?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'??There has been a terrible problem with crabgrass and other weeds,?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? said Scott Buitta, owner of American Lawn Care in Pembroke.

?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s the worst crabgrass year I can remember, and I have been in business for over 10 years,?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? Thomas Norton, owner of Lawn Doctor in Hanover, added.

The culprit behind the ugly crabgrass and other weeds that are making hoped-for lush lawns look more like wild fields?

Mother Nature.

?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s always a battle against Mother Nature. And this year, Mother Nature is the cause of the breakdown in controls,?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? Buitta said.

He said that a mild winter, combined with lots of rain and flooding in the spring, removed whatever crabgrass controls applied to lawns.

?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'??Between May and June we had 25 inches of rain, about 14 more inches that we typically get,?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? Norton said. Add the extreme heat we?EUR??,,????'???ve had recently and weeds have a perfect environment in which to thrive.

?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'??All weeds love temperatures that typically grasses do not like. They love heat and dryness,?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? Buitta said.

Crabgrass isn?EUR??,,????'???t the only weed in full force right now. Nutsedge, also called nut grass, thrives in water-logged soil and loves the heat. It is a fast-growing, yellowish-green, waxy-looking weed that shoots up in a V-shaped blade, grgrowing by as much as 2 inches a day. That?EUR??,,????'???s two or three times faster than the lawn itself.

Crabgrass tends to be minty-green and grows in a bunch that spreads outward.

A third contender in the homeowner-headache department is spurge, which has small, oval, dark-green leaves and grows low to the ground, spreading out in a network.

Source: The (South Boston) Patriot Ledger