With O. pes caprae you have bulbs as well as seeds, bulbs that send up new growth every year and can be quite deep in the soil. The best approach is to remove the green growth as soon as it emerges, and keep doing it, before it can feed (and strengthen) the bulbs. The bulbs will eventually starve, and quick removal before the blooms appear prevent seeds from being formed.

As to pre-emergent effects of corn gluten: corn gluten is actually quite a good fertilizer. See:

Here is a link that might be useful: Corn gluten for weeds OSU

Thanks for the reply! Fortunately my infestation isn't that bad yet. I think I have enough back muscles to pull it off :)

This post was edited by tonyastro on Mon, Oct 6, 14 at 18:29

If you are talking an infestation on bare ground, just leave a sharp hoe handy and scrape off the green as soon as it appears. Re-scrape as frequently as possible.

Corn gluten doesn't "kill", it "inhibits" (slow, delay).

See:

Here is a link that might be useful: Corn gluten and weeds

This post was edited by hoovb on Mon, Oct 6, 14 at 18:35

Thanks a lot hoovb!

If you read the article, it says that in fact a second series of experiments found no prevention of weed sprouting, though it also comments that it may be an issue with the age of the commercial corn gluten. Supposedly, a compound in the corn gluten prevents the first small rootlets from growing when the seed is germinating, so the seedling grows instead of dying.

Here is a link that might be useful: another explanation of corn gluten

Many people have jumped on the Corn Gluten Meal bandwagon without fully understanding what it does and how it works. CGM does not kill "weeds" or stop seed germination. CGM helps keep germinating seeds from rooting, from getting established. If properly applied CGM can be a help in controlling many "weeds" but it is not s cure all. As Paul Tukey says CGM is vastly oversold by many people as an unwanted plant control although it is a very good plant food source.
Corn Gluten Meal has a active life span of about 6 weeks, at best, so it needs to be reapplied every growing season just as any other similar product needs to be. CGM is more environmentally friendly then any of the plant poisons out there, for those interested in not poisoning the world you live in.