Torpedo grass: how to identify it and get rid of it

Contents

1. How do you identify torpedo grass?
2. Why is torpedo grass so hard to get rid of?
3. How do you get rid of torpedo grass in each lawn type?
4. What about torpedo grass in flower beds?
5. What doesn’t work on torpedo grass?
6. How do you keep torpedo grass from coming back?
7. FAQ

How do you identify torpedo grass?

Torpedo grass is a grass, so the broadleaf products in most lawn weed killers do nothing to it. Check these features, ideally on a clump you have dug up:

• Rhizomes: thick underground stems with sharply pointed tips, the “torpedoes” that give the plant its name. They creep through the soil and can grow as deep as about a foot.
• Leaves: stiff, waxy and silver-green to bluish-green, with pointed tips and a prominent midrib. They can be flat or folded, and often carry hairs on the surface and around the sheath.
• Growth habit: stiff, upright stems that stand above a mowed lawn between mowings. Left unmowed, it can reach about 3 feet.
• Seed heads: small, open and whitish to brown. They rarely produce viable seed.
• Where: full sun, in wet or dry soil. It is common along lakes, ponds and canals, and it keeps growing much of the year in Florida.

What looks like torpedo grass?

If you are still unsure, the weed identification guide and its identifier tool narrow it down, and your county extension office can confirm it from a sample with the rhizomes attached.

Why is torpedo grass so hard to get rid of?

Almost all of the plant is underground. The rhizomes store energy and send up new shoots after the leaves are mowed, pulled or burned off, and pieces left in the soil grow into new plants. Because it is a grass growing inside a grass lawn, most herbicides that kill it also kill the lawn. And because it travels as rhizome pieces, it arrives in new yards in fill soil, in sod and on mower decks.

How do you get rid of torpedo grass in each lawn type?

What works depends on your lawn grass. University of Florida (UF/IFAS) and Louisiana State University extension guidance agree on the main options:

Always check that a product lists both torpedo grass and your lawn grass on the label, and follow its rate, interval between applications and yearly maximum. On any herbicide, the label is the law. For a broader look at choosing lawn products, see weed killer for lawns.

Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass lawns

1. Treat actively growing torpedo grassSpray when it is green and growing in warm weather, not when it is dormant or drought-stressed.
2. Repeat at the label intervalOne application rarely finishes it. Re-treat as new shoots appear, at the interval the label gives.
3. Keep the lawn denseMow at the right height for your grass and fertilize it properly so the lawn fills in as the torpedo grass declines.

St. Augustinegrass and bahiagrass lawns

1. Mark the patch generouslyRhizomes run well beyond the visible shoots, so treat a margin of healthy-looking lawn around the infestation.
2. Spot-treat with a non-selective herbicideGlyphosate kills torpedo grass and any lawn grass it touches. UF/IFAS also mentions fluazifop, a grass herbicide, for killing patches before re-sodding. Shield shrubs and flowers from drift.
3. Treat the regrowthWait for new shoots, then spray again. Expect to repeat this several times.
4. Re-sod when nothing comes backCheck the label for how long to wait before planting, and buy clean sod from a reputable source.

Near water: torpedo grass often grows along pond and canal banks. Only products labeled for aquatic sites may be used at or in the water, and many lawn products are not.

Centipedegrass lawns

Sethoxydim slows torpedo grass in centipedegrass but does not kill it; it comes back when applications stop. For a lasting fix in a heavily infested area, the choice is the same as in St. Augustine: kill the patch and replant.

What about torpedo grass in flower beds?

In beds you have more options. In loose soil, dig out small patches with a garden fork and pick out every rhizome piece by hand; bag them rather than composting. Grass-selective herbicides labeled for use over many ornamentals can suppress it if you repeat them, but check that your plants are listed on the label. Mulch does not stop it, because the rhizomes travel below it, and they can run under the edges of landscape fabric. A deep edging barrier along the lawn border slows its spread from one area to the other. Our weeds in flower beds guide covers the other tools.

What doesn’t work on torpedo grass?

• Broadleaf lawn weed killers: they do not control grasses.
• Crabgrass pre-emergents: torpedo grass spreads from rhizomes, not seed, so pre-emergents don’t prevent it.
• Vinegar and other contact sprays: they burn the leaves and the rhizomes regrow.
• Pulling the tops: the rhizomes stay behind and resprout.
• A single spray: every reliable method needs repeat applications.

How do you keep torpedo grass from coming back?

• Inspect sod and fill soil before you accept it, and don’t move soil from an infested area.
• Clean the mower deck and tools after working in an infested patch.
• Keep the lawn dense with correct mowing height, fertility and watering, so it competes well.
• Check the borders with neighbors, water edges and beds a few times each season and treat new shoots while small.

Torpedo grass is one of several grassy weeds that confuse Southern homeowners. Compare it with the others in our lawn weeds guide, and if you decide to clear an area completely before replanting, read our guide to weed and grass killer for safe use of non-selective products.

FAQ

What kills torpedo grass but not St. Augustine?

Nothing reliably. University of Florida extension guidance is that no herbicide controls torpedo grass in St. Augustinegrass or bahiagrass without severely damaging the lawn. The practical fix is to kill the infested patch, plus a margin around it, with repeated spot treatments of a non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate, then re-sod once regrowth has stopped.

Can you pull torpedo grass by hand?

Only in small patches and only if you dig out every rhizome. The underground stems run deep and break easily, and each piece left behind can grow a new plant. Hand removal works best in loose bed soil where you can sift through it with a garden fork.

Does torpedo grass spread by seed?

Hardly at all. Its small, flat seed heads are typically not viable. It spreads through rhizomes and stolons, and moves to new yards in contaminated soil, sod and on mowers and tools.

How long does it take to get rid of torpedo grass?

Plan on a full growing season or more. Even the best options need several applications spaced as the label directs, and new shoots keep emerging from rhizomes after the first treatment. Check for regrowth every few weeks and treat it while it is small.

Is torpedo grass the same as bermudagrass?

No. Bermudagrass is a fine-bladed lawn grass with low, creeping stems and finger-like seed heads. Torpedo grass is coarser and stiffer, stands more upright, has a bluish or silvery-green color and spreads from thick rhizomes with sharp, pointed tips.

Related

• Weed identificationWeed identification made simple: grass, broadleaf or sedge, leaf shape, flowers and growth habit. Use the free weed identifier, then get the fix for each weed.
• Lawn weedsCommon lawn weeds by type (grassy, broadleaf, sedge), what each one says about your lawn, and the right control and timing to get rid of weeds in grass.
• NutsedgeHow to get rid of nutsedge for good: tell yellow from purple, stop pulling, spray halosulfuron or sulfentrazone early and fix the wet soil behind it.
• Weed and grass killerA weed and grass killer kills every plant it touches. Compare glyphosate, glufosinate and contact acids, avoid soil-residual products near trees, and cut drift.

Updated October 3, 2026