The 8 Best Weed and Feeds of 2024

Best Overall

Scotts Turf Builder Weed and Feed

$30 At Amazon $58 At Walmart $30 At Lowe's

We love this weed-and-feed from Scott's thanks to its highly effective ability to kill weeds while greening up your lawn and promoting healthy root and blade growth. This granular product should be used with a spreader following the package directions for the right spreader setting.

Ideally, you should use this weed and feed in the spring when daytime temperatures are between 60 and 90 degrees, but it can also be used as a fall fertilizer. It works on bluegrass, fescue, zoysia, Bermuda, ryegrass, and centipede (most common grasses). Don't use it on St. Augustine or bentgrass lawns.

The included chemical herbicide grips weeds for fast and effective results. It wipes out over 50 common weeds, including dandelions, clover, plantain, and purslane.

You should apply it to dew-damp grass, but once it's spread evenly across the turf, do not water for at least 24 hours. Once the time is up, water your grass thoroughly, and then wait at least another 24 hours, or until the grass is completely dry, before mowing your lawn or allowing kids or pets to play on it. You do not want to apply it more than two times per year.

_{NPK Ratio: 28-0-3︱Formula Type: Slow release︱Application: Granular︱Coverage: 5,000 square feet}

Best Spray

Spectracide Weed-and-Feed Spray

$10 At Amazon View On Walmart $10 At Target

We love how simple it is to apply this weed-and-feed; simply attach the container to your garden hose, turn it on, move the nozzle to the open position, then carefully walk back and forth across your lawn (it works on most common grasses), evenly spraying until your lawn is entirely covered. 

This weed-and-feed spray quickly kills numerous weeds, including dandelion, chicory, burdock, thistle, ragweed, and yarrow. You can also use it to spot-treat weeds if desired. However, take care not to let the spray touch any of your desirable garden plants, as it will burn or kill whatever foliage it contacts.

For best results, it should be used on a lawn that has been thoroughly watered the day before, but once applied, do not water again for at least 24 hours, and spray on a day with temperatures below 85 degrees. You can use this on most common lawn grasses, even St. Augustine, with the exception of the Floratam variety of St. Augustine that's commonly used in Florida.

As a fertilizer, it has an NPK ratio of 20-0-0, so it will help green up your grass in the spring, but is best used as a springtime supplement, not your only fertilizer. You can apply it twice per growing season, with at least 30 days between applications.

_{NPK Ratio: 20-0-0︱Type: Slow release︱Application: Spray︱Coverage: 7,500 square feet}

Best Preventative

BioAdvanced 5-in-1 Weed and Feed

$24 At Amazon $28 At Home Depot $26 At Walmart

We love this 5-in-1 weed-and-feed, which prevents more than 200 kinds of weed seeds from sprouting (even crabgrass) for up to 6 full months, and it kills already-sprouted weeds and crabgrass. This is only for use on lawns that are all or mostly fescue, Bermuda grass, buffalograss, Kentucky bluegrass, rye grass, seashore paspalum, or zoysia. It is not safe for St. Augustine, bentgrass, centipedegrass, or bahia lawns.

Apply this granular weed-and-feed to your damp lawn when temperatures are between 50 and 90 degrees, following the package instructions for the lawn spreader settings. Water it in after application, and let it dry completely before mowing, watering again, or allowing your children or pets onto the lawn. It's best to use this twice per year: once in the spring when your lawn starts actively growing, and once in the early fall.

_{NPK Ratio: 22-0-4︱Type: Slow release︱Application: Granules︱Coverage: 4,000 square feet}

Best for Spring

GreenView Fairway Formula Spring Fertilizer Weed & Feed with Crabgrass Preventer

$77 At Amazon $78 At Home Depot $37 At greenviewfertilizer.com

Unlike many other weed-and-feed products, this one contains both pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides that can be used on most common grasses. That means your spring application will not only kill over 200 different lawn weeds, including dandelions, thistle, poison ivy, burdock, pokeweed, and ground ivy, but will also prevent crabgrass seeds from sprouting, and nourishes the grass for up to 12 weeks.

As crabgrass can be very difficult to eradicate once it sprouts, we appreciate that this weed-and-feed cuts down on tedious lawn maintenance. It's intended for use on most popular lawn grasses, including bluegrass, ryegrass, zoysia, Bermuda, bahia, centipede, and fescue, but isn't safe for St. Augustine lawns.

Apply this product in spring as soon as you see the first dandelion blooms. Using a spreader, you want to apply it on a day when the grass is damp with dew, but no rain is in the forecast for at least 48 hours. After the two days have passed, water thoroughly, then wait at least one more day before mowing the lawn or allowing your children or pets to play on it.

_{NPK Ratio: 24-0-6︱Type: Slow and quick release︱Application: Granular︱Coverage: 5,000 square feet}

Best for Fall

Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard Fall Weed & Feed

$33 At Amazon $33 At Lowe's View On Shop.com

The heat of summer can take a toll on your lawn's health, so it's a good idea to give it a fall feeding with a product designed to restore nutrients lost to the summer's high temperatures. You'll want to provide plenty of nutrients to get your turf through the winter. This one tackles more than 50 common lawn weeds—while some similar products kill more types of weeds, this will handle those you are likeliest to face.

Apply this mid-September through November as long as daytime temperatures are over 60 degrees. Spread it across a damp lawn, then let it sit for 24 hours before watering it in well. Wait until the grass is completely dry before letting pets or kids play or walk on the grass.

Note that this is not suited to all types of lawn grass, but is only for bahiagrass, Bermudagrass, bluegrass, centipedegrass, fescue, perennial ryegrass, and zoysia.

_{NPK Ratio: 28-0-6︱Type: Slow release︱Application: Granules︱Coverage: 4,000 square feet}

Best for Northern Lawns

Sta-Green Weed & Feed Lawn Food

$20 At Lowe's

While you can use this weed-and-feed on Bermudagrass, a warm-season grass, it's mostly formulated for use on the cool-season grasses found in northern lawns, including fescues, bluegrass. and perennial ryegrass. Apply it once in the spring and again early in the fall, and it will keep your lawn green and healthy with its NPK ratio of 22-0-4, which provides lots of nitrogen for the lushest lawn.

It will also kill over 250 types of weeds, including dandelion, hard-to-remove clover, spurge, thistle, nettle, and many other unsightly weeds. Like other granular lawn fertilizers, this one is best applied with a spreader, using the appropriate setting for your spreader model that's indicated on the packaging. It should be spread across a damp lawn—not a soaked one.

Once applied, wait 24 hours before watering it in thoroughly, and then wait another 24 hours or until the grass is completely dry before allowing your kids or pets onto the lawn, or mowing the grass.

_{NPK Ratio: 22-0-4︱Type: Slow release︱Application: Granules︱Coverage: 4,000 square feet}

Best for Southern Lawns

Scotts Turf Builder Southern Triple Action

$65 At Amazon $46 At Walmart $35 At Lowe's

If you garden in the south, then you'll love this weed-and-feed from Scotts that kills not only weeds but also that scourge of the south: fire ants. It contains an insecticide that prevents and kills these hard-stinging ants for up to 6 months and prevents other pests from invading your lawn, including ticks, armyworms, fleas, mole crickets, chinch bugs, and sod webworms.

It also effectively controls dollarweed, dandelion, clover, oxalis, plantain, chickweed, and henbit weeds. On the downside, this is only for use on a limited range of grass types: St. Augustine (including Floratam), centipedegrass, zoysia, and carpetgrass. Using it on other turf types could lead to burned grass or even kill off patches of your lawn.

At 29-0-10, this has the highest nitrogen levels of all the products on our list. That gives your grass enough nourishment to thrive in the punishing heat common during Southern summers. Apply this with a spreader in the spring when weeds and fire ants are active.

It can be applied again 8 weeks later if necessary, but do not use it more than twice per year. Unlike most weed-and-feeds, this should be applied to a dry lawn and then immediately watered. Allow it to dry completely before walking on the lawn or letting your children or pets into the area.

_{NPK Ratio: 29-0-10︱Type: Slow release︱Application: Granules︱Coverage: 8,000 square feet}

Best Organic

Espoma Organic Weed Preventer

$56 At Amazon $52 At Walmart $45 At Ace Hardware

If you don't want to use synthetic herbicides or are concerned about the safety of your pets and kids, then we recommend Espoma's weed-and-feed. It's one of the oldest organic companies in the green industry. This product contains corn gluten meal, a natural nitrogen source, aiding quick green-up.

Application is easy with a spreader, and a 25-pound bag covers up to 1,250 square feet, roughly a fourth of the size of a basketball court. Kids and pets can safely play or walk on the grass right after application. The brand does recommend applying twice a year, in the early spring and early fall, and you can apply it to any lawn grass.

With an NPK ratio of 9-0-0, you can expect the change in your lawn to be slower and more gradual; your grass should look more green and nourished, ultimately limiting new growth for weeds like dandelions, crabgrass, and more (but not killing what's already there).

_{NPK Ratio: 9-0-0︱Type: Slow release︱Application: Granular︱Coverage: 1,250 square feet}