What Weeds and Brush Does Crossbow Herbicide Kill?

Which weeds, briars, and brush does it kill?

Crossbow herbicide is designed to eliminate tough broadleaf weeds (wide-leaf weeds) and woody brush (tough briars, bushes, and saplings). It does this by moving through the plant stems and traveling down into the root system. Once inside, it disrupts normal plant growth, causing the stems to twist, curl, and die completely down to the roots.

This product works on a very wide variety of unwanted plants that standard lawn weed killers fail to stop. Here is a checklist of the main targets it controls:

• Invasive briars and brambles: Wild blackberries, dewberries, raspberry canes, and multiflora rose bushes that crowd fence lines and take over pastures.
• Toxic and nuisance vines: Poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and Virginia creeper climbing up trees, stone walls, or wooden posts.
• Woody brush and young saplings: Alder, birch, wild cherry, sweetgum, willow, dogwood, and locust sprouts that invade open grass.
• Aggressive field weeds: Canada thistle, bull thistle, burdock, curly dock, field bindweed, and dandelion.
• Tough pasture invaders: Cocklebur, ironweed, horseweed, ragweed, and pigweed that compete with grazing forage.

The chemical works best when these targets are actively growing and full of green leaves. Spraying an active plant allows the liquid to soak in through the foliage and travel down to the root crown before the plant shuts down for winter or dries out in midsummer drought.

Will Crossbow herbicide harm your grass?

Crossbow is a selective herbicide, which means it kills target weeds while sparing grass. Established turf grasses and pasture grasses have a completely different biology than broadleaf weeds, so they tolerate this chemical mixture without turning brown or dying back.

Most common yard and field grasses handle the spray easily. You can safely use it around established stands of:

• Kentucky bluegrass
• Tall fescue and fine fescues
• Perennial ryegrass
• Bermudagrass
• Bahiagrass and orchardgrass

While established grasses remain healthy, there are a few important exceptions to keep in mind. Newly seeded grass is tender and will suffer damage if you spray it too early. Wait until your new lawn has been mowed at least two or three times before applying this weed killer to give the root systems time to toughen up.

Clover and alfalfa are also broadleaf plants, not grasses. If you have clover mixed into your lawn or planted across a livestock pasture, this spray will wipe it out completely. Keep the spray nozzle pointed strictly at problem weeds if you want to protect your clover patches.

How should you apply it for the best results?

Getting rid of stubborn brush requires applying the liquid where the plant absorbs it fastest. You can spray the leaves directly or treat the woody base depending on how tall and thick the brush has grown.

1. Choose the right method for the plant size: Use a foliar spray (spraying liquid directly onto leaves) for low brush, briar patches, and wide-leaf weeds under four feet tall. For saplings or thick woody trunks, use a cut-stump method (painting liquid onto freshly cut wood).
2. Mix the liquid thoroughly: Fill your handheld or backpack tank half full with clean water, add the measured amount of chemical, and fill with the rest of the water. If you plan to treat freshly cut stumps or thick bark, mix the herbicide with diesel fuel or kerosene instead of water as directed on the container label to help it penetrate dry wood.
3. Wet the leaves completely: When spraying leaves, coat the entire plant from top to bottom. The leaves should look wet and glossy, but stop spraying before the liquid runs off into heavy puddles on the ground.
4. Treat fresh stumps immediately: If you cut down small trees or overgrown brush, coat the freshly cut wood within fifteen minutes. The live sap channels near the bark ring seal up quickly after cutting, so applying the mixture right away pulls the chemical deep into the roots.
5. Spray on a dry, mild day: Pick a day when rain is not in the forecast for at least six hours. Plants absorb the chemical best when temperatures stay between 60 and 80 degrees.

What mistakes can kill your wanted plants?

Because Crossbow is strong enough to wipe out deep-rooted woody brush, a small mistake during application can severely damage prized landscape plants, fruit trees, or vegetable patches. Watching out for common errors keeps your desired plants safe.

• Spraying in high heat: When air temperatures climb above 85 degrees, the liquid can turn into an invisible vapor. This vapor can drift across your yard on the lightest air currents, causing tomato vines, grapevines, and garden flowers dozens of feet away to curl up and die.
• Working in windy weather: Even a light breeze can carry fine mist droplets onto desirable shrubs or flowerbeds. Only spray when the air is calm, ideally early in the morning before daytime winds pick up.
• Soaking exposed tree roots: Spraying the base of a mature tree or soaking surface roots that poke through the lawn can harm the tree. While rough, gray bark on an old trunk shields the wood, exposed surface roots can absorb the chemical and trigger dead spots in the upper tree canopy.
• Using a high-pressure mist nozzle: High pressure creates tiny droplets that float like fog. Adjust your sprayer nozzle to produce large, heavy droplets that fall straight onto the target leaves without floating away.
• Reusing the sprayer for garden food: Herbicide residues stick to plastic tanks, rubber gaskets, and spray hoses. Never use the same tank to spray liquid fertilizer or insect spray onto your vegetables or flower beds, even after washing it out.

Is Crossbow herbicide safe for pets and livestock?

Keeping animals safe around chemical weed killers comes down to timing. Once the sprayed liquid dries completely on the leaves, the treated area is safe for dogs, cats, and common livestock to walk across.

Keep your pets inside the house while you spray, and leave them inside until the grass dries fully. On a warm, sunny afternoon with a light breeze, this typically takes two to four hours. If the weather is cool or humid, the drying process takes longer, so wait until you can touch the grass blades without feeling any moisture on your fingers.

Pasture grazing requires a bit of extra attention. Meat animals and horses can generally return to treated pastures once the grass dries, but lactating dairy animals face specific waiting periods before they can graze on treated forage. Always verify the grazing wait intervals on the jug label before turning dairy cows or goats back out into the field.

You also need to watch for poisonous weeds that might be wilting in the pasture. Plants like black nightshade, hemlock, or wilted wild cherry leaves produce extra sugars as they die, making them taste sweet to grazing cattle and horses. Fence off wilting poisonous plants until they have completely dried into brittle, dead sticks that animals will ignore.

What bottle size should you choose for your property?

Selecting the right container size depends on the size of your yard and how thick the brush has grown. Picking the right volume upfront saves you from running out mid-job or storing leftover liquid for years in your shed.

For spot-treating a small suburban fence line, eliminating a single patch of poison ivy along a garage wall, or clearing a few dandelion patches, a compact quart jug provides plenty of liquid. Quarts are easy to store on a shelf and mix quickly into a standard one-gallon hand pump sprayer.

If you own an acre or two with long fence rows, overgrown ditch banks, or thick bramble thickets along a driveway, a one-gallon bottle is the most practical choice. It gives you enough concentrated liquid to refill a four-gallon backpack sprayer multiple times without having to run back to the farm store.

For large pastures, multi-acre fields, or land clearing where you use a pull-behind tractor sprayer, larger two-and-a-half-gallon jugs provide the best volume. Before you begin mixing, ensure you have chemical-resistant gloves, protective safety glasses, and sturdy work boots so you can handle the liquid safely.

1

ITS Supply Crossbow Herbicide 1qt

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• ARS Mark

  ARS Mark is a ranking system developed by bestairriflescopes.com. ARS Mark has no relationship or impact from any manufacturers or sales agent websites. Learn more

  9.5
• Brand
  ITS Supply

Key specs2

Package volume

1 quart

Ideal application scope

Best for residential fence borders, patio edges, and localized woody weed patches where large volumes of leftover chemical are not needed.

Pros & cons42

Pros

• Compact 1-quart size is easy to handle and pour into smaller tank sprayers without messy spills
• Provides enough concentrate for spot-treating isolated patches of poison ivy and blackberry briars
• Convenient volume for small residential yards where storing excess chemical for years is undesirable
• Takes up minimal storage space on standard garage or shed utility shelving

Cons

• 1-quart volume is insufficient for clearing multi-acre pastures or heavy continuous brush rows
• Requires verifying whether the ITS Supply bottle includes full manufacturer label application instructions

2

Crossbow Herbicide (2.5 Gallon)

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• ARS Mark

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  8.3
• Brand
  Crossbow

Key specs2

Bulk volume

2.5 gallons

Target acreage scope

Suited for acreage owners and pasture managers who need continuous tank refills to spray broad fields, long ditch banks, and heavy briar thickets.

Pros & cons32

Pros

• 2.5-gallon volume supplies ample concentrate for clearing extensive pastures, paddocks, and fence lines
• Bulk supply prevents running out of concentrate mid-treatment during large multi-tank spraying jobs
• Well suited for treating hundreds of fresh-cut stumps as well as wide areas of dense brush

Cons

• Large 2.5-gallon jug is heavy and awkward to pour smoothly into small sprayers without splashing
• Requires dry, secure storage space protected from freezing to store unused concentrate safely

3

Crossbow Herbicide Brush Killer 1 Gallon

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• ARS Mark

  ARS Mark is a ranking system developed by bestairriflescopes.com. ARS Mark has no relationship or impact from any manufacturers or sales agent websites. Learn more

  7.2
• Brand
  TENKOZ

Key specs2

Container size

1 gallon

Recommended property use

A balanced volume for mid-sized properties, small paddocks, and annual fence line clearing where a quart is too small and bulk jugs are too heavy.

Pros & cons32

Pros

• 1-gallon capacity offers a practical balance between total coverage and easy pouring into spray tanks
• Ample volume to handle seasonal brush control around property perimeters and outbuildings
• Standard jug handle allows controlled dispensing into handheld and backpack sprayers

Cons

• May require purchasing multiple jugs if clearing large multi-acre acreage or heavy forestry growth
• Requires checking the TENKOZ container label to confirm target weed listings and exact mixing rates

Last update on 2026-10-20 / Affiliate links / Images, Product Titles, and Product Highlights from Amazon Product Advertising API

FAQs

How long does it take for targeted brush to die?

You will usually see the first signs of wilting and stem twisting within 24 to 48 hours after spraying. Tough woody brush, thick blackberry canes, and saplings take two to three weeks to turn completely brown and dry out down to the roots.

Can you use Crossbow herbicide around garden vegetables?

No, you should never spray Crossbow in or directly next to a vegetable garden. Garden crops like tomatoes, peppers, squash, and beans are extremely sensitive to broadleaf weed killers, and even tiny amounts of spray drift will ruin the entire crop.

Does rainfall wash Crossbow herbicide away after spraying?

Rain will wash the liquid off the leaves if it falls before the spray has settled into the plant. The chemical needs roughly two to four hours of dry weather to soak through the outer leaf coating, after which rain will not reduce its strength.

Can Crossbow herbicide kill mature trees?

A light mist on thick, mature tree bark will rarely kill a large tree, but spraying green tree suckers, low-hanging leaves, or exposed surface roots can cause serious canopy dieback. Always shield young tree bark and avoid soaking exposed surface roots near your target weeds.