How to Prevent Zoysia Grass

Mow your zoysia grass before it has a chance to form seedheads. Although runners are a common method of zoysia grass reproduction, this grass also spreads by seed formation and dispersal. Keep zoysia grass at a short height of around 1 inch tall.

Insert lawn edging around planted areas of zoysia grass. Prepare a narrow trench around the circumference of your lawn with a sharp spade. Insert the edging into the prepared trench and tap lightly with your palm to press the surface level with the lower edges of the grass blades. This helps prevent below-ground runners from spreading into nearby areas.

Cut off spreading aboveground runners by trimming around the lawn edging with a string trimmer. Use the top of the lawn edging as a guide for trimming of spreading runners.

Remove the existing zoysia grass from outside the desired lawn area by digging it up with a garden tiller in the fall. Rake out uprooted grass and runners with a garden rake, removing the vegetation from the area.

Prepare the bare site for new plants. Apply a nonselective herbicide in areas with extensive zoysia growth to discourage new grass from forming, following the application instructions on the package label.

Cover the bare soil with landscaping fabric to prevent new grass growth in your flowerbeds or garden plot. Slit small holes in the landscaping fabric to insert new seedlings. In addition to discouraging the growth of zoysia grass, landscaping fabric reduces the growth of other unwanted grasses and weeds while it helps hold in soil moisture for your flowering plants and vegetables.

Pull out any errant sprigs of zoysia grass as soon as you notice them growing outside the lawn area. Use herbicide on large clumps that resist hand-pulling. Applying a small amount of nonselective herbicide directly to the blades of grass helps keep the zoysia from growing back.