A critical part of lawn maintenance is timely weed removal. Ground Ivy, commonly known as Creeping Charlie, is a notorious weed that grows rapidly and can cause damage to one’s grass and plants if left unchecked. Creeping Charlie tends to dominate other plants in its vicinity for resources, so it is important to take necessary precautions to manage its growth. There are various manual, organic, and chemical-based solutions to clear Creeping Charlie from one’s lawn.
Natural ways to eliminate Creeping Charlie
While chemical-based solutions may sometimes yield immediate results, they can increase the salinity or reduce boron content in a given stretch of soil. This is why several homeowners prefer natural, eco-friendly solutions to manage Creeping Carlie.
1. Fertilizing the lawn
Large amounts of nitrogen-based fertilizers are known to eradicate ground ivy from a given piece of land. This is why home care experts recommend that people fertilize their lawns regularly. Using fertilizers with chelated iron can eliminate this weed quickly, but homeowners are recommended to apply it all over their lawns. Applying on specific spots may lead to random green patches over the lawn.
2. Preventing access to sunlight
Like other plants, ground ivy also needs light for survival and growth. This is why blocking sunlight can inhibit the growth of this plant and make it easily removable. Creeping Charlie can grow even in low-level light and strong shade. For this reason, one must block every possible inch of light the weed can receive to eliminate it from their lawns successfully. One can use a large piece of cardboard, a tarp, or other heavy drop cloth to prevent access to sunlight.
But, it is important to note that with this strategy, the plants surrounding the ground ivy may also not receive sunlight, necessitating reseeding eventually.
3. Manually removing the weed
Hand-pulling is a tried and tested way to eliminate Creeping Charlie in small areas or zones near edible plants. To manually remove Creeping Charlie, homeowners can start by trimming the stems and leaves with sharp garden shears. But, they must be careful to leave enough of the stem for homeowners to grip and pull out the weed by hand. After the trimming, one needs to drench the area with a garden hose and wait about 30 minutes for the water to soak into the soil.
Once the soil is moist and water-heavy, people can loosen it further using a pitchfork to pull up the ground and expose the roots and rhizomes of the weeds. After that, one can grab the base of the weed and pull up its roots. After the pulling out, one must carefully inspect the area for any remaining rhizomes or roots left behind. This step is important since any residual parts can produce a new plant. One will need to repeat this process multiple times to prevent further weed growth in the lawn.
Some other methods include smothering with mulch or cardboard, pouring boiled water on the weed, using vinegar and salt solution to inhibit ground ivy growth, and encouraging beneficial insects like spiders and ground beetles that feed on Creeping Charlie.
Popular commercial products to eliminate Creeping Charlie
1. Recognition Herbicide
This product is known to inhibit the growth of more than 40 kinds of weeds, including Creeping Charlie. This product is especially effective for warm-season grasses like Zoysia, St. Augustine, and Bermuda. Recognition Herbicide comes in wettable granules that blend easily with water and cover large areas of grass (even on lawns that cover up to 65,000 square feet). One can expect positive results within 1 to 4 weeks. But, it is advised to avoid using this product during extreme weather conditions.
2. Ortho GroundClear Weed and Grass Killer
This product must be mixed with water and applied to areas such as patios, walkways, driveways, and landscapes. Ortho’s product contains the most potent mix of ingredients to immediately kill weeds by targeting their roots first. This product ensures that all traces of Creeping Charlie are eliminated within 1 to 2 weeks of application. Rain or watering will not impact the potency of this mix after 15 minutes post-application. One must ensure the product doesn’t come in contact with one’s skin or clothing while applying.
3. Triad Select 3-Way Herbicide
This product targets various broadleaf weeds, including ground ivy, clover, dandelion, wild onion, chickweed, and broadleaf plantain. More importantly, this product comes with a formula that is designed specifically to show results without harming the grass and plants around weeds. Triad Select 3-Way Herbicide is known to show positive results within 10 to 14 days.
4. Southern Ag Amine 2,4-D Weed Killer
This product has 2,4-D, one of the most powerful components that eliminate ground ivy as quickly as possible from a given piece of lawn. Around 2 to 3 tablespoons of this product (along with 5 gallons of water) is enough to cover around 1,000 square feet. Like other entries on this list, even this herbicide kills various types of broadleaf weeds without much effort from homeowners. It may take nearly three weeks to show the best results.
5. TRIMEC Classic
Unlike other commercial herbicide products, this one works in a wide range of temperatures and zones. One can use this product on residential lawns, pastures, parks, and even golf courses.