How To Get Rid of Creeping Charlie
Creeping Charlie may have a charming storybook look to it, but this resilient weed can choke out its surrounding foliage—here’s how to get rid of it.
Written by Abbey Orzech
Reviewed by Melanie Reiff
Creeping Charlie is a notoriously difficult weed that thrives in your lawn's shady, damp areas. It’s best to remove it as soon as you notice it so it doesn’t have the chance to spread, and you can remove it by hand pulling it, spraying it with natural solutions, or spraying it with herbicides.
Some people work very hard to maintain a pristine lawn with just the right turf they picked out, and this can make it all the more frustrating when other foliage starts creeping in. Even if you’re not a big landscaper, Creeping Charlie can choke out your grass and any other plants you have growing in your patch of soil—and it spreads like crazy!
The key to getting rid of Creeping Charlie is early and thorough removal, but if you haven’t caught it until it’s already taking over your lawn, don’t worry! You can still get rid of this tricky weed. As the
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Getting rid of Creeping Charlie
Creeping Charlie is so notorious as a hard-to-control weed because it easily and rapidly spreads throughout lawns and only needs one forgotten seed or root to repopulate.
This weed is actually quite charming to look at, with its evergreen, scalloped-edged broadleaves and violet flowers, but it can be insidious to its surrounding foliage. If it infiltrates your lawn or landscape, you’ll want to act fast to get rid of Creeping Charlie and keep it from choking out your carefully sown grass or decorative plants.
Effective removal methods include hand pulling the weed, natural remediations, or spraying the plant down with herbicides. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
- Spade, pitchfork, rooting tool, and/or weeding tool
- Gardening shears
- Quality gardening gloves
- Protective clothing and eyewear
- Garden hose or watering can
- Lawn waste bag
- Organic citrus oil
- White vinegar
- Spray bottle
- Herbicide
Hand pulling removal
One of the most common, if painstaking, Creeping Charlie removal methods is hand pulling the plant. This will be the best route for smaller patches of the weed rather than large, established swaths.
Try this method on a day with little to no wind so any pulled-up roots or seeds don’t blow into other parts of your yard and cause more growth. Don your gardening gloves and long sleeve shirt, and grab your gardening shears, rooting/weeding tool, and garden hose or watering can.
First, thoroughly wet the area so the soil is workable. Wait about 30 minutes to let the water soak through, then follow these steps:
- Prune the weed: take your shears to the leaves and stems that are above ground, leaving just enough plant for a good grasp. Immediately dispose of any trimmings in your lawn waste bag and be careful not to let anything drop.
- Loosen the soil: use your rooting tool, weeding tool, spade, or pitchfork to loosen the roots from the soil.
- Remove the weed: grasp the base of the remaining plant and gently work the roots up and out of the ground. Use a rooting tool if needed to work up the deeper, more stubborn roots. Place all removed plants into the lawn waste bag.
- Detail the soil: Use one of your gardening tools to shift and sort through the soil to remove and dispose of any remaining roots, seeds, or leaves. Leaving any one piece of these behind allows Creeping Charlie to come back.
Hand-pulling Creeping Charlie is a detail-oriented method that has the most success on smaller, still-maturing plants. It’s important to remember, though, that you may need a few hand-pulling sessions to completely eradicate it from your lawn.
Natural removal methods
If you don’t want to go through the hunched-over, long process of hand-pulling the Creeping Charlie in your lawn, you can try a natural killing solution.
White vinegar is widely heralded for its multi-use properties and its usefulness can extend to the garden too. Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and douse the leaves and stems, but be warned: vinegar won’t reach and kill the roots, it will just kill the foliage. It is also harmful to pollinators and other foliage so you may be doing more harm than good with this one.
Instead, try organic citrus oil. As opposed to an acid like vinegar, oil is less harmful to pollinators and the environment. Citrus oil contains iron which is effective at damaging broadleaf weeds, but it will still only reach the leaves and stems while leaving the roots.
Many consider boron, commonly known as the household cleaner Borax, to be an effective killer, but it’s very temperamental with a specific application schedule and can cause more harm than good to the surrounding plants and soil. Boron has also not been cleared for standard weed removal and may even be illegal in your area.
Herbicide removal
If nothing else is working for you and you’re at your wit’s end with Creeping Charlie, you can try chemical remedies.
Herbicides are an effective way to get rid of weeds, but many of them are not selective in the types of plants they kill. You could just as easily poison your grass and flowers as you do the weeds.
It’s also important to consider how herbicides are poisonous to more than just plants—they can pollute the groundwater, waterways, playing children, and romping pets alike.
If you decide to take this route, be sure to get an herbicide that is specific for broadleaf weeds. You’ll want to look for triclopyr, dicamba, 2,4-D, or MCPP in the ingredients as these are the chemicals that will target the weed but leave your grass alone.
Follow the specific application and treatment instructions on whichever herbicide you opt for, and be careful of overspray that could potentially damage your nearby foliage!
The best time to remove Creeping Charlie
You may be wondering if there is an ideal time of the year that Creeping Charlie is at its most vulnerable, to which we say—yes! Creeping Charlie is the most vulnerable to removal techniques in the spring and the fall.
The best time for hand-pulling removal is in the spring before the plants reach maturity and are too spread out over your lawn.
However, the best time for herbicide application is in the fall when the plant has reached maturity but hasn’t spit out its seeds for the next season yet.
Tips to keep Creeping Charlie from coming back
Ahhh, sweet victory. You’ve finally gotten rid of the Creeping Charlie that was plaguing your lawn. Now—how to keep it from coming back?
Determination is the biggest factor here! One seed, one root, one leaf left can create a whole new system of Creeping Charlie, so you’ll need to be extremely thorough in your methods. For instance, hand pulling often requires a few passes before the weed is totally gone.
To keep this weed from returning next year, consider spraying a pre-emergent broadleaf weed herbicide in the spring to deter its growth in the first place.
Since Creeping Charlie thrives in the shade, trimming your trees and shrubs regularly to limit shady areas could help. However, quite a resilient weed, Creeping Charlie can also live in direct sun, so this may not work the best if it’s your only method. And depending on the climate in your area, a lack of shade could be less ideal than a lawn of weeds.
Overall, you’ll just want to keep an eye on your yard. Spotting a small patch of Creeping Charlie early will make it easier to remove.
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How can I get rid of Creeping Charlie in my lawn?
You can get rid of Creeping Charlie by hand pulling the weed and making sure there are no seeds or roots left behind, spraying the plant with organic citrus oil to kill off the foliage, or spraying a broadleaf weed-specific herbicide on affected areas.
Is Creeping Charlie edible?
As a member of the mint family, Creeping Charlie is edible. It has a tangier mint flavor that has been consumed for medicinal purposes or as a way to add a bitter flavor to dishes, but it should be consumed in moderation and with caution in case you are allergic to it.
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