How To Kill Clover Weed With Vinegar
Do you see these 3 leaf plants in your lawn that are making your lawn look ugly and ruining all your efforts? Yes, I am talking about clover weed and we talk all about clover weed and how to eliminate it from your lawn.
To kill clover with vinegar take vinegar and water in the same ratio and add a drop of soap so that the solution sticks to the leaves when you spray it. Apply the solution to the clover weed. The vinegar will make the weed dry out and eventually kill it. To eliminate clover weed you need to reapply the solution several times before it kills all the plants and makes your lawn free from clover weed.
Now you know how to remove clover with vinegar but why is clover growing in your lawn and how can you prevent it in the future. We will talk about these things below.
How To Get Rid Of Clover
If you want your lawn to resemble the lush fairways of a golf course then clover is the stuff of nightmares. It invades your lawn, and because most varieties hug the ground closely it can be tough to spot and destroy early. Before you know it, clover is among your grass, stealing territory and conquering your yard.
The good news is, there are several ways to get rid of the clover in your lawn. Whether you prefer an all-natural approach for clover control in lawns or you decide you need to take more drastic measures, there are several effective approaches for removing clover. But before learning about how to get rid of clover, first, we should get to know the enemy.
What Do Clovers In Our Lawns Indicate
The presence of Clover in lawns can be an indicator of low Nitrogen levels in the soil.
Clover requires soil with LOW Nitrogen levels because this plant can pull its Nitrogen requirement from the air.
Lawns love Nitrogen in the soil, and thats why its so important to feed our lawns with Nitrogen in the form of Organic Lawn Fertilisers, Standard Lawn Fertilisers, or by leaving the clippings on the lawn after mowing.
As soon as lawn soils begin to lack Nitrogen the lawn will become in poor health. And a lawn in poor health will be highly prone to other weeds, pests, and diseases, and will not have the necessary strength to fight off these infestations naturally by itself.
When we remember the important basic principle of prevention being better than the cure in Organic Lawn Care, we see the importance of keeping our lawns in optimum health so they dont suffer problems that may later require chemical treatments. So, lets get our lawn back to good health, and keep it there.
You May Like: Core Aerator Rental Lowes
Whats Causing Clover In My Lawn
There are multiple reasons you could have clover sprouting up in your lawn, most of which have to do with your soil.
- Wrong Soil pH: The ideal soil pHhow alkaline or acidic the soil isfor most lawns is between 6.0 and 7.0. If your lawns soil is too acidic, it will be harder for grass to grow, and much easier for clover. Luckily, you can use soil amendments like lime to balance out the pH.
- Poor Nitrogen Levels: Clover thrives in soil with poor nitrogen levels. Grass needs nitrogen in the soil to grow well, while clover can obtain the nitrogen it needs from the air, effectively making its own fertilizer. Your soil may be low in nitrogen because youve used too much fast-acting fertilizer. While they promote rapid grass growth, they can ultimately lower your soil quality. Switching to organic fertilizer like manure or corn meal can help you avoid this.
- Compacted soil: Compacted soil prevents your grass from getting the nutrientsincluding nitrogenair, and water it needs. Luckily, you can break up compaction with a core or spike aerator.
Depriving Clover Of Oxygen
Another natural way to get rid of clover is to deprive it of oxygen and sunlight and not allowing it to grow. To do this, place a plastic sheet or garbage bag over the clover patch, securing the corners so it wont blow away. This should kill the weeds in a couple of weeks, but dont use this method long-term or the surrounding grass could be damaged as well. This is a good method for larger patches of clover.
This method is also helpful to get rid of other types of weeds like crabgrass that may be on your lawn. Its effective if you have the time to put into it.
Recommended Reading: Lawn Mowing Simulator Demo
How To Get Rid Of Clover In A Lawn By Hand
It is possible to get rid of clover without resorting to anything more than your own efforts and some garden tools.
Simply use a hand fork to dig out the plants. Pluck the clover up, ensuring you have removed all the roots along with it, advises Samantha Richards of Gazeboshop . This method ensures you havent killed your grass, and is a cheaper method of removal than buying a new spray product.
Spray A Vinegar Solution
Create your own non-toxic weed killer with this natural home remedy.
- Mix one cup of vinegar with a cup of water and one drop of dish soap.
- Shake it up and spray it onto any patches of clover. The vinegar will dry out the clovers leaves, and the dish soap will make sure it sticks.
- You may need to spray over a series of weeks to kill off the clover completely. Unfortunately, the vinegar can damage grass, so spray the solution carefully.
Don’t Miss: Lowes Tractor Lawn Mowers
Pick The Right Spreader
Chemical herbicides require a sprayer for the safe and even application of the product. Sprayers come in a variety of shapes and sizes:
For small lawns, use a small, hand-carried pump sprayer like this Vivosun Handheld Garden Sprayer Pump.
For medium lawns, use a backpack sprayer like this Field King Backpack Sprayer.
For large lawns, use a push sprayer or tractor-pulled sprayer like this Streamline Industrial Cart Mounted Sprayer.
Regardless of the sprayer that you choose, the most important aspect when trying to kill clover is making sure that the device is equipped with a high-quality fan-tip nozzle.
Smother The Entire Lawn And Start Over Again
If you have a smaller lawn, and its completely overrun with clover, moss, and weeds, you may be tempted to start over again.
To do this, its best to avoid using herbicides to kill everything on your lawn, as this can ruin the fertility of the soil. Instead, smother your grass using a large tarpaulin, and then reseed it, or lay new sod.
You will need to wait about three weeks for everything on your lawn to die, and decompose enough to plant new grass.
You May Like: Best Way To Get Rid Of Nutsedge
How To Get Rid Of Clover In My Lawn
Clover is a common weed that invades lawns that lack maintenance or nutrients. Although it unharmful for lawns, some people prefer to get rid of it for the simple reason that its white flowers attract insects. Getting rid of the clover once its established can be difficult, but with the right tools and patience youll get it done. In this article, we share different methods to help you get rid of clover and control it.
Read Also: Can You Treat Your Yard For Ticks
How To Get Rid Of Clover In A Lawn With Weedkiller
Weedkiller can be targeted towards clover in a lawn. If you use a weedkiller, make sure it is for lawns, because if you use a generic one it will kill the grass as well, says Ruth Hayes. There are several effective products on the market, but apply them before August when they become less effective. Also remember that clover self-seeds prolifically so you may have to deal with more plants next spring.
Always follow manufacturers guidelines on weedkiller use. Remember, too, not to add lawn clippings that have been treated with weedkiller to the compost heap and avoid using weedkiller on new lawns as it will scratch the grass, Ruth cautions.
Don’t Miss: Parts For Murray Lawnmower
How To Get Rid Of Clover In Lawn In South Africa
Pull It Out By Hand
For small patches, you can remove the clover manually. Gently loosen the soil with a spade and tug the clover out, roots and all. If you leave any roots behind, the clover will grow back.
Deprive It of Oxygen and Sunlight
You can kill clover by blocking it from all oxygen and sunlight. Take plastic sheeting or a garbage bag and place it over the patch, securing the corners with rocks to make sure it doesnt fly up. This should get rid of the clover in a few weeks. Be mindful that this approach will also kill any grass that gets under the plastic.
Spray a Vinegar Solution
Create your own non-toxic weed killer with this natural home remedy.
- Mix one cup of vinegar with a cup of water and one drop of dish soap.
- Shake it up and spray it onto any patches of clover. The vinegar will dry out the clovers leaves, and the dish soap will make sure it sticks.
- You may need to spray over a series of weeks to kill off the clover completely. Unfortunately, the vinegar can damage grass, so spray the solution carefully.
Spread Organic Fertilizer
Using organic, slow-release, nitrogen-rich fertilizer will make your lawn less hospitable to clover. Some homeowners prefer traditional, fast-release fertilizer because it grows grass quickly and costs less. However, using organic fertilizer will lead to healthier growth in the long run. Common organic fertilizers include cow manure, guano, blood meal, bone meal, earthworm castings, and liquid kelp.
Use Corn Meal Gluten
Reason : Clover Fertilizes Your Lawn
Clover has a symbiotic relationship with beneficial bacteria, which attach themselves to its roots. These bacteria can absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere, the main nutrient that gives grass its green color. Even better, if you have a good mix of Clover your lawn won’t need to be fertilized to look lush and green. Contrary to popular belief, Clover won’t take over your lawn, it will help your lawn. Notice how the the Microclover sections of this lawn are thick and green, while the grass only sections are brown from the Summer heat. Clover can keep your lawn looking great when other grass types gets stressed.
You May Like: Lease To Own Lawn Mowers
Is Clover A Weed Or Grass
Clover is not closely related to the grass in your yard. It is actually part of the legume family, which means its closest relatives are peas and alfalfa. This is good news because certain chemical control methods that target clover will leave grass unharmed.
Clover is classified as a broadleaf weed, a category that includes other common weeds such as dandelions, poison ivy, and brambles. This is important because herbicides and methods for broadleaf weed control are effective ways to kill clover.
When The Natural Methods Fail Using Weed Killers For Clover
Now, we have covered how to get rid of clover in grass naturally. However, if all of these methods fail, you can resort to using commercial herbicides for broadleaf weeds. Those are the products that contain active compounds such as Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, Mecoprop, and Dicamba.
These chemicals cause deformed growth in broadleaf weeds but do not damage the grass. However, they are far from benign substances through constant exposure and accumulation, they can harm other creatures, including humans.
That is why it is better to spot-treat the problematic weeds than to apply the herbicides broadly. Since they do nothing to prevent the weeds from sprouting, there is no point in doing so anyway.
Green tip: Avoid Weed and Feed products. As Weed-and-Feed is applied non-selectively and broadly, you will introduce much more toxic materials than necessary. That can have a myriad of negative impacts on the environment, the wildlife, and eventually your health.
Also Check: Best Front Wheel Drive Lawn Mowers
What Is The Best Herbicide To Kill Clover
The best chemical to kill clover is MCCP preferred for lawn care. Most of the herbicides or weed and feed products have MCCP with other chemicals to kill all the weeds in the lawn and make it healthy and beautiful. The two best herbicides which you can use to kill clover are:
1. Spot weed killer This weed killer made by Maid Brands Inc, is a spray-on spot application product to eliminate weeds from your lawn and it works very effectively on clover weed. If you provide a few hours for it to dry before you water your lawn then it will not get washed away.
2. Bonide Bonide is a well-known weed killer recommended by many commercial turf nurseries to eliminate clover, oxalis, chickweed, and dandelions in your lawn. These weeds are usually very hard to remove from your lawn but bonide works well and eliminates all the weeds from your lawn.
Grow Healthy Thick Grass
The easiest method is simple and one youll likely be doing anyway have a healthy lawn. Healthier lawns will consume more nutrients and be tougher against weeds.
For clover, in particular, the weed thrives in lawns that dont have enough nitrogen due to its ability to produce its own. Low nitrogen will also make your yard less healthy. The two factors in combination make your yard weaker and clover stronger, giving clover a considerable boost in growth.
To counter this, monitor the nitrogen levels in your lawn frequently. Maintaining the correct levels is the best way to stop clover from ever arriving.
Also Check: Aerator Rental Lowes
Use Clover Killer And Organic Herbicide
These below are the best valuable artificial clover killers that help you to remove clovers from the lawn. The best thing about these items is that they are grass protected which means it only works for clovers killing not grass damaging.
- Ortho Nustedge clover killer
The ortho Nustedge is the best spray to remove all types of clover and oxalis from your lawn. Because it consists of an amazing 32 Ounce power and amazing yellow purple Nustedge killer.
It has 2 in 1 quality means 2 items in one price that helps to remove clover and weeds also.
The Nustedge is the best choice for northern and southern yard grasses because this removes clovers on such a climate very fast as compared to other areas.
The weed B gon is also good functionality of killing creeping charlie and wild violet. This acts fast to remove creeping Charlies roots and damaged their soil fertility as well. So this is 2 in 1 spray that helps you to remove your lawn clovers excellently.
- Ortho B weed BGon
This is our second Otho weed clovers killer choice with good results. It has amazing oxalis killer qualities with 16 OZ. This is available on many options.
The main advantage of this it kills weeds to the roots. It also kills creeping charlie and wild violet. The ingredients of this are access to roots and kill the clovers root family which helps to stop his growth.
- Bonide BONE61
- Nataria Herbacide weed killer
Does Clover Belong In A Home Lawn
This is a frequently debated subject and passions run high on either side of the argument.
Without question, clover has certain benefits. Its green color matches many lawn grasses and it maintains that color even during the hottest days of summer when some grasses struggle and begin to fade. It is able to withstand dog urine, something that will kill virtually all desirable grasses. It can grow nearly anywhere outside of dense shade and requires little maintenance it rarely gets tall enough to mow, it can survive with very little water, and it actually prefers soils that arent fertilized.
However, clover also has certain downsides. It struggles under even moderate amounts of traffic. It will not survive in yards that are frequent playgrounds for kids and pets or home to sports played by adults. When it is played on it tends to stain clothing easily and its stains can be difficult to remove.
Ultimately it is best to go in one direction or the other. Either grow a microclover dominated lawn microclovers being a superior subtype of common white clover or grow one dominated by grass.
Read Also: Rent A Center Lawn Mowers
Mow On A Higher Level
Since clover grows so low to the ground and condensed, it makes sense that your first impulse may be to lower your mowing height in an attempt to kill off the flowering plant. A low mow height won’t actually do anything to eliminate clover, though, according to Scotts. Removing the flower heads won’t do anything to disrupt the clover’s growth, as it needs to be completely uprooted or killed off by either natural or chemical methods.
While it may feel counterintuitive, the best way to get rid of clover when mowing is to raise the blade height. As covered earlier, an effective way to kill clover is to deprive it of sunlight. This can be done through a little lawn manipulation, like letting your grass grow taller than the flowering perennial and block out the sunlight needed to keep growing. While this likely won’t eliminate clover patches, it will help contain spreading as you work through other methods.
Kill Clover In Grass With Plastic
A surefire way to kill clover is to deprive it of what it needs to thrive, which are oxygen and sunlight. Use a garbage bag or other type of plastic sheeting to cover the clover patch. Secure the sheeting down with stakes or heavy objects to prevent it from blowing away.
For best results and to increase your chances of not killing the surrounding grass, only use this method on more extensive patches of clover. Within a few weeks, the plastic sheeting will kill off the clover and any future seeds.
This is also a great way to get rid of crabgrass patches in the lawn or other weeds that occur in a specific area. It also requires very little effort. If you have the time, smothering is an ideal solution for weeds.
Read Also: Widest Self Propelled Lawn Mower
