HA~ Good luck with that! I hope someone responds with a sure-fire way to get rid of it, I have more of that than I do grass in my lawn! Ive been pulling it out for 20 yrs but can never get all the roots. Lets hope somebody knows the answer!

A couple of years ago my neighbors sprayed Creeping Charlie with Weed-b-Gone in late spring, then went on vacation. It had been hot and sunny for a couple of days and it worked. Unfortunately, it rained for 3 straight days and they came home to a slimy, smelly mess.

To back up their success, I read somewhere that spring is the best time to spray because the plant is actively growing and will take up the weed killer easily. They key thing is to keep on top of it. As soon as you see more, spray it right away. While it will be difficult to get rid of, because the flowers produce seed, it's possible.

We've tried all the weed killers (weed-b-gone, oxalis, etc) and nothing has worked. The borax recipe was just in a gardening magazine and said you should apply it in fall or when they are blooming. So I have the borax and will be trying it very soon. In the places we have it in our lawn there is hardly any grass left, so if it does work we will be reseeding. Our neighbor's pay a company to spray 4 times a year and it does get rid of it. However it always comes back in spring, so really it's just keeping it at bay. If borax doesn't work I'll be calling them next year.

A couple of years ago Creeping Charlie began showing up in my back yard. I attempted to fight it at first but then I embraced it. It is drought tolerant, doesn't require mowing as often and it smells awesome when I do mow. I love the little purple flowers in spring.

I live by a pond that runs into a creek that runs into Green Lake. In times past I used lawn treatments but now I just can't see how it is worth it. It took me changing how I see what a lawn should be. Now, I much prefer my lawn today.

Smart move, and Green Lake thanks you for not dumping chemicals on the earth that will run off into the pond, creek, and lake. The fish are healthy and happy.

I will second the virtues of strong growing grass. It is indeed a tool in the arsenal against weeds. But of course, not a cure all for most people.

I can tell you from experience that a bluegrass lawn in mostly sun and cut only 3-5 times a year, will choke out plantain, clover and dandelions, but not creeping charlie.

I did find that Fertilome Weed Free Zone to be a better product for creeping charlie and clover, but only when used in the spring, and earlier than when normal weed killers work well. It worked quicker too. I tried it again later in the season when the temps were warmer. Then, it worked no better than other lawn weed killers. The product is quite expensive, but at the right time of year, I think it is worth it.

We have had a few conversations on the MN forum in the past. Look here:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/mngard/msg061113493175.html
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/mngard/msg0522430317699.html

Hi. I was so glad to hear I wasn't the only one who had finally embraced creeping charlie. My entire yard, over an acre, is almost entirely creeping charlie. It stays green all summer, doesn't need much mowing, and I think it is actually better than grass. Maybe in years to come, it will become an "in thing", like a thyme yard or something:). And the idea of using harmful chemicals to create a mono-culture to kill all the other natural variety that should be in a yard, seems a bit overkill:)

My yard is a certified wild-life refuge, so I've never sprayed and I have a wealth of birds, more variety than you can imagine, from woodpeckers to cardinals, to doves, to bluejays and some lovely small blue bird that showed up yesterday. So maybe just give some thought to the option of giving up the fight:)

Creeping Charlie is considered an invasive species, is not a native plant We are already losing native plants to invasive species.

Creeping Charlie is creating its own monoculture on your property, and will spread beyond your borders into neighboring properties, choking out native species as it marches on.

Here is a link that might be useful: Invasive species.

I have not embraced creeping charlie nor have I used anything on it. I have, however, eradicated it from our yard.

For many evenings one summer (3 summers ago), I sat out on the lawn and slowly and steadily picked the runners and the roots out. It required a heck of alot of patience on my part and it was a horribly tedious process. However, I did it.

I found a few bits of it the following year, but got them out. I've kept a close watch on it since and....so far....so good. We don't have a huge lawn, though.

I have used 20 mule team borax with great results. You mix 7 Tablespoons into 1 gal. of warm water. For small areas I use a sprinkling can, or one of those sprayers you carry around.
The grass may turn yellow around the application but it will return to green. You may need to do more than one application. 2o mule team borax can be found at the grocery store in the laundry aisle. Good Luck!

Kill Charlie - Part 1

I live on the West Coast of Michigan and have been fighting Creeping Charlie for almost 15 years. I've fed it all of the lawn chemicals (Weed-B-Gone, Bayer, Trimec Plus, etc.) guaranteed to kill Charlie by the lawn care "experts" at every garden center in Grand Rapids. It just multiplied, and multiplied, and multiplied.

Then one day I stumbled upon a suggestion on the Internet to use TRIMEC CLASSIC. Of course nobody stocks it in this city of over a million. Even the BPI/Gordon (maker of Trimec) golf course specialist tried to sell me something else (another "specialist).

Finally ordered it thru the internet and mixed up a batch: 2oz. Trimec/1 gal. water. It took 5 gallons of mix to treat my yard with a pump-up hand sprayer. That was the spring of 2010 when Charlie first bloomed (small purple flowers).

The fall (Sept) treatment only took 3 gallons to cover all the Charlie.

Spring of 2011: 1/2 gallon to treat just the edges where the neighbor's Charlie tried to spread. Neighbors on both sides are almost solid Charlie.

Fall of 2011: There's hardly enough Charlie left to bother mixing up a batch. But I do want to control the spread from other yards.

If you REALLY are serious about killing Creeping Charlie (ground ivy, etc), use Trimec Classic. If you just want to cry and complain, fertilize it with Weed-B-Gon and its cousins or play with Borox.