Creeping Charlie

Anyone have any advice for a pretty bad Creeping Charlie infestation?

Our new house has a very shaded lot, and there doesn’t appear to be much grass underneath it to be honest.

Will a broadleaf killer do me any good? Do I need to just go all out, kill everything and re-seed?

Looking for any tips or success stories! I’m not opposed to doing a bit of hand pulling but it’s probably at least 1/4 acre of the stuff. We don’t really have any plants I’m worried about killing(apart from some lilac bushes). Also concerned about my dog, don’t want to put something super nasty down that will keep us from letting her in the yard for too long.

Vinegar (don’t mix with water…) will do the trick and won’t bother the dog…RR

i’ve never seen an application of vinegar do more than brown a small patch of charlie.

I used 2 shots of Trimec and it seemed to take care of it. it took over a few shaded spots where there was very little grass grown.

Triplet works good. Be prepared for lots of brown spots were weeds can fill back in, you might want consider killing it all off and starting over. Triplet will affect lilacs in a bad way.

Napalm.Charlie doesn’t like napalm..

Trimec twice. Or Speed Zone.

Don’t forget to do your neighbors lawn, chances are that’s where it came from in the first place.

Trimec, and be careful with it or you will kill everything, but its the best on the market and will also wipe out dandelions and clover

If it was me I’d hit the whole thing with a strong does of round up, kill everything and re-seed. Everywhere you spot spray to kill weeds will be open ground for more weeds to re-sprout.

Been using Fertilome Weed out with Trimec for years with great success. I use a 4 gallon backpack sprayer, 8-9 oz to 4 gallons. It is a bit spendy but works. Apply once now and again in about 14 days. You will see leaf wilt in about 2 days. If rain in the forecast invest in Fertilome Spread Sticker, it is an additive that helps keep the weed out on the leafs of the CC.

If you have grass under the CC weed out does not harm it.

And yes don’t forget to over spray into your neighbors yard. I wonder if my neighbor wonders why their lawn is perfect on my border yet looks horrific everywhere else?

I would try Trimec for at least 2 sprayings before going the total kill route. Use a hose-end sprayer and it’s very quick to do, you can treat a whole lawn in less than an hour and really give it a good dosing.

The key with creeping charlie is as many have said, you have to keep after it! One spray doesn’t kill it! Personally, I sprayed every 10-14 days as the weather allowed. I did 3 sprays and then a fourth about a month later. That killed 95% of it. Sprayed the next spring and my lawn has only required spot spraying ever since.

I thought my backyard was hopeless when we moved in, but I thought nothing to lose by trying a selective kill. It came out great, the grass was quick to thicken with a good application of fertilizer. My thinking is that for the cost of a hose end sprayer and $40 worth of Trimec, you may as well try it. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper and less labor intensive than the replanting solution.

Agree with what has been said about the neighbors. I always have some unfortunate spray drift issue that means about the first 4-5 feet of my neighbor’s yard accidentally gets sprayed as well. It’s too bad, but these things happen and a side benefit is I don’t get Charlie sneaking in from over the border.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I always have some unfortunate spray drift issue that means about the first 4-5 feet of my neighbor’s yard accidentally gets sprayed as well. It’s too bad, but these things happen and a side benefit is I don’t get Charlie sneaking in from over the border.

Oh yes. Very important to be a little reckless.

hnd wrote:

i’ve never seen an application of vinegar do more than brown a small patch of charlie.

I used 2 shots of Trimec and it seemed to take care of it. it took over a few shaded spots where there was very little grass grown.

Sorry, I should gave added that I work for a company that buys 6000 gallons of 200 grain vinegar (very very strong vinegar…) so it was very economical to kill off a couple acres worth of weeds when I did it. Within 5 days it was a field of Brown. Probably the most organic (and animal safe…) way to do it in my mind…RR

RR do you make house calls?

Thanks for the tips guys! I’ll do a bit of online shopping tonight and maybe spray this Thursday as I’ll be out of town all weekend. Will I be okay to let my dog wander around on the sprayed area after a few days? I’m thinking if I spray Thursday, it will have ~3 days to dry/settle in before we are back in town.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

RR do you make house calls?

I don’t! (But I do sell it and it’s great for so many household uses along with weed killing of course…). If ever in Mpls…$31.20 gets you 5 gallons of the strong stuff! RR

*sigh* all this creeping charlie talk has me thinking I should try knocking out the Pennywart down here. I think they are basically the same thing, but pennywart has larger leaves and sits higher in the grass.

I don’t really have a lot of ambition because we lease and our lawn has literal a dozen species of grass growing…and not very well, among the sand patches and mole trails.

The yard looks a little better since we moved in, but the slobs before us broke the irrigation system, so add to the previous issues that the lawn looks like crap 1/2 year during the dry season.

Once the rains come, she looks completely different. She’ll green up nicely and need mowing 2 times a week.

I have used the weed-b-gon with success. needed to hit it a few times but its worked. even in the neighbors yard!!!!!!!

philtickelson wrote:

I’m thinking if I spray Thursday, it will have ~3 days to dry/settle in before we are back in town.

That’s a great plan. According to the label, Trimec is pet safe when it’s dry, but you have the opportunity to get the dog away for 3 days, so I’d just go with it. Give it a good soaking at the highest recommended dose right before you leave.

Top Tip: Use your smartphone cam to take a picture of a defined area on the lawn before you spray. I usually take a picture right next to my boat parking area so I can see the edge of the gravel. Then come back 2 weeks later and compare the picture to what you see currently. Great way to see more accurately the results you’re getting.

BTW, don’t expect the first spraying to kill it all. It won’t. You’ll get about 25 to 30% would be my guesstimation, so just because you still see Charlie doesn’t mean it’s not working. It’s tough stuff to kill completely the #1 thing is to keep hammering it.

Grouse