-emergent. Its home-garden rate is 30 mL per 100 m² for summer grass, crowsfoot and similar weeds, applied before they emerge in early spring.
6. Glyphosate: For Paths, Never for the Lawn
Glyphosate products such as Yates Zero are non-selective. The label lists buffalo, couch, kikuyu and ryegrass among the plants it kills, and says in lawns, use as a spot spray treatment only. It’s the right tool for cracks in the driveway and fence lines, and the wrong one for a weedy lawn unless you mean to kill a patch and returf it.
What We Left Out
- DSMA products for summer grass and paspalum: the one home-labelled DSMA product we found carries a POISON signal heading, warns that buffalo and kikuyu should only be spot sprayed with some damage expected, and no longer appears on its maker’s website. A pre-emergent is the safer route.
- Endothal-based winter grass products: still registered, but propyzamide is the gentler option on the main home grasses.
- Anything without an APVMA number on the pack: if it isn’t registered, it can’t legally be sold as a herbicide in Australia.
When to Spray: Timing by Season
| Weed | Best window | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bindii | Late autumn to winter (May to August) | Kill it before it flowers and sets the prickle in spring |
| Clover, cudweed, catsear | Autumn to spring, while young and actively growing | Young broadleaf weeds take up herbicide fastest |
| Nutgrass | Spring and summer (October to March) | Halosulfuron works on actively growing leaves |
| Winter grass | Autumn and winter, and early spring | Hit seedlings early, then knock down before seed set |
| Summer grass, crowsfoot (pre-emergent) | Early spring (August to September in most of the country) | Must be down before the seeds germinate |
Spring arrives earlier in Brisbane than in Hobart, so read those months as a guide and watch your own lawn. Our seasonal guide to weed and feed timing goes into more detail, and how long weed killer takes to work explains what to expect after spraying.
Common Mistakes
- Using a dicamba product on buffalo. The single most common way people kill a buffalo lawn.
- Spraying in heat. Several labels set a 30°C shade temperature limit. Spray in the cool of the morning in autumn or spring.
- Mowing straight before or after. Leaves need surface area to absorb the spray; most labels set a gap of a few days.
- Expecting one spray to fix a thin lawn. Weeds fill gaps. Feed and thicken the turf afterwards, or they’ll be back.
What is the best weed killer for lawns that won’t kill grass?
A selective herbicide registered for your grass type and your weed. For buffalo that means a buffalo-labelled product such as Bow & Arrow; for couch and kikuyu, an MCPA and dicamba bindii spray; and for nutgrass on any of them, a halosulfuron product.
What is the best weed killer for buffalo grass?
Use a product whose label lists buffalo, such as Bow & Arrow Herbicide, and test a small area first on ST varieties. Never use an MCPA and dicamba product like Yates Weed ‘n’ Feed or Searles Bindii & Clover Killer, whose labels say not to use them on buffalo.
What is the best bindii killer?
On couch, kikuyu and ryegrass lawns, an MCPA and dicamba spray applied from late autumn to winter. On buffalo, use a buffalo-safe broadleaf product instead, and spray before the bindii flowers in spring.
Is weed and feed the best weed killer for lawns?
Only if it’s the right version for your grass. The liquid Yates Weed ‘n’ Feed contains dicamba and must not go on buffalo, and combined products give you less control over timing than a separate herbicide and fertiliser.
Can I use Roundup on my lawn?
Only to deliberately kill a patch. Glyphosate is non-selective and kills buffalo, couch and kikuyu along with the weeds, so it’s for paths and edges, or for clearing an area before returfing.
Weed killers work best on a lawn that’s already dense and well fed. For the full picture on weeds and feeding, head to the weeds and feed hub, and if you’re replacing a lawn rather than rescuing it, start with how to kill grass before starting over.
Sources
- APVMA, PubCRIS registered chemical products search (checked 14 October 2026)
- APVMA eLabel, Bow & Arrow Herbicide, product 64580, label 125186 (checked 14 October 2026)
- APVMA eLabel, Searles Bindii & Clover Killer for Lawns, product 90706 (checked 14 October 2026)
- APVMA eLabel, Yates Weed ‘n’ Feed, product 94599 (checked 14 October 2026)
- APVMA eLabel, Yates Lawn Weed Killer Buffalo Bindii & Clover A, product 97725 (checked 14 October 2026)
- APVMA eLabel, Amgrow Sedgehammer, product 64928 (checked 14 October 2026)
- Amgrow, Sedgehammer Lawn Herbicide product page, label directions and surfactant rate (checked 14 October 2026)
- APVMA eLabel, Munns Professional Winter Grass Killer A, product 97714 (checked 14 October 2026)
- APVMA eLabel, Oxafert Herbicide and Fertiliser, product 70376 (checked 14 October 2026)
- APVMA eLabel, Spartan Herbicide, product 88727 (checked 14 October 2026)
- APVMA eLabel, Yates Zero Weedkiller Ready to Use, product 80629 (checked 14 October 2026)
