Eco-Friendly Weed Control: The Case for Preen
Most landscapers reach for harsh post-emergent chemicals when weeds appear. We take a different approach — and it's better for your family, your landscape, and the environment.
Weed control is one of the most common sources of frustration for homeowners. Weeds seem to appear overnight, multiply rapidly, and undermine the appearance of even the most carefully maintained landscape. The conventional response is to spray post-emergent herbicides — chemicals that kill weeds after they've already grown.
At Lebanon Scapes & Construction, we take a fundamentally different approach. We use Preen as our primary weed control product, and we apply it consistently across every landscape project.
What Makes Preen Different
Preen is a pre-emergent herbicide. Instead of killing weeds after they appear, it prevents weed seeds from germinating in the first place. Applied to the soil surface and watered in, Preen creates a barrier that interrupts the germination process — the weed seed never becomes a weed plant.
The active ingredient in most Preen formulations is trifluralin, a compound with a long track record of safe use in residential and agricultural settings. It targets germinating weed seeds specifically and breaks down in soil over time, leaving no persistent residue.
Why Pre-Emergent is Ecologically Superior
Post-emergent herbicides — products like glyphosate (Roundup) — have broader effects. They're effective at killing existing weeds, but their safety profile for long-term exposure is increasingly debated, and they can have unintended effects on surrounding plants and soil microbiology if applied carelessly.
Pre-emergent products work more selectively. Preen doesn't harm established plants or trees, it doesn't require spray application near desirable vegetation, and it reduces the total chemical input needed to maintain a clean landscape over time.
Fewer spray events means less runoff into storm drains, less drift onto adjacent areas, and a lower overall chemical load on your property.
How We Apply It
We apply Preen as part of every landscape installation and refresh — typically after edging and just before mulch application. Watering activates the barrier. The mulch layer above helps retain the active ingredient in the target zone and prevents UV breakdown.
The result is garden beds that stay cleaner significantly longer between maintenance visits, requiring less intervention and fewer chemical applications over the course of a season.
What Preen Doesn't Do
Preen is not a total weed elimination solution. It prevents new weed seeds from germinating — it doesn't eliminate existing weeds already growing in a bed. For a first-time installation or bed cleanup, we remove existing weeds manually before Preen application. It also won't prevent established perennial weeds that spread by root rather than seed.
For our clients, the combination of proper bed preparation, pre-emergent application, and quality mulch results in dramatically lower weed pressure and a landscape that holds its appearance longer.