Well, pulling works. But obviously depends upon how much you have. And you already know that it should be done before it seeds.

That said, spraying weedkillers risks other plants.

Sometimes it's a tough decsion of what to do. But, as you've learned, you must do something.

Herb robert is hard to get rid of. I brought 1 plant home and let it go to seed and have been pulling out seedlings for 15 years. The seed on those plants never seems to loose it's viability. I would not turn the soil over or disturb it as you will be bringing up seeds to the surface that can sprout. You might try putting 5-6 inches of mulch over the area this fall or winter to keep seeds from sprouting. Hand pulling or roundup to get rid of the mature plants.

I'm an organic gardener but for the past 3 years I've been unable to keep up with the weeds in my beds because of being gone for the entire month of June when my 2 grandsons were born, when the weeds went to seed. Herb Robert is one of my weeds, along with grasses, yellow clover, thistles, several dandelion look-a-likes, etc. Has anyone tried pre-emergent weed killers? I just looked them up and they claim they are very low in toxicity but do a good job if applied before the weeds sprout in the spring. Snapshot was one that can be applied as a granular instead of being sprayed. It is supposed to leave the established perennials alone and just damage the sprouting seeds. I'm actually tempted to try it since I'm still unable to keep up with the weeding and things are going to seed.

I have a problem with this one too. I flame them when they come up in the spring, when it's good and wet. The rest of the time I pull them. When I pull a mature one, there are usually seedlings underneath it, so I try to get those too.
I'll never be free of them since there are a lot on a neighboring property, but I have made some good dents. They're very easy to pull up or hoe. I much prefer them to the tap rooted weeds. Good luck!

OK,
I"m going to share a rather embarrasing moment because it WAS funny. A few years ago, I worked part time for the summer at a local nursery (mostly for the employee discount). I was growing a number of plants from seeds and one came up so different and so vigoursly that I potted it up and took it to the nursery to ask one of the horticulturists what it was.
Yep, it was "herb robert". Sheesh!

I pull it as much as I can (fortunately it's easy to pull), but I can never get rid of it....

If you want to hear really embarrassing I bought Herb Robert from an herb nursery. It is actually quite attractive until it comes up all over your whole yard in the shade.

It's one of the weeds I don't mind dealing with, as it pulls up so easily - rather satisfying really, as you can make a big impact pretty quickly with minimal effort. But it is so prolific, so I can understand the challenges if one has a large area to deal with. I was at the the Rhododendron Species Foundation garden the other day and it was everywhere, although pretty much only in seedling form. I can only imagine what an onging ordeal it must be for the caretakers of a huge woodland garden like that to keep this weed under control.

I am not a huge proponent of chemical pesticides, but I recognize they often have their place and can be very useful. Herb Robert seeds plentifully in spring and fall, so pre-emergents used after clearing out as much as possible of the existing plants would go a long way in slowing the spread. Both Preen and Snapshot are granular in application and contain trifluralin as their active ingredient (Snapshot also contains isoxaben) and are considered low toxicity. Corn gluten meal is another possible approach and is considered an organic control. And I'd definitely suggest mulching as well to extend the control.

Thanks to all who posted.

I have too much to get it all by hand.

I believe Roundup, as much as I would rather not use it, is my only option. I found that it is the - only - chemical that a local nursery for natives uses.

Paul

Thought you might enjoy this:

from Cicely Mary BarkerÂs "Flower Fairies of The Summer:"

Little Herb Robert,
Bright and small,
peeps from the bank
or the old stone wall.

Little Herb Robert,
his leaf turns red;
HeÂs wild geranium,
so it is said.

Sue

I ended up using roundup, which is very effective.

Although, I realize that it might be an ongoing struggle...

Paul